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Thursday, 29th October 2009 (3062 views)

A unique gold medal struck by the US Mint has been presented by president Barack Obama to Edward William Brooke III.

The former senator received the Congressional Gold Medal yesterday (October 28th) for his long service to the country in a ceremony held at the US Capitol Rotunda.

In 1967, he was the first African-American to be elected to the US Senate by popular vote and served for two terms in total.

The Congressional Gold Medal was designed by Don Everhart, sculptor-engraver for the US Mint, and bears an image of Mr Brooke on one side and a picture of the US Capitol Building and the Massachusetts State House on the reverse.

George Washington was the first recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal in 1776.

Some of the other people to have been awarded the honour also include the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill, John Wayne, Elie Wiesel, Mother Teresa and the astronauts involved in the first lunar landing in 1969 - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and John Herschel Glenn.

 

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