Who is The Greatest American?

Just like a bunch of other countries the United States recently held a television poll to determine who is their greatest citizen of all time. On April 17, 2005 the results of the poll, hosted by the Discovery Channel were revealed on the network's website.

On June 5th Discovery Channel revealed who made the top 75, and the top 25.

On June 19th Discovery Channel revealed who made the top 5.

The final results were revealed on June 26.

THE TOP 100 AMERICANS OF ALL TIME

inventor activist athlete
politician actor musician
military figure author TV personality
radio business leader aviators
first lady religious leader director

Top 10

rank Name Profession / reputation Died
1 Ronald Reagan conservative President during 1980's 2004
2 Abraham Lincoln assassinated President who abolished slavery 1865
3 Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated anti-segregation activist 1968
4 George Washington independence leader, first President 1799
5 Ben Franklin founding father, inventor 1790
6
 George W. Bush current President  
7 Bill Clinton liberal President during 1990's
8 Elvis Presley rock / blues singer 1977
9 Oprah Winfrey talk-show host
10 Franklin D. Roosevelt president during WW2 1945

Top 11 through 25

11 Billy Graham evangelical Christian preacher
12 Thomas Jefferson founding father, president 1826
13 Walt Disney animation pioneer, founder of Dinsey corp. 1966
14 Albert Einstein scientist, founder of theory of relativity 1955
15 Thomas Edison inventor of the light bulb, film projector, and many other things 1931
16 John F. Kennedy assassinated President who served during 50's, 60's 1963
17 Bob Hope actor 2003
18 Bill Gates founder of Microsoft Corporation
19 Eleanor Roosevelt first lady, wife of Franklin Roosevelt, human rights activist 1962
20 Lance Armstrong Tour-de-France champion cyclist
21 Muhammaed Ali boxer  
22 Rosa Parks anti-segregation activist
23 Wilbur and Orville Wright inventors of the airplane 1948, 1912
24 Henry Ford automobile technology pioneer, founder of Ford Auto Co. 1947
25 Neil Armstrong astronaut, first man to walk on the moon

Top 26 through 75

They never revealed the ordered rankings of the next batch. Here they are in alphabetical order:

rank Name Profession / reputation Died
? Maya Angelou poet, civil rights activist
? Susan B. Anthony female suffrage activist 1906
? Lucille Ball actress 1989
? Alexander Graham Bell purported inventor of the telephone 1922
? Barbara Bush first lady, wife of George H.W. Bush
? George H.W. Bush conservative President during 1990's
? Laura Bush current first lady
? Andrew Carnegie businessman, philanthropist 1919
? Johnny Carson comedian, talk show host 2005
? Jimmy Carter liberal President during 1970's, human rights activist
? George Washington Carver agriculture scientist 1943
? Ray Charles soul / gospel musician 2004
? Ceasar Chavez union leader, labor activist 1993
? Hillary Clinton current senator, former first lady, wife of Bill Clinton
? Bill Cosby comedian, actor
? Tom Cruise actor
? Ellen DeGeneres actress
? Frederick Douglass anti-slavery activist 1895
? Amelia Earhart pilot 1937
? Clint Eastwood actor, director
? John Edwards senator, Vice-President nominee in 2004
? Dwight D. Eisenhower Allied commander during WW2, president during 1950's 1969
? Brett Favre football player
? Mel Gibson actor, director
? Rudolph Guliani Mayor of New York City
? John Glenn astronaut, senator
? Alexander Hamilton founding father, first Treasury Secretary 1804
? Tom Hanks actor
? Hugh Hefner founder of Playboy magazine
? Katherine Hepburn actress 2003
? Howard Hughes pilot, eccentric millionaire 1976
? Michael Jackson pop singer
? Steve Jobs founder of Apple Computers
? Lyndon Johnson president during 1960's 1973
? Michael Jordan basketball player
? Helen Keller author 1968
? Robert F. Kennedy assassinated senator and brother of John Kennedy 1968
? Jacqueline Kennedy first lady, wife of John Kennedy 1994
? Rush Limbaugh conservative radio talk-show host
? Charles Lindbergh pilot 1974
? George Lucas director, creator of Star Wars
? Madonna singer, actress
? Malcom X assassinated radical black activist 1965
? Dr. Phil McGraw self-help author
? Marilyn Monroe actress 1962
? Michael Moore director, author, left-wing activist
? Audie Murphy WW2 soldier, actor 1971
? Richard Nixon conservative President during 1970's 1994
? Barack Obama current senator
? Jesse Owens Olympic sprinter
? George Patton WW2 allied commander 1945
? Colin Powell general, Secretary of State
? Christopher Reeve actor, handicapped rights activist 2004
? Condeleezza Rice current Secretary of State
? Jackie Robinson first black professional baseball player 1972
? Theodore Roosevelt progressive president during late 19th century 1919
? Babe Ruth baseball player 1948
? Carl Sagan astronomer 1996
? Jonas Salk inventor of Polio cure 1995
? Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilder, actor, current Governor of California  
? Frank Sinatra jazz singer 1998
? Joseph Smith Jr. founder of Mormonism 1844
? Stephen Spielberg director
? Jimmy Stewart actor 1997
? Martha Stewart cooking / homemaking TV show host, businesswoman
? Nikola Tesla electricity pioneer 1943
? Pat Tillman pro football player, slain soldier in War on Terror 2004
? Harry S. Truman President during 40's and 50's 1972
? Donald Trump businessman, reality TV show host
? Harriet Tubman anti-slavery activist 1913
? Mark Twain author 1910
? Sam Walton founder of Wal-Mart  
? John Wayne actor 1979
? Tiger Woods golf champion
? Chuck Yeagar pilot, first man to break the sound barrier


So overall, whom do Americans love the most?

   
highest-ranked:
politicians (24)
24%
Ronald Reagan
actors (14)
14%
Bob Hope
scientists / inventors (8)
8%
Albert Einstein
businessmen (8)
8%
Walt Disney
atheletes (8)
8%
Lance Armstrong
activists (7)
7%
Martin Luther King
aviators (6)
6%
Niel Armstrong
musicians (5)
5%
Elvis Presley
religious leaders (3)
3%
Billy Graham
TV personalities (2)
2%
Oprah Winfrey

 

Because I like politics, let's also see who the most popular Presidents are:

overall rank original rank
1
 Ronald Reagan 1
2
 Abraham Lincoln 2
3
 George Washington 4
4
 George W. Bush 6
5
 Bill Clinton 7
6
 Franklin Roosevelt 10
7
 Thomas Jefferson 12
8
 John F. Kennedy 16