Champions of aging - americans who protected seniors

* AARP OUR HALL OF FAME They came from divergent backgrounds but shared a common cause: fighting for the interests, rights, financial security and overall well-being of older Americans.

Learn more about these movers and shakers in this virtual hall of fame. 1 of 11 * AARP ETHEL PERCY ANDRUS The founder of AARP was an educator who never stopped teaching. Read Andrus'

story. 2 of 11 * Courtesy of the Social Security Administration ROBERT M. BALL The lifelong civil servant (pictured upper right) oversaw the creation of the Medicare system in the mid-1960s,

which may have been the largest government undertaking since D-Day. Read Ball's story. 3 of 11 * Courtesy of Worth Blaney WARREN W. BLANEY Many compete in the Senior Olympics, but few

can name the movement’s founder (pictured far right). Read Blaney's story. 4 of 11 * Courtesy of the International Longevity Center USA ROBERT N. BUTLER Butler was raised by his

grandparents, became a doctor and fought prejudice and discrimination against older Americans. Read Butler's story. 5 of 11 * Jim Harrison/The Heinz Awards ELMA HOLDER Are nursing homes

"over-regulated?" she asked rhetorically. "Well, are the schools in your town over-regulated?" Read Holder's story. 6 of 11 * Keystone/Getty Images LYNDON B.

JOHNSON The son of a failed cotton farmer engineered the passage of Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act. Read Johnson's story. 7 of 11 * Alain Keler/Sygma/Corbis MAGGIE KUHN

The Gray Panthers founder weighed only 95 pounds but packed a big punch as a crusading activist. Read Kuhn's story. 8 of 11 * Ed Clark/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images PATRICK V.

MCNAMARA As a senator, the one-time pipefitter helped lead the charge for Medicare. Read McNamara's story. 9 of 11 * Shepard Sherbell/Saba/Corbis CLAUDE PEPPER Mr. Senior Citizen’s

concern for those in need may have grown out of his own early struggles. Read Pepper's story. 10 of 11 * Wisconsin Historical Society EDWIN E. WITTE Witte, raised in hardscrabble

Wisconsin, invented Social Security, the program that millions of retirees depend on. Read Witte’s story. 11 of 11