Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence
Those who’ve died since 2000 (Borlaug, Berle, Brando, Cronkite and Parks) are disqualified, as noted above (as is Graham, who’s still alive).
Please give me descriptions for each of no more than three words each, as requested in the OP.
John Brown: righteous, inspirational abolitionist
Walt Disney: animator, entrepreneur, icon
Henry Ford: inventor, industrialist, philanthropist
Franklin D. Roosevelt: fearless forthright forerunner
Can I keep one nomination in reserve in case I get inspired later?
By the way, it seems unfair that first nominator control the “three word description.” I had trouble finding 3 words for Franklin, so just went with alliteration.
By another way, should Einstein be demoted because most of his greatness came before his citizenship? If not, I’ll definitely be supporting him all the way.
Frederick Douglass: abolitionist
William Lloyd Garrison: abolitionist
James Madison: Constitution author
George Marshall: general, statesman
Harriet Tubman: underground railroad
Most of my original ideas have been taken, so:
Andrew Carnegie - industrialist, philanthropist (I assume he was a naturalized citizen?)
Leonard Bernstein - composer, conductor, educator
Aaron Copland - the American sound
Edward R Murrow - broadcaster
According to Wiki, he immigrated to the U.S. from Scotland when he was 13. No indication that he ever became a U.S. citizen, but I assume he did, and he certainly made a name for himself here and not in Scotland, so he’s a valid nominee.
John D. Rockefeller-the first billionaire
Jim Henson-beloved children’s programmer
Babe Ruth-legendary baseball icon
Elvis Presley-rock and roller
Frederick Chapman Robbins-pediatrician, Nobel Laureate
Charles Lindbergh - aviator, American hero
Jesse Owens - famed Olympic athlete
One more:
Jonas Salk - polio vaccine inventor
This is going to be one long list…
From the OP: “Naturalized (but not honorary) U.S. citizens are eligible for nomination, even if they were more famous for things done as citizens of another country.”
KennerTheGreat, Frederick Chapman Robbins died within the last ten years. You may nominate someone else.
Ralph Hanley (or Hinkley), dead since 1983. The Greatest American Hero.
Fictional characters aren’t eligible. :rolleyes: 
D’oh! Sorry about that. In which case, I nominate:
John Franklin Enders-father, modern vaccines
So far:
John Adams: statesman
Susan B. Anthony: Activist
Lucille Ball: actor, comedian, redhead
Leonard Bernstein - composer, conductor, educator
John Brown: righteous, inspirational abolitionist
Andrew Carnegie - industrialist, philanthropist
George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist
Carrie Chapman Catt: Women’s Rights Suffragist
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn”
Aaron Copland - the American sound
Walt Disney: animator, entrepreneur, icon
Frederick Douglass: abolitionist
Thomas Edison: inventor, workaholic
Albert Einstein: Scientist, Activist
John Franklin Enders: modern vaccines
Richard Feynman: Physicist, Renaissance man
Henry Ford: inventor, industrialist, philanthropist
Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor
William Lloyd Garrison: abolitionist
Kurt Gödel: Mathematician-- Incompleteness theorem
Alexander Hamilton: Financier, economist, statesman.
Robert Heinlein: author
Jim Henson-beloved children’s programmer
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence
Martin Luther King Jr.: preacher, orator, humanitarian.
Abraham Lincoln: president, emancipator, writer.
Charles Lindbergh - aviator, American hero
James Madison: Constitution author
George Marshall: general, statesman
John P. Morgan: financial figure
Edward R Murrow - broadcaster
Jesse Owens - famed Olympic athlete
Edgar Allan Poe - poet, writer
Elvis Presley-rock and roller
Jackie Robinson: Athlete, Activist
John D. Rockefeller-the first billionaire
Eleanor Roosevelt: Reformer, writer, advocate.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: fearless forthright forerunner
Theodore Roosevelt: statesman
Babe Ruth-legendary baseball icon
Carl Sagan: Astronomer, popularizer
Jonas Salk - polio vaccine inventor
Henry David Thoreau: Poet, naturalist, philosopher
Harriet Tubman: Civil Rights Advocate
John von Neumann - Mathematician and scientist
George Washington: president, statesman, general.
Roger Williams: Stateman, Religious Figure
Joshua Chamberlain: Civil War Hero
John J. Pershing: Highest ranking General
Malcolm X Civil Rights Leader
Jim Thorpe Native American Athlete
Jimi Hendrix: Influential Musician, activist
I guess you took the first three words from the description I gave before I was aware of the three word rule. Once I became aware, I reworded this to “John von Neumann: mathematician, scientist, polymath”
While I’m at it, I guess I’ll add
Claude Shannon: Information theory father
(While I admire him, it’s not really on the same scale as my previous two nominations, but, you know, I do have all those unused nominations to use up…)
Aside, possibly, from writing “Machine Gun” and playing one Black Panther event that I know of (the day after appearing on Dick Cavett), how was Hendrix an activist?
Let’s not get into the merits of the nominees yet, please.
Little Nemo, thanks for the alphabetical list so far.
My five choices have all been taken, but I’ll participate in the preliminaries by throwing in a few names of note:
P.T. Barnum: World’s Greatest Showman
Willis Carrier: Air conditioning pioneer
Dwight D. Eisenhower: War hero, president
George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer
Frank Lloyd Wright: Prairie School architect