List of Honorees
| Year | Honoree | Discipline | Claim to Fame |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Lord Laurence Olivier United Kingdom |
Dramatic Arts | British actor and founding director of the British National Theatre. |
| Joseph Papp United States |
Dramatic Arts | Influential American theatrical director and producer. | |
| Jay W. Forrester United States |
Science & Invention | Prominent scientist who made outstanding contributions to digital computer technology. | |
| Charles J. Plank India |
Science & Invention | Chemist and inventor credited with inventing the first commercially applicable apparatus for the breaking of hydrocarbons. | |
| Edward J. Rosinski United States |
Science & Invention | Chemical engineer and inventor credited with making significant breakthroughs in the technology of hydrocarbon conversions. | |
| Kingsley Davis United States |
Sociology | American sociologist and demographer who coined the terms population explosion and zero population growth. | |
| Robert Merton United States |
Sociology | Influential sociologist recognized for coining terms such as, self-fulfilling prophecy and role models. | |
| 1980 | Peter Brook United Kingdom |
Dramatic Arts | |
| Agnes de Mille United States |
Dramatic Arts | Famed American dancer and choreographer. | |
| Gabriel García Márquez Colombia |
Literature | Nobel Prize-winning author and a pioneer of the Latin American Boom. | |
| Robert Penn Warren United States |
Literature | American poet, novelist, and literary critic; cofounder of New Criticism. | |
| Clair McCollough United States |
Mass Communications | Radio and television executive, as well as longtime officer of the National Association of Broadcasters | |
| Lowell Thomas United States |
Mass Communications | American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known for the creation of Lawrence of Arabia. | |
| James Hillier Canada |
Science & Invention | Physicist and inventor who assisted in the development of an early, commercially successful electron microscope for RCA. | |
| Lewis H. Sarett United States |
Science & Invention | ||
| James Coleman United States |
Sociology | ||
| Otis Duncan United States |
Sociology | One of the most influential sociologists in history, instrumental in transforming mainstream American sociology. | |
| 1981 | Harold Pinter United Kingdom |
Dramatic Arts | |
| Tennessee Williams United States |
Dramatic Arts | Major American playwright of the twentieth century. | |
| Nadine Gordimer South Africa |
Literature | ||
| Milan Kundera Czech Republic |
Literature | ||
| Walter Cronkite United States |
Mass Communications | ||
| Julian Goodman United States |
Mass Communications | ||
| Howard S. Becker United States |
Sociology | ||
| Peter Blau Austria |
Sociology | ||
| 1982 | Harold Prince United States |
Dramatic Arts | Award-winning producer and director; co-artistic director of the New Phoenix Repertory Company. |
| Wright Morris United States |
Literature | American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and photographer. | |
| Vincent Wasileski United States |
Mass Communications | President of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). | |
| Bell Laboratories United States |
Science & Invention | Credited with the discovery of the Fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE). | |
| Charles Tilly United States |
Sociology | ||
| 1983 | Hume Cronyn Canada (d. United States) |
Dramatic Arts | |
| Jessica Tandy United Kingdom |
Dramatic Arts | ||
| Jeane J. Kirkpatrick United States |
Government | ||
| Christopher Isherwood United Kingdom |
Literature | ||
| César Milstein Argentina |
Science & Invention | ||
| Kenneth Lane Thompson United States |
Science & Invention | ||
| William Sewell United States |
Sociology | ||
| 1984 | Athol Fugard South Africa |
Dramatic Arts | |
| Stephen Sondheim United States |
Dramatic Arts | Award-winning stage musical and film composer & lyricist. | |
| Eudora Welty United States |
Literature | ||
| Robert Phelan Langlands Canada |
Science & Invention | ||
| Joseph Rubinfeld United States |
Invention | Instrumental in licensing the original anticancer line of products for Bristol-Meyers, as well as development of amoxicillin. | |
| Matilda White Riley United States |
Sociology | Renowned sociologist and Daniel B. Fayerweather Professor of Political Economy and Sociology Emerita. | |
| 1985 | Zelda Fichandler United States |
Dramatic Arts | Famed cofounder and producing director of the Arena Stage in Washington. |
| Max Frisch Switzerland |
Literature | ||
| Candy Lightner United States |
Public Service | The organizer and founding president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). | |
| Alain Aspect France |
Science & Invention | ||
| Delft Hydraulics Laboratory Netherlands |
Science & Invention | ||
| Peter H. Rossi United States |
Sociology | Prominent sociologist, best known for documenting homelessness in the 1980s. | |
| 1986 | Samuel Beckett Ireland |
Dramatic Arts | |
| John Ashbery United States |
Literature | Award-winning American poet. | |
| Norman Cousins United States |
Mass Communications | ||
| Leon H. Sullivan United States |
Public Service | ||
| Jet Propulsion Laboratory United States |
Science & Invention | NASA research center which specializes in building and operating unmanned spacecraft. | |
| Kenneth H. Olsen United States |
Science & Invention | American engineer who co-founded Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1957 with a colleague. | |
| John A. Clausen United States |
Sociology | ||
| 1987-88 | Lloyd Richards United States (b. Canada) |
Dramatic Arts | |
| Andrei Voznesensky Russia |
Literature | ||
| Gordon Parks United States |
Mass Communications | Famed American photographer, pianist, film director, and novelist. | |
| N.T. Pete Shields United States |
Public Service | Cofounder of Handgun Control, a Washington, D.C.-based citizens' gun control lobbying organization | |
| John B. MacChesney United States |
Science & Invention | Best known for key inventions in the commercial manufacture of optical fiber. | |
| Robin M. Williams, Jr. United States |
Sociology | ||
| 1989 | Jennifer Tipton United States |
Dramatic Arts | Award-winning American lighting designer. |
| George P. Shultz United States |
Government | Former Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and head of the Office of Management and Budget. | |
| Toni Morrison United States |
Literature | Nobel Prize-winning author, editor, and professor. | |
| David Brinkley United States |
Mass Communications | Emmy nominated television newscaster and host of This Week with David Brinkley from 1982-1997. | |
| Leroy E. Hood United States |
Science & Invention | American biologist who helped to decode the human genome. | |
| Alice S. Rossi United States |
Sociology | Cofounder of the National Organization of Women; 74th president of the American Sociological Association. | |
| 1990 | Jerome Robbins United States |
Dramatic Arts | Academy Award-winning film director and choreographer. |
| Aharon Appelfeld Israel (b. Romania) |
Literature | One of Israel's foremost living Hebrew-language authors. | |
| David Broder United States |
Mass Communications | Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, talk show pundit, and university professor. | |
| Jaime Escalante Bolivia |
Public Service | ||
| J.C.R. Licklider United States |
Science & Invention | Renowned for his work on the human-computer dialogue, time sharing, virtual memory, and resource sharing. | |
| Mirra Komarovsky Russia |
Sociology | ||
| 1991 | James Earl Jones United States |
Dramatic Arts | |
| Paul A. Volcker United States |
Government | Former chairman of the Federal Reserve. | |
| Adrienne Rich United States |
Literature | ||
| Sebastião Salgado Brazil |
Mass Communications | Respected photojournalist and Special Representative for UNICEF. | |
| Roger N. Beachy United States |
Science & Invention | American biologist and founder of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. | |
| Nathan Keyfitz Canada |
Sociology | Responsible for important work regarding formal demography and population projections. | |
| 1992 | Arthur Miller United States |
Dramatic Arts | |
| Warren E. Burger United States |
Government | ||
| James A. Michener United States |
Literature | ||
| Ted Turner United States |
Mass Communications | American media mogul and philanthropist. | |
| Susan Solomon United States |
Science & Invention | Demonstrated the first conclusive link between manmade CFCs and the ozone holes above Antarctica. | |
| 1993 | Julie Harris United States |
Dramatic Arts | Three-time Emmy Award-winning and five-time Tony Award-winning actress of stage, screen, and television. |
| John Updike United States |
Literature | Prominent American novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic. | |
| Jim Lehrer United States |
Mass Communications | American journalist and anchor for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. | |
| Jonas Salk United States |
Public Service | World-renowned for his development of the polio vaccine. | |
| Charles H. Townes United States |
Science & Invention | Accomplishments range from helping ease the strain of everyday life to studying the origin of the universe. | |
| 1994 | August Wilson United States |
Dramatic Arts | Prominent African-American playwright. |
| Henry A. Kissinger United States |
Government | Former Secretary of State and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; founder of Kissinger Associates. | |
| Larry King United States |
Mass Communications | Award-winning television and radio broadcaster; host of CNN's Larry King Live. | |
| Jacques-Yves Cousteau France |
Public Service | Explorer, ecologist, scientist, photographer, and researcher who invented SCUBA and pioneered unaided deep sea diving. | |
| Leland H. Hartwell United States |
Science & Invention | Widely recognized pioneer in the field of yeastgenetics and cancer research. | |
| 1995 | Jane Alexander United States |
Dramatic Arts | Award-winning actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. |
| William Styron United States |
Literature | Novelist who explored difficult historical and moral questions. | |
| Charles Kuralt United States |
Mass Communications | Award-winning American journalist, best known for his long career with CBS. | |
| James & Sarah Brady United States |
Public Service | Influential members of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. | |
| Karen Uhlenbeck United States |
Science & Invention | Helped in the understanding of the fundamental properties of matter in the universe. | |
| 1996 | Jason Robards United States |
Dramatic Arts | Award-winning film and television actor. |
| Derek Walcott Saint Lucia |
Literature | Nobel Prize-winning poet, playwright, writer, visual artist, and theatre & art critic. | |
| Ken Burns United States |
Mass Communications | Award-winning documentary filmmaker. | |
| Eunice Kennedy Shriver United States |
Public Service | Founder of the Special Olympics. | |
| Andrew Wiles United Kingdom |
Science & Invention | Solved Fermat's Last Theorem, an equation that had perplexed mathematicians for centuries. | |
| 1997 | Seamus Heaney Ireland |
Literature | Nobel Prize-winning poet, writer, and lecturer. |
| Michael E. DeBakey United States |
Science & Invention | Internationally recognized pioneer in the field of cardiovascular research and surgery. | |
| Jane Goodall United Kingdom |
Public Service | World-renowned for her 45-year study of chimpanzee social and family life. | |
| Edward Albee United States |
Dramatic Arts | Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary American playwright. | |
| James H. Clark United States |
Mass Communications | Prolific entrepreneur and former computer scientist; cofounder of Netscape Communications Corporation. | |
| 1998 | Christopher Plummer Canada |
Dramatic Arts | Actor of stage, screen, and television during his five-decade career. |
| Saul Bellow United States (b. Canada) |
Literature | Nobel Prize-winning novelist. | |
| Bill Moyers United States |
Mass Communications | Veteran journalist who worked for both CBS and PBS during his nearly four-decade career. | |
| Betty Ford United States |
Public Service | Founder of the Betty Ford Center, a drug and alcohol dependency treatment center located in Rancho Mirage, CA. | |
| Stephanie Kwolek United States |
Science & Invention | Was responsible for the creation and discovery of Kevlar during her time at the DuPont Company. | |
| 1999 | Dr. Louis Miller United States |
Science & Invention | Biologist who has made vast contributions to malaria research and other widespread tropical diseases. |
| John Irving United States |
Literature | Bestselling American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. | |
| Robert MacNeil Canada |
Mass Communications | Former television news anchor and journalist of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report. | |
| Lawrence Eagleburger United States |
Government | Former Secretary of State and diplomat. | |
| Julie Taymor United States |
Dramatic Arts | American director of Broadway theatre and film. | |
| 2000 | Desmond Tutu South Africa |
Public Service | Anglican archbishop, international human rights leader, and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. |
| E. L. Doctorow United States |
Literature | Foremost American novelist acclaimed for his lyrical, breakthrough fiction. | |
| Christiane Amanpour United Kingdom |
Mass Communications | CNN chief foreign correspondent and influential reporter of global crises. | |
| Robert Ballard United States |
Science & Invention | Marine scientist, pioneer of deep ocean exploration, and undersea archaeologist. | |
| Mikhail Baryshnikov Russia |
Dramatic Arts | Legendary dancer and icon of classical ballet and modern dance. | |
| 2001 | Morgan Freeman United States |
Dramatic Arts | Veteran actor acclaimed for his classic, commanding roles on stage, screen, and television. |
| J. Craig Venter United States |
Science & Invention | Biochemist, entrepreneur, and gene pioneer who succeeded in unlocking the human genetic code. | |
| James Nachtwey United States |
Mass Communications | Renowned photojournalist who has chronicled the human anguish of war, genocide, and famine worldwide. | |
| Philip Roth United States |
Literature | Pulitzer Prize winner regarded as a literary giant among America's postwar generation of writers. | |
| Dr. William Magee & Kathleen Magee United States |
Public Service | Founders of Operation Smile, which aids children with facial deformities around the world. | |
| 2002 | Julie Andrews United Kingdom |
Dramatic Arts | World-renowned performer whose stardom spans movies, theater, television, and concert hall. |
| Carlos Fuentes Mexico |
Literature | Preeminent writer of fiction and political commentary, and a leading cultural force in modern Latin America. | |
| Lonnie Thompson & Ellen Mosley-Thompson United States |
Science & Invention | Researchers who have tracked Earth's ancient climate history and global warming. | |
| George Mitchell United States |
Government | Former U.S. Senate majority leader and peace mediator for Northern Ireland and the Middle East. | |
| Fred Rogers United States |
Mass Communications | Children's television icon; creator and host of the critically acclaimed Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. | |
| 2003 | Sam Donaldson United States |
Mass Communications | Veteran television journalist and former chief White House correspondent for ABC News. |
| Bob Dole United States |
Government | Former U.S. Senate majority leader and influential voice of the Republican Party. | |
| Susan Stroman United States |
Dramatic Arts | Broadway's most celebrated director-choreographer. | |
| Joyce Carol Oates United States |
Literature | One of America's most significant and inventive contemporary writers. | |
| Dean Kamen United States |
Science & Invention | Renowned inventor of breakthrough medical and transportation devices. | |
| 2004 | Christopher Reeve United States |
Public Service | Renowned actor and America's leading advocate for people with paralysis and other disabilities. |
| Meryl Streep United States |
Dramatic Arts | Legendary actress and Hollywood icon, considered the greatest film star of her generation. | |
| Stanley Prusiner, M.D. United States |
Science & Invention | Pioneering researcher and Nobel Prize-winner who discovered the deadly protein linked to mad-cow disease. | |
| Isabel Allende Chile |
Literature | The most widely read and renowned Latin American woman writer in the world. | |
| Andrea Mitchell United States |
Mass Communications | Leading broadcast journalist and chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News. | |
| 2005 | Gen. Colin L. Powell United States |
Government | Former Secretary of State and respected leader, diplomat, and soldier. |
| David Mamet United States |
Dramatic Arts | Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Hollywood screenwriter, and preeminent dramatist. | |
| Tim Berners-Lee United Kingdom |
Mass Communications | Visionary inventor of the World Wide Web and director of the World Wide Web consortium. | |
| Amy Tan United States |
Literature | Best-selling novelist whose stories explore family ties, heritage, and the Asian-American experience. | |
| Kip Thorne United States |
Science & Invention | Foremost American researcher of black holes and gravitational waves. | |
| 2006 | John Glenn United States |
Government | Former U.S. Senator, astronaut, and heroic pioneer of American space exploration. |
| HM Queen Noor of Jordan Jordan |
Public Service | A leading voice for global peace-building, human rights, and conflict recovery issues. | |
| Mike Nichols United States |
Dramatic Arts | Preeminent and award-winning director of stage and screen. | |
| Rita Dove United States |
Literature | Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and two-term Poet Laureate of the United States. | |
| Anderson Cooper United States |
Mass Communications | Leading broadcast journalist and CNN news anchor of Anderson Cooper 360°. | |
| 2007 | Sidney Poitier United States |
Dramatic Arts | Academy Award-winning actor and cinematic trailblazer. |
| Aleksander Kwaśniewski Poland |
Government | Former two-term president of the Republic of Poland; cofounder of the Social Democratic Party. | |
| Cokie Roberts United States |
Mass Communications | Veteran broadcast journalist; best-selling author; political analyst for ABC News; and NPR senior news analyst. | |
| Ian McEwan United Kingdom |
Literature | Acclaimed and award-winning British novelist, short-story, and screen writer. | |
| 2008 | Glenn Close United States |
Dramatic Arts | Celebrated actress of stage, screen, and television. |
| John Howard Australia |
Government | Four-term prime minister of Australia. | |
| Ann Curry United States (b. Guam) |
Mass Communications | News anchor of NBC's Today; coanchor of Dateline NBC. | |
| James E. Hansen United States |
Science | Preeminent climate scientist; director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. | |
| 2009 | Buzz Aldren United States |
Science | Astronaut and lunar explorer. |
| Doris Kearns Goodwin United States |
Mass Communications | Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. | |
| Don DeLillo United States |
Literature | Author, playwright and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. | |
| Kevin Spacey United States |
Dramatic Arts | Academy Award-winning actor and artistic director of London's Old Vic Theatre Company. | |
| 2010 | Annie Leibovitz United States |
Mass Communications | Legendary portrait photographer responsible for some of the most iconic images of the last four decades. |
| Laura Linney United States |
Dramatic Arts | Award-winning actress of stage, film, and theatre. Best known for her roles in Love Actually and HBO miniseries "John Adams." | |
| Greg Mortenson United States |
Public Service | Humanitarian, writer. Co-founder of the Central Asia Institute and founder of the charity Pennies for Peace. | |
| Salman Rushdie India |
Literature | Booker Prize-winning novelist and essayist. Played a major role in the development of Indian English literature. | |
| 2011 | Russell Banks United States |
Literature | Internationally-acclaimed novelist, poet, and short story writer. |
| Cherie Blair United Kingdom |
Public Service | Noted human rights lawyer and women's rights activist. | |
| Bill Richardson United States |
Government | Thirtieth Governor of New Mexico, former U.S. Energy Secretary, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Congressman. | |
| George Will United States |
Mass Communications | America's foremost political commentator and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist. |
Read more about this topic: Common Wealth Award Of Distinguished Service
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