Bill Gates philanthropic work. Also in 2010, he was honored with the Silver Buffalo Award by the Boy Scouts of America, its highest award for adults, for his service to youth. In 2002, Bill and Melinda Gates received the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged. He was given the 2006 James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award from the Tech Awards. In 2015 Gates, along with his wife Melinda, received the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award for their social work in the country. Barack Obama honored Bill and Melinda Gates with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their philanthropic
Thomas S. Gates Jr. Thomas S. Gates Jr. Thomas Sovereign Gates Jr. (April 10, 1906March 25, 1983) was United States Secretary of Defense from 1959 to 1961 under President Eisenhower. He was promoted from deputy secretary of defense. During his tenure, he established a task force to set nuclear target priorities. He also authorized U-2 reconnaissance flights, including the flight of Francis Gary Powers. Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, Gates was the son of Thomas S. Gates Sr., an investment banker and lawyer who was president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1930 to 1944, and his wife, Marie ("née" Rogers) Gates. Gates graduated from