List of people on United States banknotes

Individual portraits of 53 people central to the history of the United States are depicted on the country's banknotes^{[1][nb 1]} including presidents, cabinet members, members of Congress, Founding Fathers, jurists, and military leaders. The Secretary of the Treasury was given broad latitude by Congress in 1862 to supervise the design, printing, and issue of banknotes.^{[nb 2][4]} The Secretary, with input from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, has final approval over the design of banknotes.^{[nb 3]}

The redesign of U.S. banknotes in 1922 prompted the Treasury Department to review the portraits on banknotes and conclude that "portraits of Presidents of the United States have a more permanent familiarity in the minds of the public than any others."^[6] Exceptions were made for Alexander Hamilton, Salmon Chase, and Benjamin Franklin. There have been no changes in the people depicted on currency intended for the general public since 1928; when Woodrow Wilson was depicted on the 1934 $100,000 gold certificate, the note was only for internal Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank use.

Five people have been depicted on U.S. currency during their lifetime. Abraham Lincoln was portrayed on the 1861 $10 Demand Note; Salmon Chase, Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, approved his own portrait for the 1862 $1 Legal Tender Note; Winfield Scott was depicted on Interest Bearing Notes during the early 1860s; and Francis Spinner and Spencer Clark both approved the use of their own image on fractional currency. In 1873, driven in large part by the actions of Spinner and Clark, Congress prohibited the use of portraits of living people on any U.S. bond, security, note, or fractional or postal currency.^[7]

Key to banknote type abbreviations

Many of the 53 individuals were depicted on more than one note of a series or denomination. In the description of the banknotes, the date in parentheses indicates the individual’s first appearance on a given note type and denomination. When multiple banknotes are listed, the order, though seeming random, is in accordance with the Friedberg Number,^[1] in ascending Friedberg order.^{[nb 4][nb 5]} The engraved portraits are from a virtual exhibit of bank notes^[9] which are part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

People depicted

Each of the 53 individuals depicted on U.S. banknotes (not including fractional currency) is listed alphabetically with their most commonly associated titles, positions held, or affiliations (with dates). Elected and appointed government positions are fairly comprehensive and positions are presented in ascending chronological order.

People on United States banknotes

Name	Born	Died	Portrait[nb 6]	Title/comments	U.S. Banknote(s)[10]	IAD[11]
Adams John Quincy Adams[12]	1767-07-1111 Jul 1767	1848-02-2323 Feb 1848		U.S. Minister to the Netherlands (1794–97), Prussia (1797–1801); State Senate (Massachusetts, 1802); U.S. Senate (Massachusetts, 1803–08); U.S. Minister to Russia (1809–14), Great Britain (1815–17); U.S. Secretary of State (1817–25); President of the United States (1825–29); U.S. House (Massachusetts, 1831–48).[13]	LT $500 (1869)	1869
Benton Thomas Hart Benton[14]	1782-03-1414 Mar 1782	1858-04-1010 Apr 1858		U.S. Senate (Missouri, 1821–51); U.S. House (Missouri, 1853–55).	GC $100 (1870)	1870
Chase Salmon Portland Chase[15]	1808-01-1313 Jan 1808	1873-05-077 May 1873		U.S. Senate (Ohio, 1849–55 & 1861); Governor (Ohio, 1856–60); U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1861–64); Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1864–73).	LT $1 (1862) CITN $10 (1863) IBN $10 (1864) IBN $1,000 (1861) FRN $10,000 (1918) SSN $10,000 (1928–34)	1861
ClarkWilliam Clark	1770-08-011 Aug 1770	1838-09-011 Sep 1838		Explorer Captain, U.S. Army (1789–96); Superintendent of Indian Affairs (1807–13 & 1822–38);[16] Governor, Missouri Territory (1813–20).[17]	LT $10 (1901)	1901
ClayHenry Clay[18]	1777-04-1212 Apr 1777	1852-06-2929 Jun 1852		State House (Kentucky, 1803); U.S. Senate (Kentucky, 1806–07 & 1810–11); Speaker of the House (1811–14, 1815–20, 1823–25); U.S. Secretary of State (1825–29); U.S. Senate (Kentucky, 1831–43 & 1849–52).[19]	LT $50 (1869)	1869
ClevelandGrover Cleveland[20]	1837-03-1818 Mar 1837	1908-06-2424 Jun 1908		Governor (New York, 1883–85); President of the United States (1885–89, 1893–97).	FRBN $20 (1915) FRN $20 (1914) SSN $1,000 (1928–34)	1914
ClintonDeWitt Clinton[21]	1769-03-022 Mar 1769	1828-02-1111 Feb 1828		State House (New York, 1797–98); State Senate, (New York, 1798–1802 & 1805–11); U.S. Senate (New York, 1802–03); Mayor, New York City (1803–07, 1808-1810 & 1811-15); Lieutenant Governor (New York, 1811–13); Candidate for President (1812); Governor (New York, 1817–23, 1825–28).[22]	LT $1,000 (1869)	1869
DecaturStephen Decatur[23]	1779-01-055 Jan 1779	1820-03-2222 Mar 1820		Commodore, U.S. Navy; Quasi-War, First Barbary War; Awarded Congressional Gold Medal (1813).	SC $20 (1878)	1878
Everett Edward Everett[24]	1794-04-1111 Apr 1794	1865-01-1515 Jan 1865		U.S. House (Massachusetts, 1825–35); Governor (Massachusetts, 1836–40); U.S. Minister to Great Britain (1841–45); U.S. Secretary of State (1852–53); U.S. Senate (Massachusetts, 1853–54).	SC $50 (1878)	1878
Farragut David Glasgow Farragut[25]	1801-07-055 Jul 1801	1870-08-1414 Aug 1870		Admiral, Commander-in-Chief (1861–70),[26] U.S. Navy (1810–1868); War of 1812, West Indies, American Civil War; Received Thanks of Congress (1862[26] & 1866).[26]	TN $100 (1890)	1890
Fessenden William Pitt Fessenden[27]	1806-10-1616 Oct 1806	1869-09-088 Sep 1869		State House (Maine, 1832, 1840, 1845–46, 1853–54); U.S. House (Maine, 1841–43); U.S. Senate (Maine, 1854–64); U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1864–65).[28]	NBN $20 (1882, reverse)	1882[29]
Franklin Benjamin Franklin[30]	1706-01-1717 Jan 1706	1790-04-1717 Apr 1790		Founder; Delegate, Pennsylvania, Continental Congress; U.S. Postmaster General (1775, Inaugural Holder); Signer, Declaration of Independence (1776); U.S. Minister to France (1778–85), Sweden (1782–83); President of Pennsylvania (1785–88); Delegate, Pennsylvania, U.S. Constitutional Convention (1787).	LT $50 (1874) RC $10 (1879) FRN $100 (1914) SSN $100 (1928–present)	1874
Fulton Robert Fulton[31]	1765-11-1414 Nov 1765	1815-02-2424 Feb 1815		Engineer; Inventor	SC $2 (1896, reverse)	1896
Gallatin Albert Gallatin[32]	1761-01-2929 Jan 1761	1849-08-1212 Aug 1849		State House (Pennsylvania, 1790–92); U.S. Senate (Pennsylvania, 1793–94); U.S. House (Pennsylvania, 1795–1801); U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1801–14); U.S. Minister to France (1815–23), Great Britain (1826–27).[33]	LT $500 (1862)	1862
Garfield James Abram Garfield[34]	1831-11-1919 Nov 1831	1881-09-1919 Sep 1881		State Senate, (Ohio, 1859–61);[35] Major General, U.S. Army, (1861–63);[36] U.S. House (Ohio, 1863–81); President of the United States (1881). Shot by Charles J. Guiteau on 2 July 1881.[37]	NBN $5 (1882) GC $20 (1882)	1882
Grant Ulysses Simpson Grant[38]	1822-04-2727 Apr 1822	1885-07-2323 Jul 1885		Commanding General (1864–69), U.S. Army (1843–54, 1861–69 & 1877–85); U.S. Secretary of War, (Interim, 12 August 1867 – 12 January 1868);[39] President of the United States (1869–77) Mexican-American War, American Civil War; Received Thanks of Congress (1863) and awarded The Congressional Gold Medal(1863).[40]	SC $1 (1899) SC $5 (1886), (1896, reverse) FRBN $50 (1918) FRN $50 (1914) GC $50 (1913) SSN $50 (1928–present)	1886
Hamilton Alexander Hamilton[41]	1757-01-1111 Jan 1757	1804-07-1212 Jul 1804		Founder; Lieutenant Colonel, Continental Army (1775–); Continental Congress (1782–83); State House (New York, 1787); U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1789–95); Major General, Senior Officer, U.S. Army (1799–1800).[42]	DN $5 (1861) LT $2 (1862) LT $5 (1862) LT $20 (1869) LT $50 (1862) CITN $50 (1863) IBN $50 (1864) IBN $500 (1864) FRN $1,000 (1918) GC $1,000 (1870) SSN $10 (1928–present)	1861
Hancock Winfield Scott Hancock[43]	1824-02-1414 Feb 1824	1886-02-099 Feb 1886		Major General (1866–86), U.S. Army (1844–86); Mexican-American War, American Civil War. Received Thanks of Congress (1866);[44] Candidate for President (1880).	SC $2 (1886)	1886
Harrison Benjamin Harrison[45]	1833-08-2020 Aug 1833	1901-03-1313 Mar 1901		Brigadier General, U.S. Army (1862–65);[46] U.S. Senate (Indiana, 1881–87); President of the United States (1889–93).	NBN $5 (1902)	1902
Hendricks Thomas Andrews Hendricks[47]	1819-09-077 Sep 1819	1885-11-2525 Nov 1885		State House (Indiana, 1848–49); U.S. House (Indiana, 1851–55); Assistant Treasurer of the United States (1853); U.S. Senate (Indiana, 1863–69); Governor (Indiana, 1873–77); Vice President of the United States (1885, Died in Office).[48]	SC $10 (1886)	1886
Hillegas Michael Hillegas[49]	1729-04-2222 Apr 1729	1804-09-2929 Sep 1804		Provincial Assembly (Pennsylvania, 1765–75); Treasurer of the United States (1775–89, Inaugural Holder).	GC $10 (1907)	1907
Jackson Andrew Jackson[50]	1767-03-1515 Mar 1767	1845-06-088 Jun 1845		U.S. House (Tennessee, 1796–97); U.S. Senate (Tennessee, 1797–98); Judge, Tennessee Supreme Court (1798–1804); Major General, U.S. Army, Awarded Congressional Gold Medal(1815); Military Governor of Florida (10 March 1821 – 18 July 1821); U.S. Senate (Tennessee, 1823–25); President of the United States (1829–37). An assassination attempt (the first on a U.S. President) was made by Richard Lawrence on 30 January 1835 outside the Capitol building.[51]	LT $5 (1869) LT $10,000 (1878) IBN $50 [Two-Year] (1861) FRBN $10 (1915) FRN $10 (1914) GC $10,000 (1870) SSN $20 (1928–present)	1861
Jefferson Thomas Jefferson[52]	1743-04-1313 Apr 1743	1826-07-044 Jul 1826		Founder; House of Burgesses (Virginia, 1769); Delegate, Virginia Continental Congress (1775–76 & 1783–84); Signer, Declaration of Independence (1776); Governor (Virginia, 1779–81); U.S. Minister to France (1785–89); U.S. Secretary of State (1790–93, Inaugural Holder ); Candidate for President (1796); Vice President of the United States (1797–1801); President of the United States (1801–09).	LT $2 (1869) FRBN $2 (1918) SSN $2 (1928–present)	1869
Knox John Jay Knox, Jr. [53]	1828-03-1919 Mar 1828	1892-02-1212 Feb 1892		Comptroller of the Currency, Department of the Treasury (1872–84).[54]	NBN $100 (1902)	1902
Lewis Meriwether Lewis[55]	1774-08-1818 Aug 1774	1809-10-1111 Oct 1809		Explorer; Governor, Louisiana/Missouri Territory (1807–09).[56]	LT $10 (1901)	1901
Lincoln Abraham Lincoln[57]	1809-02-1212 Feb 1809	1865-04-1515 Apr 1865		State House (Illinois, 1834–41); U.S. House (Illinois, 1847–49); President of the United States (1861–65).[58] Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on 15 April 1865.[59]	DN $1 (1861) LT $10 (1862) LT $100 (1869) CITN $20 (1863) IBN $20 (1864) SC $1 (1899) SC $5 (1923) FRBN $5 (1915) FRN $5 (1914) GC $500 (1870) SSN $5 (1928–present)	1861
Madison James Madison[60]	1751-03-1616 Mar 1751	1836-06-2828 Jun 1836		Founder; Member, First General Assembly of Virginia (1776); Delegate, Virginia, Continental Congress (1780–83 & 1786–88); Virginia House of Delegates (1783–86); U.S. Constitutional Convention (1787); U.S. House (Virginia, 1789–97); U.S. Secretary of State (1801–09); President of the United States (1809–17).	LT $5,000 (1878) FRN $5,000 (1918) GC $5,000 (1870) SSN $5,000 (1928–34)	1870
Manning Daniel Manning	1831-05-1616 May 1831	1887-12-2424 Dec 1887		U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1885–87)	SC $20 (1886)	1886
Mansfield Joseph King Fenno Mansfield[61]	1803-12-2222 Dec 1803	1862-09-1818 Sep 1862		Major General (1862), U.S. Army (1822–62); Mexican-American War, American Civil War.	LT $500 (1874)	1874
Marcy William Learned Marcy[62]	1786-12-1212 Dec 1786	1857-07-044 Jul 1857		Adjutant General, New York State Militia (1821–23); New York State Comptroller (1823); Judge, New York Supreme Court (1829–31); U.S. Senate (New York, 1831–33); Governor (New York, 1833–39); Commissioner of Mexican Claims (1839–42); U.S. Secretary of War (1845–49); U.S. Secretary of State (1853–57).[63]	SC $1,000 (1878)	1878
Marshall John Marshall[64]	1755-09-2424 Sep 1755	1835-07-066 Jul 1835		Captain, Continental Army (1776–81);[65] Virginia General Assembly (1782–91, 1797); U.S. Minister to France (1797); U.S. House (Virginia, 1799–1800); U.S. Secretary of State (1800–01); Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1801–35).	TN $20 (1890) FRN $500 (1918)	1890
McCulloch Hugh McCulloch[66]	1801-12-077 Dec 1801	1895-05-2424 May 1895		Comptroller of the Currency (1863–65); U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1865–69 & 1884–85).	NBN $20 (1902)	1902
McKinley William McKinley, Jr.[67]	1843-01-2929 Jan 1843	1901-09-1414 Sep 1901		Major, U.S. Army (1861–65); U.S. House (Ohio, 1877–84 & 1885–91); Governor (Ohio, 1892–96);[68] President of the United States (1897–1901). Shot by Leon Czolgosz on 6 September 1901.[69]	NBN $10 (1902) SSN $500 (1928–34)	1902
McPherson James Birdseye McPherson[70]	1828-11-1414 Nov 1828	1864-07-2222 Jul 1864		Major General (1862–64), U.S. Army (1853–64), American Civil War; Killed in battle.[71]	TN $2 (1890)	1890
Meade George Gordon Meade[72]	1815-12-3131 Dec 1815	1872-11-066 Nov 1872		Major General (1862–69), U.S. Army (1835–69); Mexican-American War, American Civil War; Received Thanks of Congress (1864).[73]	TN $1,000 (1890)	1890
Monroe James Monroe[74]	1758-04-2828 Apr 1758	1831-07-044 Jul 1831		Major, Continental Army (1776–79); Colonel, Virginia State Militia (1780);[75] Continental Congress (1783–86); State House (Virginia, 1786 & 1810–11); U.S. Senate (Virginia, 1790–94); U.S. Minister to France (1794–96); Governor (Virginia, 1799–1802 & 1811); U.S. Minister to Great Britain (1803–07); U.S. Secretary of State (1811–14 & 1815–17); U.S. Secretary of War (Interim, 27 August 1814 – 15 March 1815);[76] President of the United States (1817–25).	SC $100 (1878)	1878
Morris Robert Morris[77]	1734-01-3131 Jan 1734	1806-05-088 May 1806		Founder; Delegate, Pennsylvania, Continental Congress (1776); Signer, Declaration of Independence (1776); State House (Pennsylvania, 1778–81 & 1785–87); United States Superintendent of Finance (1781–84).	LT $1,000 (1862) SC $10 (1878)	1862
Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse [78]	1791-04-2727 Apr 1791	1872-04-022 Apr 1872		Inventor,[79] Morse Telegraph; Co-Inventor, Morse Code; Painter.[80]	SC $2 (1896, reverse)	1896
Running Running Antelope	1821 (circa)c.1821	1896 (circa)c.1896		Sioux Chief of the Hunkpapa	SC $5 (1899)	1899
Scott Winfield Scott[81]	1786-06-1313 Jun 1786	1866-05-2929 May 1866		Commanding General (1841–61), U.S. Army (1808–61); War of 1812, Seminole Wars, Black Hawk War, Mexican-American War, American Civil War; Military Governor, Mexico City (1847–48); U.S. Secretary of War (Interim, 24 July 1850 – 15 August 1850);[82] Candidate for President (1852). Awarded Congressional Gold Medal (1814[83] and 1848).[83]	IBN $500 [Two-Year] (1861) IBN $100 [Three-Year] (1864)	1861
Seward William Henry Seward[84]	1801-05-1616 May 1801	1872-10-1616 Oct 1872		State Senate (New York, 1831–34); Governor (New York, 1839–43); U.S. Senate (New York, 1849–61);[85] U.S. Secretary of State (1861–69). An assassination attempt was made by Lewis Powell, a co-conspirator of John Wilkes Booth, the same night President Lincoln was shot (15 April 1865).[86]	TN $50 (1891)	1891
Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan[87]	1831-03-066 Mar 1831	1888-08-055 Aug 1888		Commanding General (1883–88), U.S. Army (1853–88); American Civil War, Indian Wars. Received Thanks of Congress (1865).[87]	SC $5 (1896, reverse) TN $10 (1890)	1890
ShermanJ John Sherman[88]	1823-05-1010 May 1823	1900-10-2222 Oct 1900		U.S. House (Ohio, 1855–61); U.S. Senate (Ohio, 1861–77 & 1881–97); President pro tem, U.S. Senate (1885–87);[89] U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1877–81); U.S. Secretary of State (1897–98).	NBN $50 (1902)	1902
ShermanW William Tecumseh Sherman[90]	1820-02-088 Feb 1820	1891-02-1414 Feb 1891		U.S. Secretary of War (Interim, 9 September 1869 – 18 October 1869);[89] Commanding General (1869–83), U.S. Army (1840–84); American Civil War, Indian Wars. Received Thanks of Congress (1864[91] & 1865).[91]	TN $500 (1891)	1891[92]
Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton[93]	1814-12-1919 Dec 1814	1869-12-2424 Dec 1869		U.S. Attorney General (1860–61); U.S. Secretary of War (1862–68); U.S. Supreme Court (appointed 1869, died before taking office).[93]	TN $1 (1890)	1890
Sumner Charles Sumner[94]	1811-01-066 Jan 1811	1874-03-1111 Mar 1874		U.S. Senate (Massachusetts, 1851–74).	SC $500 (1878)	1878
Thomas George H. Thomas[95]	1816-07-3131 Jul 1816	1870-03-2828 Mar 1870		Major General (1864–70), U.S. Army (1840–70); Mexican-American War, American Civil War. Received Thanks of Congress (1865).[96]	TN $5 (1890)	1890
WashingtonG George Washington[97]	1732-02-2222 Feb 1732	1799-12-1414 Dec 1799		Founder; Virginia House of Burgesses (1758–75);[98] Delegate, VA, Continental Congress (1774–75); Commander-in-Chief, Continental Army (1775–83);[99] Member, U.S. Constitutional Convention (1787); President of the United States (1789–97); Lieutenant General, Commander of the United States Army (1798–99).[100]	LT $1 (1869) CITN $100 (1863) IBN $100 (1864) IBN $1,000 [Two-Year] (1861) IBN $500 [Three-Year] (1861) SC $1 (1896, reverse) SC $1 (1923) SC $2 (1899) FRBN $1 (1918) GC $20 (1905) SSN $1 (1928–present)	1861
WashingtonM Martha Washington[101]	1731-06-022 Jun 1731	1802-05-2222 May 1802		First Lady of the United States (1789–97).	SC $1 (1886) SC $1 (1896, reverse)	1886
Webster Daniel Webster[102]	1782-01-1818 Jan 1782	1852-10-2424 Oct 1852		U.S. House (New Hampshire, 1813–17); U.S. House (Massachusetts, 1823–27); U.S. Senate (Massachusetts, 1827–41 & 1845–50); Candidate for President (1836); U.S. Secretary of State (1841–43 & 1850–52).[103]	LT $10 (1869)	1869
WilsonWoodrow Wilson[104]	1856-12-2828 Dec 1856	1924-02-033 Feb 1924		Governor (New Jersey, 1911–13); President of the United States (1913–21). Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1919).[105]	SSN $100,000 (1934)	1934
WindomWilliam Windom[106]	1827-05-1010 May 1827	1891-01-2929 Jan 1891		U.S. House (Minnesota, 1859–69); U.S. Senate (Minnesota, 1870–71, 1871–81 & 1881–83); U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1881, 1889–91).[104]	SC $2 (1891)	1891
Wright Silas Wright, Jr.[107]	1795-05-2424 May 1795	1847-08-2727 Aug 1847		U.S. House (New York, 1827–29 & 1829–30); U.S. Senate (New York, 1833–44); Governor (New York, 1845–47).	GC $50 (1882)	1882

Summary of titles/positions

Below is a summary of the titles/positions held, at one time or another, by the 53 individuals depicted on United States banknotes from 1861 to the present. The list of positions is not exhaustive, but does address the central elected federal and state officials, members of the President’s cabinet, military figureheads, and several of the founders and framers of the United States government.

Fifty-three people held at least 132 elected and appointed positions for a cumulative total of over 763 years of public service.

References

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• The National Currency Foundation