In 1932, President Herbert Hoover presented Amelia Earhart with the National Geographic Society Special Gold Medal (MACO.1932-030-001) for becoming the first woman to make a solo transatlantic flight.

On June 13, 1933, tenor Nino Martini (right) wins the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Guest Medallion (MACO.1931-017) for “Distinguished Contribution to the Radio Art,” presented by CBS Vice-President Henry A. Bellows. The award ceremony was held on the Italian liner, SS Conte di Savoia. Martini was the first radio artist to be signed for leading roles by the Metropolitan Opera.

On May 17, 1935, Katharine Cornell (right) was awarded the Delia Austrian Medal for Distinguished Performance (MACO.1935-040) for her work in Romeo and Juliet. Daniel Frohman (left) presented her the award at the Central Park Casino on the 25th Anniversary of the Drama League of New York. Cornell was the first recipient of this award, which is still given today as the Drama League Award.

At the White House, President John F. Kennedy entrusts the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal to mountaineer and filmmaker Normand G. Dyhrenfurth on July 8, 1963.

In October 1940, sculptress Malvina Hoffman (left) won the American Woman’s Association Medallion (MACO.1931-034). Author Pearl S. Buck (right) presented Hoffman with the award at the 11th Annual Friendship Dinner held at the American Woman’s Club. The American Woman’s Association presented the award annually to a “woman in the metropolitan area who has made a distinct achievement in the arts, sciences, business, or professions.”

On May 15, 1925, Pennsylvania Governor, Gifford Pinchot won the Theodore Roosevelt Association Medal of Honor (MACO.1923-002), presented by President Coolidge, for his distinguished service towards the conservation of natural resources. Pictured with Pinchot is his son, Gifford Pinchot, Jr.

On June 7, 1962, singer and actor Frank Sinatra received a Medal of Honor from Paul Minot, the President of the Council of The Municipal Court, in Paris. .

On June 16, 1933, Karl Maier wins the American Legion School Award and Pin (MACO.1922-044 and MACO.1922-044-001) for his essay, “Service, Courage, Leadership, Scholarship, and Honor.” Maier (born in Germany, but cared for by his uncle in San Francisco since the death of his parents) mentioned that he aspired for an appointment at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

On May 3, 1940, Dr. Petrus (Peter) J.W. Debye (right), Director of the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, won the Gregor P. Mendel Medal (MACO.1929-048-001). The award was presented by Rev. Edward V. Stanford, O.S.A. (left), President of Villanova College, and is given “to outstanding scientists who are members in good standing in the Catholic Church, who have done much by their painstaking work to advance the cause of science and by the Catholicity of their lives and their standing before the world as scientists have given practical demonstration of the fact that between true science and true religion there is no real conflict.”

On November 15, 1946, Harold E. Stassen (right), former Governor of Minnesota, was the 1946 Parent’s Magazine Medal for “outstanding service to children,” at luncheon in the Roosevelt Hotel celebrating the magazine’s 20th anniversary. Presenting the award were publisher George J. Hecht and Linda Cassin, 4, the “Little Magazine Cover Girl.”

On December 7, 1939, Lester M. Goldsmith won the George Wallace Melville Medal (MACO.1927-014) for his work with the Atlantic Refining Company. The award was presented by Harte Cooke, Chairman of the Board of Honors and Awards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, at their 60th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

Captain Stafford Potter (left) of the U.S. Marine Corps pins the treasury department silver lifesaving medal on Private 1st Class Frank Aiello, for saving a woman from drowning while he was on duty guarding a navy property on Pier 64 in October.