Who Are The 25 Greatest Americans Of All Time?

Top 100 Greatest Americans Unveiled Today and Featured in World Premiere Discovery Channel Television Event


- New Primetime Seven Hour Series Begins Sunday, June 5 at 8 PM (ET/PT) with 'Today' Show's Matt Lauer as Host -
- America Online to Offer Top 100 List and Biographical Content at aol.com/greatestamerican and AOL(R) Keyword: Greatest American -


SILVER SPRING, Md., April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Who will be the Greatest American? Political giant Abraham Lincoln or Bill Clinton? Sports legend Babe Ruth or Tiger Woods? Media mogul Oprah Winfrey or Walt Disney? These remarkable people, and many more, have been named by America as some of the top 100 Greatest Americans.


After tallying more than half a million online nominations, Discovery Channel and interactive partner America Online today unveiled the list of the top 100 nominees. Ranging from inventors to athletes, politicians to musicians, the list takes the pulse of the nation and reveals the qualities we most admire. (The full list follows. The list, nominee biographies, and additional information can be found on aol.com/greatestamerican and Keyword: Greatest American)

Beginning Sunday, June 5 at 8 PM (ET/PT), and airing every Sunday in June, GREATEST AMERICAN will premiere on Discovery Channel with Today show's Matt Lauer presenting the top 100 nominees. At the end of the premiere episode, Lauer will announce the top 25 Greatest American nominees based on nominations held earlier this year. Viewers can then cast votes at the AOL site listed above, via toll-free numbers or via text messaging.

In the second episode, Matt Lauer and influentials (actors, comedians, politicians, athletes, etc) will offer insights on the top 25 to aid America in another round of voting that determines the top five. The third episode pits celebrity advocates against one another, debating the virtues of their "Greatest American." The seven-hour series culminates in real-time election- style voting, as America selects one person to be named the "Greatest American." The grand finale will be televised live from New York City on Sunday, June 26, at 9 PM (ET).

The Top 100 Nominees


Abraham Lincoln
Albert Einstein
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Hamilton
Amelia Earhart
Andrew Carnegie
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Audie Murphy
Babe Ruth
Barack Obama
Barbara Bush
Benjamin Franklin
Bill Clinton
Bill Cosby (William Henry Cosby, Jr.)
Bill Gates
Billy Graham
Bob Hope
Brett Favre
Carl Sagan
Cesar Chavez
Charles Lindbergh
Christopher Reeve
Chuck Yeager
Clint Eastwood
Colin Powell
Condoleezza Rice
Donald Trump
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eleanor Roosevelt (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt)
Ellen DeGeneres
Elvis Presley
Frank Sinatra
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Frederick Douglass
George H. W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Lucas
George Patton
George Washington
George Washington Carver
Harriet Ross Tubman
Harry Truman
Helen Keller
Henry Ford
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Howard Hughes
Hugh Hefner
Jackie Robinson (Jack Roosevelt Robinson)
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jesse Owens
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Stewart
John Edwards
John Glenn
John F. Kennedy
John Wayne
Johnny Carson (John William Carson)
Jonas Edward Salk
Joseph Smith Jr.
Katharine Hepburn
Lance Armstrong
Laura Bush
Lucille Ball
Lyndon B. Johnson
Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone)
Malcolm X (Malcolm Little)
Marilyn Monroe
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
Martha Stewart
Martin Luther King Jr.
Maya Angelou
Mel Gibson
Michael Jackson
Michael Jordan
Michael Moore
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.)
Neil Alden Armstrong
Nikola Tesla
Oprah Winfrey
Pat Tillman
Dr. Phil McGraw
Ray Charles
Richard Nixon
Robert Kennedy
Ronald Reagan
Rosa Parks
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Rush Limbaugh
Sam Walton
Steve Jobs
Steven Spielberg
Susan B. Anthony
Theodore Roosevelt
Thomas Edison
Thomas Jefferson
Tiger Woods
Tom Cruise
Tom Hanks
Walt Disney
Wrights Brothers (Orville & Wilbur Wright)