The Greatest American

***The Greatest American*** was an American four-part series hosted by Matt Lauer. It was conducted by AOL and the Discovery Channel and aired in 2005.

The show featured biographies and lists of influential persons in U.S. history and culminated in a contest in which millions in the audience nominated and voted for the person they felt was "the greatest American".

## Top 25 Nominations

1. Ronald Reagen (1911-2014), actor and 40th president
2. Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), 16th president
3. Martin Luther King Jr (1929-68), minister and civil rights minister
4. George Washington (1732-99), general and 1st president
5. Benjamin Franklin (1705-90), author, printer, scientist and politician
6. George W. Bush (1946- ), 43rd president
7. Bill Clinton (1946- ), 42nd president
8. Elvis Presley (1935-77), musician and actor
9. Oprah Winfrey (1954- ), talk show host and actress
10. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd president
11. Billy Graham (1918-2018), minister
12. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), writer and 3rd president
13. Walt Disney (1901-66), animator and film producer
14. Albert Einstein (1879-1955), physicist
15. Thomas Alva Edison (1874-1931), inventor
16. John F. Kennedy (1917-63), 35th president
17. Bob Hope (1903-2003), actor and comedian
18. Bill Gates (1955- ), businessman
19. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), First Lady, activist and diplomat
20. Lance Armstrong (1974- ), cyclist
21. Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), boxer
22. Rosa Parks (1913-2005), civil rights activist
23. The Wright Brothers, inventors and aviation pioneers
24. Henry Ford (1863-1947), industrialist and businessman
25. Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), astronaut

## Alphabetical list

The remaining 75 nominees:

* Susan B. Anthony (1820-1904), women's right activist
* Lucille Ball (1911-89), actress and comedian
* Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), inventor and scientist
* Barbara Rush (1946- ), First Lady
* George H.W. Bush (1924-2018), 41st president
* Laura Bush (1946- ), First Lady
* Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), industrialist and philanthropist
* Johnny Carson (1925-2005), comedian and talk show host
* Jimmy Carter (1924- ), 39th president
* George Washington Carver (1860s-1943), botanist and inventor
* Ray Charles (1903-2004), musician
* César Chávez (1927-93), labor leader and activist
* Hillary Clinton (1947- ), politician
* Bill Bosby (1937- ), comedian
* Tom Cruise (1962- ), actor
* Ellen DeGeneres (1958- ), comedian and talk show host
* Frederick Douglas (1818-1895), writer and abolitionist
* Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), aviator
* Clint Eastwood (1930- ), actor and film director
* John Edwards (1953- ), politician
* Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), general and 34th president
* Brett Favre (1969- ), football player
* Mel Gibson (1956- ), actor and film director
* Rudolph Giuliani (1944- ), politician
* John Glenn (1921-2016), astronaut and politician
* Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), statesman and 1st Secretary of the Treasury
* Tom Hanks (1956- ), actor
* Hugh Hefner (1926-2017), magazine publisher
* Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003), actress
* Howard Hughes (1907-1979), businessman, film producer, and aviator
* Michael Jackson (1958-2009), musician
* Helen Keller (1880-1963), author and activist
* Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994), First Lady
* Robert F. Kennedy (1925-68), politician
* Rush Limbaugh (1951-2021), radio talk show host
* George Lucas (1944- ), film director
* Madonna (1958- ), musician
* Malcolm X (1925-65), civil rights activist
* Phil McGraw (1950- ), psychologist and television personality
* Marilyn Monroe (1926-62), actress
* Michael Moore (1954- ), documentary filmmaker
* Audie Murphy (1925-71), soldier
* Richard M. Nixon (1913-94), 37th president
* Barack Obama (1961- ), politician (became 44th president after airing)
* Jesse Owens (1913-80), track and field athlete
* George S. Patton (1885-1945), general
* Colin Powell (1937-2021), politician and general
* Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), actor
* Condoleezza Rice (1954- ), politician and diplomat
* Jackie Robinson (1919-72), baseball player
* Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), writer, explorer, naturalist, and 26th president
* Babe Ruth (1895-1948), baseball player
* Carl Sagan (1934-96), astronomer and writer
* Jonas Salk (1914-95), medical researcher
* Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947- ), actor and politician
* Frank Sinatra (1915-98), musician and actor
* Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-44), religious leader
* Steven Spielberg (1946- ), film director
* James Stewart (1908-97), actor
* Martha Stewart (1941- ), businesswoman, writer, and television personality
* Nikola Tesla (1856-43), inventor
* Pat Tillman (1976-2004), football player and soldier
* Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), 33rd president
* Donald Trump (1946- ), businessman (became 45th president after airing)
* Harriet Tubman (1822-1913), abolitionist
* Mark Twain (1835-1910), writer and humorist
* Sam Walton (1918-92), businessman
* John Wayne (1907-79), actor
* Tiger Woods (1975- ), golfer
* Chuck Yeager (1923-2020), aviator