National Garden of American Heroes: famous names included in Donald Trump's monument

Walt Disney, Whitney Houston and Alex Trebek among stars added to project first unveiled by US President in July

Astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930 - 2012). Getty Images

Actress Lauren Bacall (1924 - 2014). Getty Images

Jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1901 - 1971). Getty Images

Basketball star Kobe Bryant (1978 - 2020). Getty Images

Country singer Johnny Cash (1932 - 2003). Getty Images

Singer, pianist and songwriter Ray Charles (1930 - 2004). Getty Images

Food critic, chef, and television host Julia Child (1912 - 2004). Getty Images

Inventor Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922 ). Getty Images

Actress Ingrid Bergman (1915 - 1982). Getty Images

Actor Humphrey Bogart (1899 - 1957). Getty Images

Singer Nat King Cole (1919 - 1965). Getty Images

Jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis (1926 - 1991). Getty Images

Poet Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886). Getty Images

Producer, director, and animator Walt Disney (1901 - 1966). Getty Images

Aviator Amelia Earhart (1898 - 1937). Getty Images

Scientist and inventor Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931). Getty Images

Physicist and mathematical genius Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955). Getty Images

Singer Aretha Franklin (1942 - 2018). Getty Images

Baseball star Lou Gehrig (1903 - 1941). Getty Images

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the US (1933- 2020). Getty Images

Singer and actress Whitney Houston (1963 - 2012). Getty Images

Actor Charlton Heston (1923 - 2008). Getty Images

Film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899 - 1980). Getty Images

Blues singer Billie Holiday (1915 - 1959). Getty Images

Novelist Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961). Getty Images

Novelist Harper Lee (1926 - 2016), pictured with George W Bush. EPA

Writer Helen Adams Keller (1880 - 1968). Getty Images

Civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King Jr (1929 - 1968). Getty Images

Novelist Herman Melville (1819 - 1891). Getty Images

Activist and civil right campaigner Rosa Parks (1913 - 2005), left. Getty Images

Artist Norman Rockwell (1894 - 1978). Getty Images

Apple founder Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011). Getty Images

Actress Shirley Temple (1928 - 2014). Getty Images

Singer Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977). Getty Images

Author and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849). Getty Images

Singer Frank Sinatra (1915 - 1998). Getty Images.

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 - 1959). Getty Images

Inventor, physicist and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla (1856 - 1943). Getty Images

Actor and filmmaker John Wayne (1907 - 1979). Getty Images

Poet and author Walt Whitman (1819 - 1891). Getty Images

TV host Alex Trebek (1940 - 2020). AP

Boxer Muhammad Ali (1942 - 2016). Getty Images

In one of the last executive orders issued during his presidency, Donald Trump named more than 200 people he wants to be honoured in a monument dedicated to America's "heroes".

A park scattered with statues dedicated to politicians, artists, cultural figures and historical pioneers was first proposed by the US president in July.

The vast space, in an unspecified location, will be a tribute to "the greatest Americans who ever lived", Trump said when he announced the project, with 31 names touted, such as singers Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

In an executive order issued on January 18, the president bolstered the initial list to more than 240 names.

Scroll through the gallery above to discover some of the famous names Donald Trump has proposed to be included in the National Garden of American Heroes.

"The Task Force has advised me it has completed the first phase of its work and is prepared to move forward," said Trump.

"The National Garden will be built to reflect the awesome splendour of our country’s timeless exceptionalism. It will be a place where citizens, young and old, can renew their vision of greatness and take up the challenge that I gave every American in my first address to Congress, to 'believe in yourselves, believe in your future and believe, once more, in America'."

Among the long list of proposed names, arranged in alphabetical order, are political figures and former presidents such as George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, as well as inventors and scientists including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison.

US President Donald Trump, with the first lady, Melania Trump, will hand over the reins to President-elect Joe Biden on January 20. AFP

A number of entertainers also feature, including singers Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, as well as actors Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Charlton Heston and John Wayne.

Basketball star Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2020, also appears on the list, as do notable literary figures including Ernest Hemingway and Herman Melville.

Trump initially proposed the monument after anti-racism protests across the US, sparked by the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, with demonstrators damaging statues honouring figures who had ties to slavery.

“These statues are not ours alone, to be discarded at the whim of those inflamed by fashionable political passions; they belong to generations that have come before us and to generations yet unborn,” the president said in his July 3 executive order.

However, as the latest order was issued within the last 48 hours of Trump's presidency, and the project still remains a proposal with no location confirmed or ground broken, it remains to be seen if the National Garden of American Heroes will come to fruition.