The Distinguished Americans series is a set of

definitive stamp A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country's stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country. The term is used in ...

s issued by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

which was started in 2000 with a 10¢ stamp depicting

Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking ...

. The designs of the first nine issues are reminiscent of the earlier

Great Americans series The Great Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Postal Service, starting on December 27, 1980, with the 19¢ stamp depicting Sequoyah, and continuing through 1999, the final stamp being the 55¢ Justin S. Morr ...

, but less austere. The first nine issues were done with black lines on a white background, but in 2008, with the James A. Michener issue (#10), the USPS added color toning. Like the Great Americans series, the first twelve issues measured 0.84 inches by 0.99 inches overall, and were all designed by Mark Summers of

Waterdown, Ontario Waterdown is a village in Canada which since 2001 has been a community of Hamilton, Ontario. Waterdown is approximately 60 km west of downtown Toronto. On January 1, 2001 the new city of Hamilton was formed from the amalgamation of six mu ...

. In 2011, with the

Oveta Culp Hobby Oveta Culp Hobby (January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995) was an American politician and businessperson who served as the first United States secretary of health, education, and welfare from 1953 to 1955. A member of the Republican Party, Hobby wa ...

stamp, the series went to a larger format with full color images and colored backgrounds. The 2004 Rudolph stamp is the only one in the series to have been issued in both a sheet (pane) and booklet format. Both the 2001 Caraway issue and the 2002–2003 Ferber issues have perforation differences. The stamps issued in this series include the following (rank, date of issue, denomination, depicted person): # 2000, August 24. 10¢. General Joseph W. Stilwell. # 2000, September 7. 33¢. Senator

Claude Pepper Claude Denson Pepper (September 8, 1900 – May 30, 1989) was an American politician of the Democratic Party, and a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly. He represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1936 to 1951, and the M ...

. # 2001, February 21. 76¢. Senator Hattie W. Caraway. # 2002, July 29. 83¢. Author

Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), '' Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' C ...

. Reissued in 2003 with 11¼ x 11¼ perforations. # 2004, July 14. 23¢. Athlete

Wilma Rudolph Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 – November 12, 1994) was an American sprinter, who became a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her successes in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games. ...

# 2006, March 9. 63¢. Medical scientist

Jonas Salk Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New ...

. # 2006, March 9. 87¢. Virologist

Albert Sabin Albert Bruce Sabin ( ; August 26, 1906 – March 3, 1993) was a Polish-American medical researcher, best known for developing the oral polio vaccine, which has played a key role in nearly eradicating the disease. In 1969–72, he served as th ...

. # 2007, June 13. 58¢. Senator Margaret Chase Smith. # 2007, June 13. 75¢. Author

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the har ...

. # 2008, May 12. 59¢. Author

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...

. # 2008, May 12. 76¢. Physician

Edward Trudeau Edward Livingston Trudeau (5 October 1848 – 15 November 1915) was an American physician who established the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium at Saranac Lake for treatment of tuberculosis. Dr. Trudeau also established the Saranac Laboratory fo ...

. # 2009, May 15. 78¢. Philanthropist

Mary Lasker Mary Woodard Lasker (November 30, 1900February 21, 1994) was an American health activist and philanthropist. She worked to raise funds for medical research and founded the Lasker Foundation. Early life Mary Woodard was born in Watertown, Wisconsi ...

. # 2011, April 15. 84¢, first-class mail, three-ounce rate stamp. Stateswoman

. # 2012, April 26. Forever. Actor

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

. # 2014, March 13. 70¢, first-class mail, two-ounce rate stamp. Aviator C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson. # 2017, April 11. 70¢, first-class mail, two-ounce rate stamp. Teacher, pioneer of deaf studies

Robert Panara Robert F. Panara (8 July 1920 - 20 July 2014) was a poet, a professor and a co-founder of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and the National Theater of the Deaf. Panara is considered to be a pioneer in deaf culture studies i ...

References

{{Postage stamps of the United States Postage stamps of the United States Postage stamps depicting people Lists of postage stamps