Seventeen recipients were honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday after leaving their legacy on entertainment, politics, and athletics. President Obama referred to the recipients as “extraordinary people,” during the ceremony.

USA Today reports that the medal, the nation’s highest honor for civilians, was presented to a variety of American icons. Recipients ranged from filmmaker Steven Spielberg to the late baseball player Yogi Berra. Entertainer Barbara Streisand and NASA mathematician Katherine G. Johnson were among the honored. Political leaders such as U.S congresswoman Shirley Chishom, congressman Lee Hamilton, and Senator Barbara Mikulski also received the medal.

The first administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, William D. Ruckelshaus was recognized for resigning from his position in the Justice Department, rather than abide by President Nixon’s order to fire the Watergate special prosecutor, in 1973.

Other entertainers honored included James Taylor, and Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Known for how he “reinvented the American musical,” lyricist Stephen Sondheim received the medal. Also honored was violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Social activist Billy Frank Jr. was honored for his efforts for tribal fishing rights. The late Minoru Yasui, who challenged curfews placed on Japanese Americans during World War II and. Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) founder Bonnie Carroll received the medal as well.

NASA Mathematician Katherine G. Johnson was awarded the medal for breaking race and gender barriers in her career, where she traced the path for some of the first space flights.