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The Greatest American

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The Greatest American
File:Dsc main greatest.jpeg
Run time 1 hour
Host Matt Lauer
Executive Producer Jason Raff
Country United States
Network Discovery Channel
First aired June 5, 2005

The Greatest American was a public vote, modeled after the 100 Greatest Britons competition, in which citizens of the United States were asked to nominate, and then later vote for, "the Greatest American" of all time.

The competition was conducted by AOL and the Discovery Channel.

Nominations were accepted through January 31, 2005. The 7-hour long series was broken into 4 episodes: The first episode counted down the top 100 and introduced the top 25 nominees in alphabetical order. The second episode featured biographies of the top 25 nominees as well as commentaries from influential people such as celebrities and politicians. The third episode called The Great Debate introduced the top 5 nominees and pitted the studio audience supporters of each of the nominees and a person selected to represent each of the top 5 candidates against a panel of 3 celebrities. In the finale the top 5 Greatest Americans were announced as well as what percentage of the votes each had received. Votes were taken through a toll free (if calling from a land line) phone number, through text messages from cell phones, and through online voting. Voters were allowed to vote three times per voting method, so anyone had a chance of voting at least nine times. The three states with the most votes being received were California, Texas, and Florida (ranked 1st, 2nd, and 4th in population).

The four-part interactive television event that aired on the Discovery Channel was hosted by Matt Lauer. It was produced by NBC News Productions and Jason Raff.

The Top 25

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2. Abraham Lincoln was President during the American Civil War and wrote the Emancipation Proclamation.

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3. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist who promoted non-violent activism.

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4. George Washington, the "Father of the United States" and one of the world's most famous national founders.

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5. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States.

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6. George W. Bush was president at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks

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7. Bill Clinton was president during a period of economic prosperity

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8. Elvis Presley was dubbed the king of rock n' roll

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9. Oprah Winfrey was dubbed the Queen of all media and became the world's only black billionaire

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  1. Ronald Reagan, former President - 24% - named "Greatest American"
  2. Abraham Lincoln, former President - 23.5%
  3. Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader - 19.7% - named "Greatest African American"
  4. George Washington, first President - 17.7%
  5. Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father and scientist - 14.9%
  6. George W. Bush, then President - named "Greatest Living American"
  7. Bill Clinton, former President
  8. Elvis Presley, singer - named "America's Greatest Entertainer"
  9. Oprah Winfrey, talk show host - named "Greatest Woman in American history"
  10. Franklin D. Roosevelt, former President
  11. Billy Graham, evangelist
  12. Thomas Jefferson, former President
  13. Walt Disney, founder of Disney
  14. Albert Einstein, physicist - named "Greatest American Scientist" and "Greatest Jewish American"
  15. Thomas Alva Edison, inventor
  16. John F. Kennedy, former President
  17. Bob Hope, comedian
  18. Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and world's richest man
  19. Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady - named "America's Greatest First Lady"
  20. Lance Armstrong - named "America's Greatest Athlete"
  21. Muhammad Ali, boxer
  22. Rosa Parks, civil rights leader
  23. Wilbur and Orville Wright, inventors of airplane
  24. Henry Ford, developer of mass production
  25. Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon

Alphabetical list

On April 18,2005, AOL and The Discovery Channel announced the top 100 nominees.

The remaining 75 nominees:

Facts about The Greatest American

  • Men: 85 (the Wright brothers are given a single entry)
  • Women: 15
  • Living nominees: 42
  • Nominees by area: (halves are awarded if a nominee exceeded in two areas e.g. Eisenhower is under Military and U.S. Presidents)
    • Television, Cinema and Radio: 23
    • U.S. Presidents: 14.5
    • First Ladies: 5
    • Other Political Figures: 15.5
    • Science: 9.5
    • Sports: 8.5
    • Music: 5
    • Business and Industry: 5
    • Aviators and Astronauts: 5
    • Military: 4.0
    • Literature: 3
    • Religion: 2
    • Publishers: 1
  • Six of the 100 might not universally be considered American:
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