2009 MEDAL OF FREEDOM RECIPIENTS

President Obama bestowed the Medal of Freedom to 16 people whom he has dubbed "agents of change."

Besides Sen. Edward KennedySen. Edward Kennedy, others who received the nation's highest civilian honor were:

Nancy Goodman Brinker, 62, founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, one of the nation's leading fundraising events for breast cancer research.

Pedro Jose Greer Jr, 53, founder of Camillus Health Concern and St. John Bosco Clinic, which provide medical services to the poor in Miami.

Stephen HawkingStephen Hawking, 67, who despite a severe neuromuscular disability has managed to conduct groundbreaking research in theoretical physics and pen books that make his findings accessible to the general public.

Jack Kemp, the 1996 Republican Party vice presidential nominee, who passed away in May at age 73.

Joseph Lowery, 87, a Methodist minister who has been a leader of the civil rights movement since the 1950s.

Billie Jean KingBillie Jean King, 65, retired tennis player who championed women's rights and became one of the nation's first sports stars to come out as a lesbian in 1981.

Joe Medicine Crow, 95, the last living Plains Indian war chief and the first member of his tribe to attend college.

Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official from a major U.S. city when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. The next year, he was shot and killed at age 48.

Sandra Day O'ConnorSandra Day O'Connor, 79, who was the first female Supreme Court justice, named by President Reagan in 1981.

Sidney PoitierSidney Poitier, 82, a groundbreaking actor who became the first African American to win an Oscar for best actor.

Chita RiveraChita Rivera, 76, the original "Anita" in Broadway's West Side Story. She went on to stardom as a singer, dancer and actress.

Mary Robinson, 65, the first female president of Ireland.

Janet Davison Rowley, born in 1925, is a University of Chicago geneticist whose research has improved survival rates for previously incurable cancers.

Desmond TutuDesmond Tutu, 78, retired Anglican archbishop who helped lead the effort to end apartheid in South Africa.

Muhammad YunusMuhammad Yunus, 69, a Bangladeshi economist and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner who has pioneered the use of "microloans."