President Obama will be giving out the Medal of Freedom to 16 people today.

It's the nation's highest civilian honor and it's traditionally awarded to those who make especially noteworthy contributions to U.S. national interests, security and culture, or to world peace.

According to a White House statement, the Obama administration chose all 16 recipients -- including four foreign recipients -- for being "change agents."

One of the most recognizable foreign names on the list is Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, an Anglican Archbishop dubbed "South Africa's moral conscience" who played a visible role in ending apartheid.

Stephen Hawking, the celebrated physicist and author of "A Brief History of Time," is being recognized for pushing the boundaries of modern science.

Actor Sydney Poitier's on the list for his role in desegregating the movies.

There are other firsts being recognized, starting with Sandra Day O'Connor, the nation's first woman Supreme Court justice.

The late Harvey Milk is being honored for being the first openly gay elected official from a major U.S. city -- San Francisco.

Tennis great Billie Jean King is on the list too.

There is also a last on the list, and that's Dr. Joe Medicine Crow, the last Plains Indian war chief.

The 16 medalists cut across partisan lines, honoring both Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy and the late Jack Kemp, a former GOP congressman cabinet secretary. Kennedy's being honored for his leadership on healthcare reform, and Kemp for his work as a self-styled "bleeding heart conservative" fighting poverty.

Perhaps the two people on the list who've arguably affected the most lives are Nancy Goodman Brinker and Muhammad Yunus. Goodman Brinker founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which has donated and invested more than one-point-three billion dollars in the fight against breast cancer worldwide. Nobel laureate Yunus developed the concept of micro-loans to help poor people in developing nations launch or expand a business.

The family of Senator Kennedy will be accepting his medal, reports the "Boston Globe." Daughter Kara Kennedy will do the honors, along with his sons, Ted Junior and Representative Patrick Kennedy. Senator Kennedy is reportedly remaining in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, where he's battling a malignant brain tumor and mourning the death of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who died Tuesday.