House History

Congressional Gold Medal Recipients

(1776 to Present)

Since the American Revolution, Congress has commissioned gold medals as its highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. Each medal honors a particular individual, institution, or event. Although the first recipients included citizens who participated in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, Congress broadened the scope of the medal to include actors, authors, entertainers, musicians, pioneers in aeronautics and space, explorers, lifesavers, notables in science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public servants, and foreign recipients.

In addition to the requirement that all Congressional Gold Medal legislation must be cosponsored by at least two-thirds (290) of the Members of the House, specific standards are set forth by Rule VII (c)(vii) of the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services's Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy when considering such legislation. Additionally, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee requires that at least 67 Senators must cosponsor any Congressional Gold Medal legislation before the committee will consider it.


Recipient(s) Date of Approval Public Law
George Washington Mar. 25, 1776 Continental Congress
Major General Horatio Gates Nov. 4, 1777 Continental Congress
Major General Anthony Wayne July 26, 1779 Continental Congress
Major Henry Lee Sep. 24, 1779 Continental Congress
Brigadier General Daniel Morgan Mar. 9, 1781 Continental Congress
Major General Nathaniel Greene Oct. 29, 1781 Continental Congress
John Paul Jones Oct. 16, 1787 Continental Congress
Captain Thomas Truxtun Mar. 29, 1800 2 Stat. 87
Commodore Edward Preble Mar. 3, 1805 2 Stat. 346-347
Captain Isaac Hull, Captain Stephen Decatur, and Captain Jacob Jones Jan. 29, 1813 2 Stat. 830
Captain William Bainbridge Mar. 3, 1813 2 Stat. 831
Captain Oliver Hazard Perry and Captain Jesse D. Elliott Jan. 6, 1814 3 Stat. 141
Lieutenant William Burrows and Lieutenant Edward R. M'Call Jan. 6, 1814 3 Stat. 141-142
Captain James Lawrence January 11, 1814 3 Stat. 142
Captain Thomas MacDonough, Captain Robert Henly, and Lieutenant Stephen Cassin October 20, 1814 3 Stat. 245-246
Captain Lewis Warrington October 21, 1814 3 Stat. 246
Captain Johnson Blakely November 3, 1814 3 Stat. 246-247
Major General Jacob Brown November 3, 1814 3 Stat. 247
Major General Winfield Scott November 3, 1814
March 9, 1848
3 Stat. 247
9 Stat. 333
Brigadier General Eleazar W. Ripley, Brigadier General James Miller, and Major General Peter B. Porter November 3, 1814 3 Stat. 247
Major General Edmund P. Gaines November 3, 1814 3 Stat. 247
Major General Alexander Macomb November 3, 1814 3 Stat. 247
Major General Andrew Jackson February 27, 1815 3 Stat. 249
Captain Charles Stewart February 22, 1816 3 Stat. 341
Captain James Biddle February 22, 1816 3 Stat. 341
Major General William Henry Harrison and Governor Isaac Shelby April 4, 1818 3 . 476
Colonel George Croghan February 13, 1835 4 Stat. 792
Major General Zachary Taylor July 16, 1846
March 2, 1847
9 Stat. 111
9 Stat. 206
Rescuers of the Officers and Crew of the U.S. Brig Somers March 3, 1847 9 Stat. 208
Commander Duncan N. Ingraham August 4, 1854 10 Stat. 594-595
Frederick A. Rose May 11, 1858 11 Stat. 369
Major General Ulysses S. Grant December 17, 1863 13 Stat. 399
Cornelius Vanderbilt January 28, 1864 13 Stat. 401
Captain Creighton, Captain Low, and Captain Stouffer July 26, 1866 14 Stat. 365-366
Cyrus W. Field March 2, 1867 14 Stat. 574
George Peabody March 16, 1867 15 Stat. 20
George F. Robinson March 1, 1871 16 Stat. 704
Captain Jared S. Crandall and Others February 24, 1873 17 Stat. 638
John Horn, Jr. June 20, 1874
April 28, 1904
18 Stat. 573
33 Stat. 1684-1685
John F. Slater February 5, 1883 22 Stat. 636
Joseph Francis August 27, 1888 25 Stat. 1249
Chief Engineer George Wallace Melville and Others September 30, 1890 26 Stat. 552-553
First Lieutenant Frank H. Newcomb May 3, 1900 31 Stat. 717
First Lieutenant David H. Jarvis, Second Lieutenant Ellsworth P. Bertholf, and Dr. Samuel J. Call June 28, 1902 32 Stat. 492
Wright Brothers March 4, 1909 35 Stat. 1627
Captain Arthur Henry Rostron July 6, 1912 37 Stat. 639
Captain Paul H. Kreibohm and Others March 19, 1914 38 Stat. 769
Domicio da Gama, Romulo S. Naon, and Eduardo Suarez March 4, 1915 38 Stat. 1228
Charles A. Lindbergh May 4, 1928 45 Stat. 490
Lincoln Ellsworth, Roald Amundsen, and Umberto Nobile May 29, 1928 45 Stat. 2026-2027
Thomas A. Edison May 29, 1928 45 Stat. 1012
First Successful Trans-Atlantic Flight February 9, 1929 45 Stat. 1158
Major Walter Reed and Associates for Yellow Fever Experimentations in Cuba February 28, 1929 45 Stat. 1409-1410
Officers and Men of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition May 23, 1930 46 Stat. 379
Lincoln Ellsworth June 16, 1936 49 Stat. 2324
George M. Cohan June 29, 1936 49 Stat. 2371
Mrs. Richard Aldrich and
Anna Bouligny
June 20, 1938 52 Stat. 1365
Howard Hughes August 7, 1939 53 Stat. 1525
Reverend Francis X. Quinn August 10, 1939 53 Stat. 1533
William Sinnott June 15, 1940 54 Stat. 1283
Roland Boucher January 20, 1942 56 Stat. 1099-1100
George Catlett Marshall, General of the Army, and Fleet Admiral Ernest Joseph King March 22, 1946 60 Stat. 1134-1135
John J. Pershing, General of the Armies of the United States August 7, 1946 60 Stat. 1297-1298
Brigadier General William Mitchell August 8, 1946 60 Stat. 1319
Vice President Alben W. Barkley August 12, 1949 P.L. 81-221, 63 Stat. 599
Irving Berlin July 16, 1954 P.L. 83-536, 68 Stat. A120
Doctor Jonas E. Salk August 9, 1955 P.L. 84-297, 69 Stat. 589
Surviving Veterans of the War Between the States July 18, 1956 P.L. 84-730, 70 Stat. 577
Rear Admiral Hyman George Rickover August 28, 1958 P.L. 85-826, 72 Stat. 985
Doctor Robert H. Goddard September 16, 1959 P.L. 86-277, 73 Stat. 562-563
Robert Frost September 13, 1960 P.L. 86-747, 74 Stat. 883
Doctor Thomas Anthony Dooley III May 27, 1961 P.L. 87-42, 75 Stat. 87
Bob Hope June 8, 1962 P.L. 87-478, 76 Stat. 93
Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House of Representatives September 26, 1962 P.L. 87-478, 76 Stat. 605
Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army October 9, 1962 P.L. 87-760, 76 Stat. 760
Walt Disney May 24, 1968 P.L. 90-316, 82 Stat. 130-131
Winston Churchill May 7, 1969 P.L. 91-12, 83 Stat. 8-9
Roberto Walker Clemente May 14, 1973 P.L. 93-33, 87 Stat. 71
Marian Anderson March 8, 1977 P.L. 95-9, 91 Stat. 19
Lieutenant General Ira E. Eaker October 10, 1978 P.L. 95-438, 92 Stat. 1060
Robert F. Kennedy November 1, 1978 P.L. 95-560, 92 Stat. 2142
John Wayne May 26, 1979 P.L. 96-15, 93 Stat. 32
Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman June 13, 1979 P.L. 96-20, 93 Stat. 45
Hubert H. Humphrey June 13, 1979 P.L. 96-91, 93 Stat. 46
American Red Cross December 12, 1979 P.L. 96-138, 93 Stat. 1063
Ambassador Kenneth Taylor March 6, 1980 P.L. 96-201, 94 Stat. 79
Simon Wiesenthal March 17, 1980 P.L. 96-211, 94 Stat. 101
1980 United States Summer Olympic Team1 July 8, 1980 P.L. 96-306 94 Stat. 937
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands March 22, 1982 P.L. 97-158, 96 Stat. 18-19
Admiral Hyman George Rickover June 23, 1982 P.L. 97-201, 96 Stat. 126-127
Fred Waring August 26, 1982 P.L. 97-246, 96 Stat. 315-316
Joe Louis August 26, 1982 P.L. 97-246, 96 Stat. 315-316
Louis L'Amour August 26, 1982 P.L. 97-246, 96 Stat. 315-316
Leo J. Ryan November 18, 1983 P.L. 98-159, 97 Stat. 992
Danny Thomas November 29, 1983 P.L. 98-172, 97 Stat. 1119-1120
Harry S. Truman May 8, 1984 P.L. 98-278, 98 Stat. 173-175
Lady Bird Johnson May 8, 1984 P.L. 98-278, 98 Stat. 173-175
Elie Wiesel May 8, 1984 P.L. 98-278, 98 Stat. 173-175
Roy Wilkins May 17, 1984 P.L. 98-285, 98 Stat. 186
George and Ira Gershwin August 9, 1985 P.L. 99-86, 99 Stat. 288-289
Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky May 13, 1986 P.L. 99-298, 100 Stat. 432-433
Harry Chapin May 20, 1986 P.L. 99-311, 100 Stat. 464
Aaron Copland September 23, 1986 P.L. 99-418, Stat. 952-953
Mary Lasker December 24, 1987 P.L. 100-210, 101 Stat. 1441
Jesse Owens September 20, 1988 P.L. 100-437, 102 Stat. 1717
Andrew Wyeth November 9, 1988 P.L. 100-639, 102 Stat. 3331-3332
Laurence Spelman Rockefeller May 17, 1990 P.L. 101-296, 104 Stat. 197-199
General Matthew B. Ridgeway November 5, 1990 P.L. 101-510, 104 Stat. 1720-1721
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf April 23, 1991 P.L. 102-32; 105 Stat. 175-176
General Colin Powell April 23, 1991 P.L. 102-33; 105 Stat. 177-178
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson November 2, 1994 P.L. 103-457, 108 Stat. 4799-4800
Ruth and Billy Graham February 13, 1996 P.L. 104-111, 110 Stat. 772-773
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra May 14, 1997 P.L. 105-14, 111 Stat. 32-33
Mother Teresa of Calcutta June 2, 1997 P.L. 105-16, 111 Stat. 35-36
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew October 6, 1997 P.L. 105-51, 111 Stat. 117-1171
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela July 29, 1998 P.L. 105-215, 112 Stat. 895-896
Little Rock Nine October 21, 1998 P.L. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681-597
Gerald R. and Betty Ford October 21, 1998 P.L. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681-598
Rosa Parks May 4, 1999 P.L. 106-26, 113 Stat. 50-51
Theodore M. Hesburgh December 9, 1999 P.L. 106-153, 113 Stat. 1733-1734
John Cardinal O'Connor March 3, 2000 P.L. 106-175, 114 Stat. 20-21
Charles M. Schulz June 20, 2000 P.L. 106-225, 114 Stat. 457-458
Pope John Paul II July 27, 2000 P.L. 106-250, 114 Stat. 622-623
Ronald and Nancy Reagan July 27, 2000 P.L. 106-251, 114 Stat. 624-625
Navajo Code Talkers December 21, 2000 P.L. 106-554, 114 Stat. 2763
General Henry H. Shelton January 16, 2002 P.L. 107-127, 115 Stat. 2405-2406
Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom July 17, 2003 P.L. 108-60, 117 Stat. 862-863
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson October 23, 2003 P.L. 108-101, 117 Stat. 1195-1197
Dr. Dorothy Height December 6, 2003 P.L. 108-162, 117 Stat. 2017-2019
Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs, and Levi Pearson
December 15, 2003
P.L. 108-180, 117 Stat. 2645-2647
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King October 25 , 2004 P.L. 108-368, 118 Stat. 1746-1748
The Tuskegee Airmen April 11 , 2006 P.L. 109-213, 120 Stat. 322
Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama September 27, 2006 P.L. 109-287; 120 Stat. 1231-1232
Byron Nelson October 16, 2006 P.L. 109-357; 120 Stat. 2044-2046
Dr. Norman E. Borlaug December 14, 2006 P.L. 109-395, 120 Stat. 2709
Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D. October 10, 2007 P.L. 110-95, 121 Stat. 1008
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi May 6, 2008 P.L. 110-209, 122 Stat. 721
Constantino Brumidi July 1, 2008 P.L. 110-259, 122 Stat. 2430-2432
Edward William Brooke III July 1, 2008 P.L. 110-260, 122 Stat. 2433-2435

1. H.R. 7482 designated 650 gold-plated Congressional Gold Medals to be presented to the entire 1980 Summer Olympic Team by the President of the United States. The large striking necessitated the creation of gold-plated medals.


Source: Congressional Research Service



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