Order of Merit
Encyclopedia
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces
, science
, art
, literature
, or for the promotion of culture
. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII
, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realm
s, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. While all members receive the ability to use the post-nominal letters
OM and a medallion for life, the Order of Merit's precedence amongst other honours differs between Commonwealth realms.
in 1805, in correspondence between First Lord of the Admiralty The Lord Barham
and William Pitt
, though nothing eventuated from the idea. Later, it was thought by Queen Victoria
, her courtiers, and politicians alike, that a new order, based on the Prussia
n order Pour le Mérite
, would make up for the insufficient recognition offered by the established honours system to achievement outside of public service, in realms such as art, music, literature, industry, and science. Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort, took an interest in the matter; it was recorded in his diary that he met on 16 January 1844 with Robert Peel
to discuss the "idea of institution of a civil Order of Merit" and three days later he conferred with the Queen on the subject. The concept did not wither and, on 5 January 1888, British prime minister the Marquess of Salisbury submitted to the Queen a draft constitution for an Order of Merit in Science and Art, consisting of one grade split into two branches of knighthood: the Order of Scientific Merit for Knights of Merit in Science, with the post-nominal letters KMS and the Order of Artistic Merit for Knights of Merit in Art, with the post-nominal letters KMA. However, Sir Frederic Leighton
, President of the Royal Academy, advised against the new order, primarily because of its selection process.
It was Victoria's son, Edward VII
, who eventually founded the Order of Merit on 26 June 1902 the date for which his coronation had been originally planned as a means to acknowledge "exceptionally meritorious service in Our Navy and Our Army, or who may have rendered exceptionally meritorious service towards the advancement of Art, Literature and Science"; all modern aspects of the order were established under his direction, including the division for military figures. From the outset, prime ministers attempted to propose candidates or lobbied to influence the monarch's decision on appointments, but the Royal Household adamantly guarded information about potential names. After 1931, when the Statute of Westminster
came into being and the Dominion
s of the British Empire
became independent states, equal in status to the UK, the Order of Merit remained an honour open to all the King's realms; thus, as with the monarch who conferred it, the order ceased to be purely British.
From its inception, the order has been open to women, Florence Nightingale
being the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907. Several individuals have refused admission into the Order of Merit, such as Rudyard Kipling
, A. E. Housman
, and George Bernard Shaw
. To date, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, remains the youngest person ever inducted into the Order of Merit, having been admitted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, when he was 47 years of age.
s are eligible for appointment to the Order of Merit. There may be, however, only 24 living individuals in the order at any given time, not including honorary appointees, and new members are personally selected by the reigning monarch of the 16 realms, presently Queen Elizabeth II, with the assistance of her private secretaries; the order has thus been described as "quite possibly, the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth." Within the limited membership is a designated military division, with its own unique insignia; though it has not been abolished, it is currently unpopulated, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma
having been the last person so honoured. Honorary members form another group, to which there is no numerical limit, though such appointments are rare; individuals from countries in the Commonwealth of Nations
that are not headed by Elizabeth II are therefore considered foreigners, and thus are granted only honorary admissions, such as Nelson Mandela
(South Africa
) and Mother Teresa
(India
).
Upon admission into the Order of Merit, members are entitled to use the post-nominal letters
OM, and are entrusted with the badge of the order, consisting of a golden crown from which is suspended a red enamelled cross, itself centred by a disk of blue enamel, surrounded by a gold laurel wreath
, and bearing in gold lettering the words FOR MERIT; the insignia for the military grouping is distinguished by a pair of crossed swords behind the central disk. The ribbon of the Order of Merit is divided into two stripes of red and blue; men wear their badges on a neck ribbon, while women carry theirs on a ribbon bow pinned to the left shoulder, and aides-de-camp
may wear the insignia on their aiguillette
s. Since 1991, it has been required that the insignia be returned upon the recipient's death.
Members:
Honorary members
(165)
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
, statesman and Nobel laureate, appointed 21 March 1995
, an expert on Canadian honours and secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
, and Rafal Heydel-Mankoo
, an editor of Burke's Peerage
, stated that the Order of Merit was the highest civilian award for merit a Canadian could receive.
Some orders of precedence are as follows:
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, or for the promotion of culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
s, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. While all members receive the ability to use the post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles or designatory letters, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of...
OM and a medallion for life, the Order of Merit's precedence amongst other honours differs between Commonwealth realms.
History
The first mention of a possible Order of Merit was made following the Battle of TrafalgarBattle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
in 1805, in correspondence between First Lord of the Admiralty The Lord Barham
Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham
Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham PC was a British naval officer and politician.He was born at Leith, Midlothian to Robert Middleton, a customs collector of Bo'ness, Linlithgowshire, and Helen, daughter of Charles Dundas.-Naval career:Middleton entered the Royal Navy in 1741 as captain's...
and William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, though nothing eventuated from the idea. Later, it was thought by Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, her courtiers, and politicians alike, that a new order, based on the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n order Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, would make up for the insufficient recognition offered by the established honours system to achievement outside of public service, in realms such as art, music, literature, industry, and science. Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort, took an interest in the matter; it was recorded in his diary that he met on 16 January 1844 with Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
to discuss the "idea of institution of a civil Order of Merit" and three days later he conferred with the Queen on the subject. The concept did not wither and, on 5 January 1888, British prime minister the Marquess of Salisbury submitted to the Queen a draft constitution for an Order of Merit in Science and Art, consisting of one grade split into two branches of knighthood: the Order of Scientific Merit for Knights of Merit in Science, with the post-nominal letters KMS and the Order of Artistic Merit for Knights of Merit in Art, with the post-nominal letters KMA. However, Sir Frederic Leighton
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton PRA , known as Sir Frederic Leighton, Bt, between 1886 and 1896, was an English painter and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical and classical subject matter...
, President of the Royal Academy, advised against the new order, primarily because of its selection process.
It was Victoria's son, Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, who eventually founded the Order of Merit on 26 June 1902 the date for which his coronation had been originally planned as a means to acknowledge "exceptionally meritorious service in Our Navy and Our Army, or who may have rendered exceptionally meritorious service towards the advancement of Art, Literature and Science"; all modern aspects of the order were established under his direction, including the division for military figures. From the outset, prime ministers attempted to propose candidates or lobbied to influence the monarch's decision on appointments, but the Royal Household adamantly guarded information about potential names. After 1931, when the Statute of Westminster
Statute of Westminster 1931
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...
came into being and the Dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
s of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
became independent states, equal in status to the UK, the Order of Merit remained an honour open to all the King's realms; thus, as with the monarch who conferred it, the order ceased to be purely British.
From its inception, the order has been open to women, Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
being the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907. Several individuals have refused admission into the Order of Merit, such as Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, A. E. Housman
A. E. Housman
Alfred Edward Housman , usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad. Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems were mostly written before 1900...
, and George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
. To date, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
, remains the youngest person ever inducted into the Order of Merit, having been admitted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, when he was 47 years of age.
Eligibility and appointment
All citizens of the Commonwealth realmCommonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
s are eligible for appointment to the Order of Merit. There may be, however, only 24 living individuals in the order at any given time, not including honorary appointees, and new members are personally selected by the reigning monarch of the 16 realms, presently Queen Elizabeth II, with the assistance of her private secretaries; the order has thus been described as "quite possibly, the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth." Within the limited membership is a designated military division, with its own unique insignia; though it has not been abolished, it is currently unpopulated, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
having been the last person so honoured. Honorary members form another group, to which there is no numerical limit, though such appointments are rare; individuals from countries in the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
that are not headed by Elizabeth II are therefore considered foreigners, and thus are granted only honorary admissions, such as Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
(South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) and Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
(India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
).
Upon admission into the Order of Merit, members are entitled to use the post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles or designatory letters, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of...
OM, and are entrusted with the badge of the order, consisting of a golden crown from which is suspended a red enamelled cross, itself centred by a disk of blue enamel, surrounded by a gold laurel wreath
Laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the bay laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head...
, and bearing in gold lettering the words FOR MERIT; the insignia for the military grouping is distinguished by a pair of crossed swords behind the central disk. The ribbon of the Order of Merit is divided into two stripes of red and blue; men wear their badges on a neck ribbon, while women carry theirs on a ribbon bow pinned to the left shoulder, and aides-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
may wear the insignia on their aiguillette
Aiguillette
An aiguillette is an ornamental braided cord most often worn on uniforms, but may also be observed on other costumes such as academic dress, where it will denote an honour. Originally, the word "aiguillette" referred to the lacing used to fasten plate armor together...
s. Since 1991, it has been required that the insignia be returned upon the recipient's death.
Current members
- Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II
Members:
- (122) The Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
, royal consortPrince consortA prince consort is the husband of a queen regnant who is not himself a king in his own right.Current examples include the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , and Prince Henrik of Denmark .In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal...
, appointed 10 June 1968 - (145) The Reverend William Owen ChadwickOwen ChadwickWilliam Owen Chadwick, OM, KBE, FBA, FRSE is a British professor, writer and prominent historian of Christianity. He was also a rugby union player.-Early life and education:Chadwick was born in Bromley in 1916...
, theological historianTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, appointed 11 November 1983 - (146) Sir Andrew Fielding HuxleyAndrew HuxleySir Andrew Fielding Huxley, OM, FRS is an English physiologist and biophysicist, who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his experimental and mathematical work with Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin on the basis of nerve action potentials, the electrical impulses that enable the activity...
, physiologistPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, Nobel laureateNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
, and former President of the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, appointed 11 November 1983 - (151) Frederick SangerFrederick SangerFrederick Sanger, OM, CH, CBE, FRS is an English biochemist and a two-time Nobel laureate in chemistry, the only person to have been so. In 1958 he was awarded a Nobel prize in chemistry "for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin"...
, biochemistBiochemistryBiochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
and double Nobel laureate, appointed 11 February 1986 - (158) The Lady ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, former British prime ministerPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, appointed 7 December 1990 - (162) Sir Michael Francis AtiyahMichael AtiyahSir Michael Francis Atiyah, OM, FRS, FRSE is a British mathematician working in geometry.Atiyah grew up in Sudan and Egypt but spent most of his academic life in the United Kingdom at Oxford and Cambridge, and in the United States at the Institute for Advanced Study...
, mathematicianAlgebraic topologyAlgebraic topology is a branch of mathematics which uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariants that classify topological spaces up to homeomorphism, though usually most classify up to homotopy equivalence.Although algebraic topology...
, Fields medalFields MedalThe Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
ist, Abel laureateAbel PrizeThe Abel Prize is an international prize presented annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. The prize is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel . It has often been described as the "mathematician's Nobel prize" and is among the most prestigious...
, and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 17 November 1992 - (166) Sir Aaron KlugAaron KlugSir Aaron Klug, OM, PRS is a Lithuanian-born British chemist and biophysicist, and winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes.-Biography:Klug was...
, biophysicistBiophysicsBiophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
, Nobel laureate, and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 23 October 1995 - (169) The Lord Foster of Thames BankNorman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames BankNorman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM is a British architect whose company maintains an international design practice, Foster + Partners....
, architectFoster and PartnersFoster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
and Pritzker laureatePritzker PrizeThe Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
, appointed 25 November 1997 - (174) Sir Anthony Alfred CaroAnthony CaroSir Anthony Alfred Caro, OM, CBE is an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using 'found' industrial objects.-Background and early life:...
, sculptorSculptureSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, appointed 9 May 2000 - (175) Sir Roger PenroseRoger PenroseSir Roger Penrose OM FRS is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College...
, mathematical physicistPenrose tilingA Penrose tiling is a non-periodic tiling generated by an aperiodic set of prototiles named after Sir Roger Penrose, who investigated these sets in the 1970s. The aperiodicity of the Penrose prototiles implies that a shifted copy of a Penrose tiling will never match the original...
, appointed 9 May 2000 - (176) Sir Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
, playwrightThe Real Thing (play)The Real Thing is a play by Tom Stoppard, first performed in 1982. It examines the nature of honesty, and its use of a play within a play is one of many levels on which the author teases the audience with the difference between semblance and reality....
, appointed 9 May 2000 - (177) The Prince of WalesCharles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, heir to the thronePrince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
and conservationistConservation movementThe conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
, appointed 27 June 2002 - (178)
The Lord May of OxfordRobert May, Baron May of OxfordRobert McCredie May, Baron May of Oxford, OM, AC, PRS is an Australian scientist who has been Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, President of the Royal Society, and a Professor at Sydney and Princeton. He now holds joint professorships at Oxford, and Imperial College London...
, ecologistEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 28 October 2002 - (179) The Lord RothschildJacob Rothschild, 4th Baron RothschildNathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, Bt, OM, GBE, FBA is a British investment banker and a member of the prominent Rothschild family of bankers...
, philanthropistPhilanthropyPhilanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
, appointed 28 October 2002 - (180) Sir David Frederick AttenboroughDavid AttenboroughSir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
, broadcaster, appointed 10 June 2005 - (181) The Lady BoothroydBetty BoothroydBetty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC is a British politician, who served as Member of Parliament for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000, initially for the Labour Party and, from 1992 to 2000, as Speaker of the House of Commons...
, first female Speaker of the British House of CommonsSpeaker of the British House of CommonsThe Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
, appointed 10 June 2005 - (182) Sir Michael Eliot HowardMichael Howard (historian)Sir Michael Eliot Howard, OM, CH, CBE, MC, FBA is a British military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War and Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University, and Robert A...
, military historianFranco-Prussian WarThe Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, appointed 10 June 2005 - (183) The Lord EamesRobin EamesRobin Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames OM was the Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006.-Education:...
, Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of ArmaghArchbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland)The Anglican Archbishop of Armagh is the ecclesiastical head of the Church of Ireland, the metropolitan of the Province of Armagh and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Armagh....
, appointed 13 June 2007 - (184) Sir Timothy John Berners-LeeTim Berners-LeeSir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
, inventor of the World Wide WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
and Director of the World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web ConsortiumThe World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
, appointed 13 June 2007 - (185) The Lord Rees of LudlowMartin Rees, Baron Rees of LudlowMartin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He has been Astronomer Royal since 1995 and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge since 2004...
, Astronomer RoyalAstronomer RoyalAstronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....
and former President of the Royal Society, appointed 13 June 2007 - (186)
Joseph Jacques Jean ChrétienJean ChrétienJoseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
, former Canadian prime ministerPrime Minister of CanadaThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, appointed 13 July 2009 - (187) Robert Neil MacGregorNeil MacGregorRobert Neil MacGregor, OM, FSA is an art historian and museum director. He was the Editor of the Burlington Magazine from 1981 to 1987, the Director of the National Gallery, London, from 1987 to 2002, and was appointed Director of the British Museum in 2002...
, art historianArt historyArt history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and Director of the British MuseumDirector of the British MuseumThe Director of the British Museum is the head of the British Museum in London, a post currently held by Neil MacGregor. He is responsible for that institution's general administration and reports its accounts to the British Government...
, appointed 4 November 2010 - Vacant
- Vacant
Honorary members
(165)
Nelson Rolihlahla MandelaNelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, statesman and Nobel laureate, appointed 21 March 1995
Precedence in each realm
As the Order of Merit is open to the citizens of sixteen different countries, each with their own system of orders, decorations, and medals, the order's place of precedence varies from country to country. While, in the United Kingdom, the order's postnominal letters follow those of Knights and Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, membership in the Order of Merit itself gives members no place in any of the orders of precedence in the United Kingdom. However, it has been claimed by Stanley Martin, in his book The Order of Merit 1902-2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour, that the Order of Merit is actually the pinnacle of the British honours system. Similarly, though it was not listed in the Canadian order of precedence for honours, decorations, and medals until December 2010, except relating to those who were appointed to the order prior to 1 June 1972, both Christopher McCreeryChristopher McCreery
Christopher McCreery, MVO is a Canadian author and historian.Best known for his six books on the Canadian honours system. A native of Kingston Ontario McCreery holds a Doctorate in Canadian history from Queen’s University...
, an expert on Canadian honours and secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the...
, and Rafal Heydel-Mankoo
Rafal Heydel-Mankoo
Rafal Heydel-Mankoo Rafal Heydel-Mankoo Rafal Heydel-Mankoo (born 1 June 1976, London, England is a London-based free-lance media correspondent on royal affairs, and a writer, commentator and pundit on heraldry, aristocracy, and various honours systems. He was born in the United Kingdom, and...
, an editor of Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage publishes authoritative, in-depth historical guides to the royal and titled families of the United Kingdom, such as Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, and of many other countries. Founded in 1826 by British genealogist John Burke Esq., and continued by his son, Sir John...
, stated that the Order of Merit was the highest civilian award for merit a Canadian could receive.
Some orders of precedence are as follows:
| Country | Preceding | Following | |
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... Order of precedence Australian Honours Order of Precedence - Order of wear :Order of precedence for the wearing of decorations and awards within the Australian Honours System.Articles marked with * are awards of the British Empire/United Kingdom and are now considered foreign.... |
Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath... (GCB) |
Knight/Dame of the Order of Australia Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"... (AK/AD) |
|
| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... Order of precedence Canadian order of precedence (Decorations and Medals) The following is the Canadian order of precedence for decorations and medals. Where applicable, post-nominal letters are indicated.-Awards of valour:-National orders:-Provincial orders:-National decorations:-National medals:... |
Cross of Valour Cross of Valour (Canada) The Cross of Valour is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest award , the highest honour available for Canadian civilians, and the highest of the three Canadian Bravery Decorations... (CV) |
Companion of the Order of Canada Order of Canada The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit... (CC) |
|
| New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... Order of precedence New Zealand Honours Order of Precedence - Order of Precedence :Order of precedence for the wearing of decorations and awards within New Zealand's honours system.Medals in bold are distinctly New Zealand awards.-Special awards:* Victoria Cross for New Zealand VC* George Cross GC... |
Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath... (GCB) |
Member of the Order of New Zealand Order of New Zealand The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in New Zealand's honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity"... (ONZ) |
|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
and WalesOrder of precedence Order of precedence in England and Wales The Order of precedence in England and Wales as of 11 May 2010:Names in italics indicate higher precedence elsewhere in the table or precedence in the table for the other sex.- Royal Family :* The Sovereign , regardless of gender... |
Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath... (GCB) |
Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III.... (GCMG) |
Substantive members
| Countries | Name | Date of appointment | Date of death | |
| 1. | The Earl Roberts Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, Bt, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ, PC was a distinguished Indian born British soldier who regarded himself as Anglo-Irish and one of the most successful British commanders of the 19th century.-Early life:Born at Cawnpore, India, on... |
26 June 1902 | 14 November 1914 | |
| 2. | The Viscount Wolseley Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, KP, GCB, OM, GCMG, VD, PC was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada, and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign and the Nile Expedition... |
26 June 1902 | 25 March 1913 | |
| 3. | The Earl Kitchener Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway... |
26 June 1902 | 5 June 1916 | |
| 4. | The Lord Rayleigh John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, OM was an English physicist who, with William Ramsay, discovered the element argon, an achievement for which he earned the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904... |
26 June 1902 | 30 June 1919 | |
| 5. | The Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging... |
26 June 1902 | 17 December 1907 | |
| 6. | The Lord Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary... |
26 June 1902 | 10 February 1912 | |
| 7. | Sir Henry Keppel Henry Keppel Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, GCB, OM was a British admiral, son of the 4th Earl of Albemarle and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Lord de Clifford.-Naval career:... |
26 June 1902 | 17 January 1904 | |
| 8. | The Viscount Morley of Blackburn John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn OM, PC was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor. Initially a journalist, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1883... |
26 June 1902 | 23 September 1923 | |
| 9. | William Edward Hartpole Lecky William Edward Hartpole Lecky William Edward Hartpole Lecky, OM was an Irish historian.-Early life:Born at Newtown Park, near Dublin, he was the eldest son of John Hartpole Lecky, a landowner.... |
26 June 1902 | 22 October 1903 | |
| 10. | Sir Edward Hobart Seymour Edward Hobart Seymour Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Hobart Seymour, GCB, OM, GCVO , was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief, China Station.- Early life :... |
26 June 1902 | 2 March 1929 | |
| 11. | Sir William Huggins William Huggins Sir William Huggins, OM, KCB, FRS was an English amateur astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy.-Biography:... |
26 June 1902 | 12 May 1910 | |
| 12. | George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts, OM was a popular English Victorian painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical works, such as Hope and Love and Life... |
26 June 1902 | 1 July 1904 | |
| 13. | Sir George Stuart White | 30 June 1905 | 24 June 1912 | |
| 14. | The Lord Fisher | 30 June 1905 | 10 July 1920 | |
| 15. | Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb Richard Claverhouse Jebb Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb, OM, FBA was a British classical scholar and politician.He was born in Dundee, Scotland. His father was a well-known barrister, and his grandfather a judge... |
30 June 1905 | 9 December 1905 | |
| 16. | Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Lawrence Alma-Tadema Lawrence Alma-Tadema, OM, RA was a Dutch painter.Born in Dronrijp, the Netherlands, and trained at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium, he settled in England in 1870 and spent the rest of his life there... |
30 June 1905 | 25 June 1912 | |
| 17. | George Meredith George Meredith George Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two... |
30 June 1905 | 18 May 1909 | |
| 18. | William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt OM was an English painter, and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Biography:... |
30 June 1905 | 7 September 1910 | |
| 22. | The Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, GCB, OM, GCMG, KCSI, CIE, PC, FRS , was a British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator.... |
29 June 1906 | 29 January 1917 | |
| 23. | The Viscount Bryce James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce OM, GCVO, PC, FRS, FBA was a British academic, jurist, historian and Liberal politician.-Background and education:... |
11 February 1907 | 22 January 1922 | |
| 24. | Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend... |
30 June 1907 | 10 December 1911 | |
| 25. | Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night... |
12 May 1907 | 13 August 1910 | |
| 26. | Henry Jackson Henry Jackson (classicist) Henry Jackson, OM, , was an English classicist. He served as the vice-master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1914 to 1919, praelector in ancient philosophy from 1875 to 1906 and Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge from 1906 to 1921, and was awarded the Order of Merit on 26... |
26 June 1908 | 25 September 1921 | |
| 27. | Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist... |
26 June 1908 | 7 November 1913 | |
| 28. | Sir William Crookes William Crookes Sir William Crookes, OM, FRS was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, London, and worked on spectroscopy... |
8 July 1910 | 4 April 1919 | |
| 29. | Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a... |
8 July 1910 | 11 January 1928 | |
| 30. | Sir George Otto Trevelyan Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet OM, PC was a British statesman and author. In a ministerial career stretching almost 30 years, he was most notably twice Secretary of State for Scotland under William Ewart Gladstone and the Earl of Rosebery... |
19 June 1911 | 17 August 1928 | |
| 31. | Sir Edward William Elgar Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos... |
19 June 1911 | 23 February 1934 | |
| 32. | Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson | 8 March 1912 | 25 May 1921 | |
| 33. | Sir Joseph John Thomson J. J. Thomson Sir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson, OM, FRS was a British physicist and Nobel laureate. He is credited for the discovery of the electron and of isotopes, and the invention of the mass spectrometer... |
15 March 1912 | 30 August 1940 | |
| 34. | Sir Archibald Geikie Archibald Geikie Sir Archibald Geikie, OM, KCB, PRS, FRSE , was a Scottish geologist and writer.-Early life:Geikie was born in Edinburgh in 1835, the eldest son of musician and music critic James Stuart Geikie... |
1 January 1914 | 10 November 1924 | |
| 35. | The Earl of Ypres John French, 1st Earl of Ypres Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, KP, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCMG, ADC, PC , known as The Viscount French between 1916 and 1922, was a British and Anglo-Irish officer... |
3 December 1914 | 22 May 1925 | |
| 36. | The Viscount Haldane Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane KT, OM, PC, KC, FRS, FBA, FSA , was an influential British Liberal Imperialist and later Labour politician, lawyer and philosopher. He was Secretary of State for War between 1905 and 1912 during which time the "Haldane Reforms" were implemented... |
26 May 1915 | 19 August 1928 | |
| 37. | Henry James Henry James Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.... |
1 January 1916 | 28 February 1916 | |
| 38. | The Earl Jellicoe John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I... |
31 May 1916 | 20 November 1935 | |
| 39. | The Earl of Balfour Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman... |
3 June 1916 | 19 March 1930 | |
| 41. | The Earl Beatty David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy... |
3 June 1919 | 11 March 1936 | |
| 42. | The Earl Haig Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War... |
3 June 1919 | 29 January 1928 | |
| 44. | The Earl Lloyd-George David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman... |
5 August 1919 | 26 March 1945 | |
| 45. | Sir James Matthew Barrie J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright... |
2 January 1922 | 19 June 1937 | |
| 46. | Francis Herbert Bradley F. H. Bradley Francis Herbert Bradley, OM, was a British idealist philosopher.- Life :Bradley was born at Clapham, Surrey, England . He was the child of Charles Bradley, an evangelical preacher, and Emma Linton, Charles's second wife. A. C. Bradley was his brother... |
3 June 1924 | 18 September 1924 | |
| 47. | Sir Charles Scott Sherrington Charles Scott Sherrington Sir Charles Scott Sherrington, OM, GBE, PRS was an English neurophysiologist, histologist, bacteriologist, and a pathologist, Nobel laureate and president of the Royal Society in the early 1920s... |
3 June 1924 | 4 March 1952 | |
| 48. | Sir James George Frazer | 1 January 1925 | 7 May 1941 | |
| 49. | / | The Lord Rutherford of Nelson Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics... |
1 January 1925 | 19 October 1937 |
| 50. | Sir Charles Algernon Parsons Charles Algernon Parsons Sir Charles Algernon Parsons OM KCB FRS was an Anglo-Irish engineer, best known for his invention of the steam turbine. He worked as an engineer on dynamo and turbine design, and power generation, with great influence on the naval and electrical engineering fields... |
3 June 1927 | 11 February 1931 | |
| 51. | Sir George Abraham Grierson George Abraham Grierson Sir George Abraham Grierson OM KCIE was born to a prominent Dublin family in 1851. His father and grandfather, both also named George, were well-known printers and publishers.-Biography:Educated at St... |
4 June 1928 | 9 March 1941 | |
| 52. | Robert Seymour Bridges Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges, OM, was a British poet, and poet laureate from 1913 to 1930.-Personal and professional life:... |
3 June 1929 | 21 April 1930 | |
| 53. | John Galsworthy John Galsworthy John Galsworthy OM was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter... |
3 June 1929 | 31 January 1933 | |
| 54. | / |
Samuel Alexander Samuel Alexander Samuel Alexander OM was an Australian-born British philosopher. He was the first Jewish fellow of an Oxbridge college.-Early life:... |
3 June 1930 | 13 September 1938 |
| 55. | Montague Rhodes James M. R. James Montague Rhodes James, OM, MA, , who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge and of Eton College . He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre... |
3 June 1930 | 12 June 1936 | |
| 56. | George Macaulay Trevelyan G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a... |
3 June 1930 | 21 July 1962 | |
| 57. | Sir Charles Edward Madden | 1 January 1931 | 5 June 1935 | |
| 58. | Philip Wilson Steer Philip Wilson Steer Philip Wilson Steer OM was a British painter of landscape and occasional portraits and figure studies. He was a leading figure in the Impressionist movement in Britain.-Life and work:... |
1 January 1931 | 18 March 1942 | |
| 59. | Sir William Henry Bragg William Henry Bragg Sir William Henry Bragg OM, KBE, PRS was a British physicist, chemist, mathematician and active sportsman who uniquely shared a Nobel Prize with his son William Lawrence Bragg - the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics... |
3 June 1931 | 10 March 1942 | |
| 60. | John William Mackail John William Mackail John William Mackail O.M. was a Scottish man of letters and socialist, now best remembered as a Virgil scholar. He was also a poet, literary historian and biographer.... |
1 January 1935 | 13 December 1945 | |
| 61. | John Edward Masefield John Masefield John Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967... |
3 June 1935 | 12 May 1967 | |
| 62. | Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many... |
3 June 1935 | 26 August 1958 | |
| 63. | Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins | 3 June 1935 | 16 May 1947 | |
| 64. | The Lord Chetwode Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode Field Marshal Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode, 7th Baronet of Oakley, GCB, OM, GCSI, KCMG, DSO was a British cavalry officer who became Commander in Chief in India.-Early life and education:... |
1 January 1936 | 6 July 1950 | |
| 65. | Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher Herbert Fisher Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher OM, FRS, PC was an English historian, educator, and Liberal politician. He served as President of the Board of Education in David Lloyd George's 1916 to 1922 coalition government.... |
1 February 1937 | 18 April 1940 | |
| 66. | The Lord Baden-Powell Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Bt, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB , also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scout Movement.... |
11 May 1937 | 8 January 1941 | |
| 67. | Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington Arthur Stanley Eddington Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, OM, FRS was a British astrophysicist of the early 20th century. He was also a philosopher of science and a popularizer of science... |
9 June 1938 | 22 November 1944 | |
| 68. | The Lord Chatfield Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield Admiral of the Fleet The Rt Hon. Sir Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, GCB, OM, KCMG, CVO, PC was a Royal Navy officer and held the position of First Sea Lord from 1933 to 1939... |
2 January 1939 | 15 November 1967 | |
| 69. | Sir James Hopwood Jeans James Hopwood Jeans Sir James Hopwood Jeans OM FRS MA DSc ScD LLD was an English physicist, astronomer and mathematician.-Background:... |
2 January 1939 | 16 September 1946 | |
| 70. | The Lord Newall Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Louis Norton Newall, 1st Baron Newall GCB OM GCMG CBE AM , was a British soldier and airman, who headed the Royal Air Force as the Chief of the Air Staff during the early part of the Second World War before serving as the sixth Governor-General of New Zealand... |
29 October 1940 | 30 November 1963 | |
| 71. | / |
George Gilbert Aimé Murray Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray, OM was an Australian born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greece, perhaps the leading authority in the first half of the twentieth century... |
1 January 1941 | 20 May 1957 |
| 72. | Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era... |
1 January 1942 | 1 January 1944 | |
| 73. | Augustus Edwin John Augustus John Augustus Edwin John OM, RA, was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a short time around 1910, he was an important exponent of Post-Impressionism in the United Kingdom.... |
11 June 1942 | 31 October 1961 | |
| 74. | The Lord Adrian Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian OM PRS was a British electrophysiologist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize for Physiology, won jointly with Sir Charles Sherrington for work on the function of neurons.... |
11 June 1942 | 4 August 1977 | |
| 75. | Sir William Searle Holdsworth William Searle Holdsworth Sir William Searle Holdsworth, OM, KC, DCL, LL.D, FBA, was Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford University and a legal historian, amongst whose works is the 17 volume History of English Law.-Early life:... |
1 January 1943 | 2 January 1944 | |
| 76. | Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound Dudley Pound Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound GCB OM GCVO RN was a British naval officer who served as First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy from June 1939 to September 1943.- Early life :... |
3 September 1943 | 21 October 1943 | |
| 77. | The Lord Passfield | 8 June 1944 | 13 October 1947 | |
| 78. | Sir Henry Hallett Dale Henry Hallett Dale Sir Henry Hallett Dale, OM, GBE, PRS was an English pharmacologist and physiologist. For his study of acetylcholine as agent in the chemical transmission of nerve impulses he shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Otto Loewi.-Biography:Henry Hallett Dale was born in Islington,... |
8 June 1944 | 23 July 1968 | |
| 79. | Sir Giles Gilbert Scott Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box.... |
8 June 1944 | 8 February 1960 | |
| 80. | / |
Alfred North Whitehead Alfred North Whitehead Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education... |
1 January 1945 | 30 December 1947 |
| 82. | Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice... |
1 January 1946 | 24 January 1965 | |
| 83. | The Viscount Portal of Hungerford Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford KG GCB OM DSO & Bar MC was a senior Royal Air Force officer and an advocate of strategic bombing... |
1 January 1946 | 22 April 1971 | |
| 84. | The Viscount Alanbrooke Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke Field Marshal The Rt. Hon. Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar , was a senior commander in the British Army. He was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and was promoted to Field Marshal in 1944... |
13 June 1946 | 17 June 1963 | |
| 85. | The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope KT, GCB, OM, DSO and two Bars , was a British admiral of the Second World War. Cunningham was widely known by his nickname, "ABC".... |
13 June 1946 | 12 June 1963 | |
| 86. | The Earl of Halifax E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, , known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the most senior British Conservative politicians of the 1930s, during which he held several senior ministerial posts, most notably as... |
13 June 1946 | 23 December 1959 | |
| 87. |  |
Jan Christiaan Smuts Jan Smuts Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948... |
1 January 1947 | 11 September 1950 |
| 89. |  |
William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948... |
17 November 1947 | 22 July 1950 |
| 90. | Thomas Stearns Eliot T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his... |
1 January 1948 | 4 January 1965 | |
| 91. | Sir Robert Robinson | 9 June 1949 | 8 February 1975 | |
| 92. | The Earl Russell Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things... |
9 June 1949 | 2 February 1970 | |
| 93. | Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan | 1 January 1951 | 9 July 1968 | |
| 94. | The Viscount Trenchard Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard GCB OM GCVO DSO was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force... |
1 January 1951 | 10 February 1956 | |
| 95. | George Edward Moore George Edward Moore George Edward Moore OM, was an English philosopher. He was, with Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Gottlob Frege, one of the founders of the analytic tradition in philosophy... |
7 June 1951 | 24 October 1958 | |
| 96. | The Earl Attlee Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955... |
5 November 1951 | 8 October 1967 | |
| 97. | |
Wilder Graves Penfield Wilder Penfield Wilder Graves Penfield, OM, CC, CMG, FRS was an American born Canadian neurosurgeon. During his life he was called "the greatest living Canadian"... |
1 January 1953 | 5 April 1976 |
| 98. | Walter John de la Mare Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare , OM CH was an English poet, short story writer and novelist, probably best remembered for his works for children and the poem "The Listeners".... |
1 June 1953 | 22 June 1956 | |
| 100. | The Lord Hailey William Hailey, 1st Baron Hailey William Malcolm Hailey, 1st Baron Hailey OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC , known as Sir Malcolm Hailey between 1921 and 1936, was a British peer and administrator in British India.-Education:... |
31 May 1956 | 1 June 1969 | |
| 101. | Sir John Douglas Cockcroft John Cockcroft Sir John Douglas Cockcroft OM KCB CBE FRS was a British physicist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus with Ernest Walton, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power.... |
1 January 1957 | 18 September 1967 | |
| 102. | The Viscount Waverley John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, PC, PC was a British civil servant then politician who served as a minister under Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill as Home Secretary, Lord President of the Council and Chancellor of the Exchequer... |
8 December 1957 | 4 January 1958 | |
| 103. | |
Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet Frank Macfarlane Burnet Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, , usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist best known for his contributions to immunology.... |
12 June 1958 | 31 August 1985 |
| 104. | The Viscount Samuel Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel GCB OM GBE PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Early years:... |
21 November 1958 | 2 February 1963 | |
| 105. | The Earl Alexander of Tunis Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis was a British military commander and field marshal of Anglo-Irish descent who served with distinction in both world wars and, afterwards, as Governor General of Canada, the 17th since Canadian... |
23 April 1960 | 16 June 1969 | |
| 106. | Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood Cyril Norman Hinshelwood Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood OM PRS was an English physical chemist.Born in London, his parents were Norman Macmillan Hinshelwood, a chartered accountant, and Ethe Frances née Smith. He was educated first in Canada, returning in 1905 on the death of his father to a small flat in Chelsea where he... |
23 April 1960 | 9 October 1967 | |
| 107. | Graham Sutherland Graham Sutherland Graham Vivien Sutherland OM was an English artist.-Early life:He was born in Streatham, attending Homefield Preparatory School, Sutton. He was then educated at Epsom College, Surrey before going up to Goldsmiths, University of London... |
23 April 1960 | 17 February 1980 | |
| 108. | Sir Geoffrey de Havilland Geoffrey de Havilland Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, OM, CBE, AFC, RDI, FRAeS, was a British aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer... |
23 November 1962 | 21 May 1965 | |
| 109. | Sir Basil Urwin Spence Basil Spence Sir Basil Urwin Spence, OM, OBE, RA was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Modernist/Brutalist style.-Training:Spence was born in Bombay, India, the son of Urwin... |
23 November 1962 | 19 November 1976 | |
| 110. | |
Sir Owen Dixon Owen Dixon Sir Owen Dixon, OM, GCMG, KC Australian judge and diplomat, was the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. A justice of the High Court for thirty-five years, Dixon was one of the leading jurists in the English-speaking world and is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever jurist.-Education:Dixon... |
29 May 1963 | 7 July 1972 |
| 112. | George Peabody Gooch George Peabody Gooch George Peabody Gooch OM, CH was a British journalist, historian and Liberal Party politician. A follower of Lord Acton, he never held an academic position, but knew the work of historians of continental Europe.-Early life:... |
16 August 1963 | 31 August 1968 | |
| 113. | Henry Spencer Moore Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art.... |
16 August 1963 | 31 August 1986 | |
| 114. | The Lord Britten Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to... |
23 March 1965 | 4 December 1976 | |
| 115. | Dorothy Mary Hodgkin | 23 March 1965 | 29 July 1994 | |
| 116. | The Earl Mountbatten of Burma Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh... |
15 July 1965 | 27 August 1979 | |
| 117. | / |
The Lord Florey | 15 July 1965 | 21 February 1968 |
| 118. | The Lord Blackett Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett, Baron Blackett OM CH FRS was an English experimental physicist known for his work on cloud chambers, cosmic rays, and paleomagnetism. He also made a major contribution in World War II advising on military strategy and developing Operational Research... |
20 November 1967 | 13 July 1974 | |
| 119. | Sir William Turner Walton William Walton Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera... |
20 November 1967 | 8 March 1983 | |
| 120. | Benjamin Lauder Nicholson Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:... |
23 April 1968 | 6 February 1982 | |
| 121. | / |
The Lord Zuckerman | 23 April 1968 | 1 April 1993 |
| 123. | Edward Morgan Forster E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society... |
1 January 1969 | 7 June 1970 | |
| 124. | Malcolm John MacDonald Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm John MacDonald OM, PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Background:MacDonald was the son of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and Margaret MacDonald. Like his father he was born in Lossiemouth, Moray... |
14 July 1969 | 11 January 1981 | |
| 125. | The Lord Penney William Penney, Baron Penney William George Penney, Baron Penney OM, KBE PhD, DSc, , FRS, FRSE, FIC, Hon FCGI was a British mathematician who was responsible for the development of British nuclear technology, following World War II... |
14 July 1969 | 3 March 1991 | |
| 126. | Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor Geoffrey Ingram Taylor Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor OM was a British physicist, mathematician and expert on fluid dynamics and wave theory. His biographer and one-time student, George Batchelor, described him as "one of the most notable scientists of this century".-Biography:Taylor was born in St. John's Wood, London... |
14 July 1969 | 27 June 1975 | |
| 127. | Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood Veronica Wedgwood Dame Veronica Wedgwood OM DBE was an English historian who generally published under the name C. V. Wedgwood... |
14 July 1969 | 9 March 1997 | |
| 128. | John Cawte Beaglehole John Cawte Beaglehole John Cawte Beaglehole, OM, CMG was a New Zealand historian whose greatest scholastic achievement was the editing of James Cook’s three journals of exploration, together with the writing of an acclaimed biography of Cook, published posthumously... |
21 March 1970 | 10 October 1971 | |
| 129. | |
Lester Bowles Pearson Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis... |
20 May 1971 | 27 December 1972 |
| 130. | Sir Isaiah Berlin Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation... |
20 May 1971 | 5 November 1997 | |
| 131. | Sir George Robert Freeman Edwards George Edwards (aviation) Sir George Robert Freeman Edwards, OM, CBE, FRS, DL , was a British aircraft designer and industrialist.Edwards was born in Highams Park, England... |
20 May 1971 | 2 March 2003 | |
| 132. | Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin Alan Lloyd Hodgkin Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, OM, KBE, PRS was a British physiologist and biophysicist, who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Andrew Huxley and John Eccles.... |
17 April 1973 | 20 December 1998 | |
| 133. | Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac Paul Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS was an English theoretical physicist who made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics... |
17 April 1973 | 20 October 1984 | |
| 134. | The Earl of Stockton Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963.... |
2 April 1976 | 29 December 1986 | |
| 135. | The Lord Hinton of Bankside | 2 April 1976 | 22 June 1983 | |
| 136. | The Lord Clark Kenneth Clark Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation... |
2 April 1976 | 21 May 1983 | |
| 137. | / | Sir Ronald Syme Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. Long associated with Oxford University, he is widely regarded as the 20th century's greatest historian of ancient Rome... |
2 April 1976 | 4 September 1989 |
| 138. | The Lord Todd Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron Todd, OM, PRS FRSE was a Scottish biochemist whose research on the structure and synthesis of nucleotides, nucleosides, and nucleotide coenzymes gained him the 1957 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.Todd was born near Glasgow, attended Allan Glen's School and graduated from... |
24 October 1977 | 10 January 1997 | |
| 139. | The Lord Franks | 24 October 1977 | 15 October 1992 | |
| 140. | Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM, CH, CBE was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, but also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues.-Early life:Ashton was born at... |
24 October 1977 | 18 October 1988 | |
| 141. | John Boynton Priestley J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls... |
24 October 1977 | 14 August 1984 | |
| 142. | The Lord Olivier Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright... |
6 February 1981 | 11 July 1989 | |
| 143. | Sir Peter Brian Medawar Peter Medawar Sir Peter Brian Medawar OM CBE FRS was a British biologist, whose work on graft rejection and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance was fundamental to the practice of tissue and organ transplants... |
6 February 1981 | 2 October 1987 | |
| 144. | The Lord Cheshire Leonard Cheshire Group Captain Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO and Two Bars, DFC was a highly decorated British RAF pilot during the Second World War.... |
6 February 1981 | 31 July 1992 | |
| 147. | |
Sir Sidney Robert Nolan Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan OM, AC was one of Australia's best-known painters and printmakers.-Early life:Nolan was born in Carlton, a suburb of Melbourne, on 22 April 1917. He was the eldest of four children. His family later moved to St Kilda. Nolan attended the Brighton Road State School and... |
11 November 1983 | 28 November 1992 |
| 148. | Sir Michael Kemp Tippett Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music... |
11 November 1983 | 8 January 1998 | |
| 150. | Henry Graham Greene Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world... |
11 February 1986 | 3 April 1991 | |
| 152. | Sir Frank Whittle Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air... |
11 February 1986 | 9 August 1996 | |
| 153. | The Lord Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985... |
25 February 1987 | 12 March 1999 | |
| 154. | Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich Ernst Gombrich Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, OM, CBE was an Austrian-born art historian who became naturalized British citizen in 1947. He spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom... |
15 February 1988 | 3 November 2001 | |
| 155. | Max Ferdinand Perutz Max Perutz Max Ferdinand Perutz, OM, CH, CBE, FRS was an Austrian-born British molecular biologist, who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with John Kendrew, for their studies of the structures of hemoglobin and globular proteins... |
15 February 1988 | 6 February 2002 | |
| 156. | Dame Cicely Mary Saunders Cicely Saunders Dame Cicely Mary Saunders, was a prominent Anglican, nurse, physician and writer, involved with many international universities... |
30 November 1989 | 14 July 2005 | |
| 157. | The Lord Porter of Luddenham George Porter George Hornidge Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, OM, FRS was a British chemist.- Life :Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, South Yorkshire. He was educated at Thorne Grammar School, then won a scholarship to the University of Leeds and gained his first degree in chemistry... |
30 November 1989 | 31 August 2002 | |
| 159. | |
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s.... |
29 November 1991 | 10 October 2010 |
| 160. | / |
Francis Harry Compton Crick Francis Crick Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson... |
27 November 1991 | 28 July 2004 |
| 161. | Dame Ninette de Valois Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE, FRAD, FISTD was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet... |
17 November 1992 | 8 March 2001 | |
| 163. | The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in... |
6 December 1993 | 5 January 2003 | |
| 164. | Lucian Michael Freud Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time... |
6 December 1993 | 20 July 2011 | |
| 167. | Sir Arthur John Gielgud John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937... |
9 December 1996 | 21 May 2000 | |
| 168. | The Lord Denning Alfred Denning, Baron Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning, OM, PC, DL, KC , commonly known as Lord Denning, was a British soldier, mathematician, lawyer and judge. He gained degrees in mathematics and law at Oxford University, although his studies were disrupted by his service in the First World War... |
25 November 1997 | 5 March 1999 | |
| 170. | Sir Denis Eric Rooke Denis Rooke Sir Denis Eric Rooke, OM, CBE, FRS, FREng was a British industrialist and engineer.-Personal life:Rooke was born in New Cross, London, the younger son of F. G. Rooke. He studied Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering at University College London, then served in REME until 1949, attaining... |
25 November 1997 | 2 September 2008 | |
| 171. | Edward James Hughes Ted Hughes Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until... |
10 August 1998 | 28 October 1998 | |
| 172. | George Haliburton Hume | 25 May 1999 | 17 June 1999 | |
| 173. | Sir James Whyte Black James W. Black Sir James Whyte Black, OM, FRS, FRSE, FRCP was a Scottish doctor and pharmacologist. He spent his career both as researcher and as an academic at several universities. Black established the physiology department at the University of Glasgow, where he became interested in the effects of adrenaline... |
9 May 2000 | 22 March 2010 |
Honorary members
| Countries | Name | Date of appointment | Date of death | |
| 19. |  |
Prince Yamagata Aritomo Yamagata Aritomo Field Marshal Prince , also known as Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and twice Prime Minister of Japan. He is considered one of the architects of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan. Yamagata Aritomo can be seen as the father of Japanese... |
21 February 1906 | 1 February 1922 |
| 20. | |
Prince Ōyama Iwao Oyama Iwao |-... |
21 February 1906 | 10 December 1916 |
| 21. | |
Marquess Tōgō Heihachirō Togo Heihachiro Fleet Admiral Marquis was a Fleet Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He was termed by Western journalists as "the Nelson of the East".-Early life:... |
21 February 1906 | 30 May 1934 |
| 40. |  |
Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its... |
29 November 1918 | 20 March 1929 |
| 43. | |
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre OM was a French general during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in 1914. His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.-Biography:Joffre was born in... |
26 June 1919 | 3 January 1931 |
| 81. | |
Dwight David Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army... |
12 June 1945 | 28 March 1969 |
| 88. | |
John Gilbert Winant John Gilbert Winant John Gilbert Winant OM was an American politician with the Republican party after a brief career as a teacher in Concord, New Hampshire. Born in New York City, Winant held positions in New Hampshire, national, and international politics... |
1 January 1947 | 3 November 1947 |
| 99. | |
Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire... |
25 February 1955 | 4 September 1965 |
| 111. |  |
Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan , OM, FBA was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He was the first Vice President of India and subsequently the second President of India .... |
12 June 1963 | 17 April 1975 |
| 149. |  / |
Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu Mother Teresa Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950... |
18 November 1983 | 5 September 1997 |