WASHINGTON - Music icon Bob Dylan, wearing sunglasses, and Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state, were among 13 people awarded the Medal of Freedom Tuesday by President Obama.

“What sets these men and women apart is the incredible impact they have had on so many people, not in short, blinding bursts but steadily, over the course of a lifetime,’’ Obama said during a ceremony at the White House. He said that “so many of these people are my heroes individually.’’