Smithsonian’s 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time [2015]

Historical Accolades

* Rankings are based on the 10 categories formulated by Smithsonian Magazine * Categories: Trailblazers (1) * Rebels and Resisters (2) * Presidents (3) * First Women (4) * Outlaws (5) * Artists (6) * Religious Figures (7) * Pop Icons (8) * Empire Builders (9) * Athletes (10)

This Category is Ranked. Sort by Ranking Based on Votes by clicking on Vote Ranking. Sort by the Collection's Ranking by clicking on List Ranking.

Vote RankingList Ranking  

1

1

Henry Hudson

Explorer

100% (1 of 1 votes)

16

1

John Wesley Powell

Explorer

75.00% (3 of 4 votes)

23

1

Neil Armstrong

Astronaut

58.67% (88 of 150 votes)

30

1

Christopher Columbus

Explorer

52.34% (56 of 107 votes)

32

1

Amerigo Vespucci

Explorer

50.0% (1 of 2 votes)

33

1

John Muir

Advocate

50.0% (1 of 2 votes)

49

1

Sacagawea

Native American Icon

34.09% (15 of 44 votes)

74

1

William Clark

Explorer

5.88% (1 of 17 votes)

88

1

Giovanni da Verrazzano

Explorer

0% (0 of 0 votes)

89

1

Kit Carson

Adventurer

0% (0 of 0 votes)

90

1

Meriwether Lewis

Explorer

0% (0 of 0 votes)

91

1

John Smith

Adventurer

0% (0 of 0 votes)

42

2

Robert E. Lee

Military Personnel

42.06% (53 of 126 votes)

64

2

Susan B. Anthony

Advocate

30.77% (28 of 91 votes)

65

2

Malcolm X

Advocate

29.95% (62 of 207 votes)

67

2

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Advocate

29.61% (106 of 358 votes)

73

2

Frederick Douglass

Advocate

12.66% (207 of 1635 votes)

92

2

Thomas Paine

Philosopher

0% (0 of 1 votes)

93

2

John Brown (Advocate)

Advocate

0% (0 of 0 votes)

94

2

W.E.B. Du Bois

Advocate

0% (0 of 1 votes)

95

2

Tecumseh

Native American Icon

0% (0 of 0 votes)

96

2

Sitting Bull

Native American Icon

0% (0 of 3 votes)

97

2

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Advocate

0% (0 of 1 votes)

24

3

Theodore Roosevelt

U.S. President

58.31% (207 of 355 votes)

28

3

Ulysses S. Grant

U.S. President

53.04% (61 of 115 votes)

36

3

George W. Bush

U.S. President

49.85% (164 of 329 votes)

37

3

Ronald Reagan

U.S. President

49.31% (250 of 507 votes)

38

3

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

U.S. President

48.53% (346 of 713 votes)

41

3

Thomas Jefferson

U.S. President

42.25% (60 of 142 votes)

44

3

Abraham Lincoln

U.S. President

40.57% (71 of 175 votes)

45

3

George Washington

U.S. President

39.35% (61 of 155 votes)

46

3

James Madison

U.S. President

38.46% (5 of 13 votes)

48

3

Woodrow Wilson

U.S. President

36.59% (75 of 205 votes)

57

3

Andrew Jackson

U.S. President

32.00% (8 of 25 votes)

2

4

Edith Wharton

Author

100% (1 of 1 votes)

11

4

Pocahontas

Native American Icon

95.45% (21 of 22 votes)

19

4

Oprah Winfrey

TV Personality

61.72% (208 of 337 votes)

31

4

Hillary Rodham Clinton

First Lady

52.23% (2351 of 4501 votes)

43

4

Bette Davis

Actress

41.94% (281 of 670 votes)

52

4

Sojourner Truth

Advocate

32.58% (29 of 89 votes)

53

4

Martha Washington

First Lady

32.32% (32 of 99 votes)

60

4

Helen Keller

Advocate

31.71% (26 of 82 votes)

61

4

Jane Addams

Advocate

31.65% (25 of 79 votes)

70

4

Sarah Palin

Politician

20.49% (2077 of 10136 votes)

3

5

Benedict Arnold

Military Personnel

100% (15 of 15 votes)

4

5

Billy the Kid

Outlaw

100% (1 of 1 votes)

5

5

Lucky Luciano

Outlaw

100% (3 of 3 votes)

20

5

Lee Harvey Oswald

Assassin

59.88% (776 of 1296 votes)

22

5

John Wilkes Booth

Assassin

58.84% (223 of 379 votes)

26

5

Al Capone

Outlaw

55.68% (49 of 88 votes)

34

5

John Dillinger

Outlaw

50.0% (1 of 2 votes)

51

5

Charles Manson

Cultist

33.69% (159 of 472 votes)

98

5

Jesse James (Outlaw)

Outlaw

0% (0 of 0 votes)

99

5

Wild Bill Hickok

Cowboy

0% (0 of 0 votes)

100

5

Boss Tweed

U.S. Congressman

0% (0 of 0 votes)

6

6

James McNeill Whistler

Artist

100% (1 of 1 votes)

7

6

Thomas Nast

Artist

100% (1 of 1 votes)

15

6

Ansel Adams

Photographer

80.0% (4 of 5 votes)

35

6

Alfred Stieglitz

Photographer

50.0% (1 of 2 votes)

101

6

Frank Lloyd Wright

Architect

0% (0 of 0 votes)

102

6

Andy Warhol

Artist

0% (0 of 1 votes)

103

6

Frederick Law Olmstead

Architect

0% (0 of 1 votes)

107

6

Jackson Pollock

Artist

0% (0 of 0 votes)

108

6

John James Audubon

Artist

0% (0 of 0 votes)

109

6

Georgia O'Keeffe

Artist

0% (0 of 0 votes)

110

6

Thomas Eakins

Artist

0% (0 of 0 votes)

8

7

William Penn

Explorer

100% (1 of 1 votes)

9

7

Brigham Young

Religious Figure

100% (6 of 6 votes)

10

7

L. Ron Hubbard

Author

100% (12 of 12 votes)

13

7

Mary Baker Eddy

Religious Figure

82.35% (28 of 34 votes)

17

7

Ellen G. White

Religious Figure

66.67% (2 of 3 votes)

18

7

Cotton Mather

Religious Figure

66.67% (2 of 3 votes)

47

7

Joseph Smith

Religious Figure

37.97% (30 of 79 votes)

50

7

Billy Graham

Religious Figure

34.00% (17 of 50 votes)

104

7

Roger Williams (Theologian)

Religious Figure

0% (0 of 0 votes)

105

7

Anne Hutchinson

Advocate

0% (0 of 1 votes)

106

7

Jonathan Edwards

Religious Figure

0% (0 of 0 votes)

25

8

Michael Jackson (Vocalist)

Vocalist

57.33% (524 of 914 votes)

40

8

Marilyn Monroe

Actress

42.72% (311 of 728 votes)

54

8

Bob Dylan

Vocalist

32.14% (18 of 56 votes)

59

8

Frank Sinatra

Vocalist

31.71% (26 of 82 votes)

62

8

Madonna (Ciccone)

Vocalist

31.58% (54 of 171 votes)

63

8

Louis Armstrong

Vocalist

31.43% (11 of 35 votes)

66

8

Jimi Hendrix

Musician

29.81% (48 of 161 votes)

68

8

Elvis Presley

Vocalist

28.47% (39 of 137 votes)

69

8

Charlie Chaplin

Actor

26.32% (10 of 38 votes)

81

8

Mary Pickford

Actress

0% (0 of 2 votes)

86

8

Mark Twain

Author

0% (0 of 32 votes)

14

9

Steve Jobs

Computer Tech

80.0% (4 of 5 votes)

71

9

Thomas Alva Edison

Inventor

20.0% (2 of 10 votes)

75

9

Walt Disney

Animator

5.88% (1 of 17 votes)

77

9

William Randolph Hearst

Commentator

5.88% (1 of 17 votes)

78

9

Howard Hughes

Inventor

0% (0 of 5 votes)

79

9

Bill Gates

Computer Tech

0% (0 of 7 votes)

80

9

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Entrepreneur

0% (0 of 0 votes)

82

9

Andrew Carnegie

Entrepreneur

0% (0 of 0 votes)

83

9

Henry Ford

Automaker

0% (0 of 1 votes)

84

9

John D. Rockefeller

Entrepreneur

0% (0 of 0 votes)

85

9

J.P. Morgan

Financier

0% (0 of 1 votes)

12

10

Secretariat

Animal

85.71% (6 of 7 votes)

21

10

Michael Jordan

Basketball Player

59.69% (114 of 191 votes)

27

10

Billie Jean King

Tennis Player

53.26% (49 of 92 votes)

29

10

Jackie Robinson

Baseball Player

52.61% (121 of 230 votes)

39

10

Babe Ruth

Baseball Player

47.83% (55 of 115 votes)

55

10

Hulk Hogan

Wrestler

32.05% (25 of 78 votes)

56

10

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Actor

32.00% (80 of 250 votes)

58

10

Muhammad Ali

Boxer

31.93% (53 of 166 votes)

72

10

Jim Thorpe

Athlete

16.67% (1 of 6 votes)

76

10

Ty Cobb

Baseball Player

5.88% (1 of 17 votes)

87

10

Dr. James Naismith

Inventor

0% (0 of 2 votes)