In 1999 she was given a Congressional Gold Medal of Honour, the highest honour possible for an American civilian.

ECONOMIST: Rosa Parks

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, and the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honour, three years later.

BBC: NEWS | Americas | US civil rights icon Parks dies

Mrs Parks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, and the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honour, three years later.

BBC: Condoleezza Rice paid tribute to the civil rights icon

Suu Kyi, a democratic freedom activist who spent 15 years under house arrest, traveled to Washington earlier this year to accept the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal.

CNN: Obama Asia trip includes landmark visit to Myanmar

In 2009, the WASP were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

WSJ: NY museum paying tribute to WASP killed in WWII

Dr. Norman Borlaug is one of only three Americans to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize, the Congressional Gold Medal (America's highest civilian honor) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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It is a great privilege to be here today as we confer the Congressional Gold Medal on a man who's spent his life breaking barriers and bridging divides across this country -- Senator Edward Brooke.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Honors Senator Edward William Brooke

He never sought the celebrity he would win, or the honors a grateful nation bestowed upon him: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, or the Congressional Gold Medal to name but a few.

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And that struggle has lasted for many, many years, and it is certainly appropriate that she will be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of her many-year struggle in Burma, a struggle that is resulting now in her visit and in the remarkable reforms that have been undertaken by President Thein Sein, in Burma.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing