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The Order of Merit is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
 Order
Order (decoration)

An order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a Dynasty, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity....
 bestowed by the Monarch
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of Canada, Monarchy of Australia, Monarchy of New Zealand, Monarchy of Jamaica, Monarchy of Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Monarchy of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sain...
. It was established in 1902 by King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910....
 (based on the Prussia
Prussia

Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....
n Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite

The Pour le M?rite, known informally during World War I as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military Order until the end of World War I....
) as a reward for distinguished service in the armed forces
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 and internal aggressors....
, science
Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
, art
Art

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature....
, literature
Literature

Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" . In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction....
, or for the promotion of culture
Culture

Culture is difficult to define. 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....
. Appointments to the Order are in the Sovereign's personal gift and ministerial advice is not required. The Order of Merit ranks immediately below Knight Grand Cross
Knight Grand Cross

Knight Grand Cross is the most senior grade of seven United Kingdom order of chivalry, three of which are obsolete. The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the recipient to use the title 'Sir' or 'Dame' before his or her name....
 of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a United Kingdom order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements....
; and although it confers no title, recipients are entitled to add the suffix O.M.






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Encyclopedia


The Order of Merit is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
 Order
Order (decoration)

An order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a Dynasty, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity....
 bestowed by the Monarch
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of Canada, Monarchy of Australia, Monarchy of New Zealand, Monarchy of Jamaica, Monarchy of Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Monarchy of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sain...
. It was established in 1902 by King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910....
 (based on the Prussia
Prussia

Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....
n Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite

The Pour le M?rite, known informally during World War I as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military Order until the end of World War I....
) as a reward for distinguished service in the armed forces
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 and internal aggressors....
, science
Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
, art
Art

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature....
, literature
Literature

Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" . In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction....
, or for the promotion of culture
Culture

Culture is difficult to define. 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....
. Appointments to the Order are in the Sovereign's personal gift and ministerial advice is not required. The Order of Merit ranks immediately below Knight Grand Cross
Knight Grand Cross

Knight Grand Cross is the most senior grade of seven United Kingdom order of chivalry, three of which are obsolete. The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the recipient to use the title 'Sir' or 'Dame' before his or her name....
 of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a United Kingdom order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements....
; and although it confers no title, recipients are entitled to add the suffix O.M. after their surname.

The badge has the appearance of a red cross surmounted by a golden crown. The rarer military awards are distinguished from the civil by having a pair of crossed swords behind the central medallion. The ribbon is red and blue.

The Order is limited to the Sovereign
List of British monarchs

This is a list of the monarchs of Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed on 1 May 1707 with the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which had been in personal union under the House of Stuart since 24 March 1603....
 and twenty-four members, but additional foreigners may be added as "honorary members". From the beginning the Order was open to women, and Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale, Order of Merit , Royal Red Cross , who came to be known as "The Lady with the Lamp", was a pioneering nurse, writer and noted statistician....
 was the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907.

Current members

  • Sovereign: HM The Queen
    Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

    Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of Canada, Monarchy of Australia, Monarchy of New Zealand, Monarchy of Jamaica, Monarchy of Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Monarchy of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sain...
  • Members:
    • The Duke of Edinburgh
      Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

      The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom since 20 November 1947, and her prince consort since 6 February 1952....
       KG KT OM GBE AC QSO CD PC
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1968), Royal Consort
      Prince consort

      A prince consort, generally speaking, is a common term for the husband of a queen regnant, unless he himself also is a Monarchy in his own right....
    • Owen Chadwick
      Owen Chadwick

      William Owen Chadwick, Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire, British Academy, Royal Society of Edinburgh is a United Kingdom professor, writer and prominent historian of Christianity....
       OM KBE
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1983), Theological Historian
      Theology

      Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
    • Sir Andrew Huxley
      Andrew Huxley

      Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley, Order of Merit , Royal Society is an England physiology and biophysics, who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work with Alan Lloyd Hodgkin on the basis of nerve action potentials, the electrical impulses that enable the activity of an organism to be coordinated by a central nervous system....
       OM FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1983), Physiologist
      Physiology

      Physiology is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. Physiology has traditionally been divided between plant physiology and animal and all living things physiology but the principles of physiology are universal, no matter what particular organism is being studied....
      , Nobel Laureate
      Nobel Prize

      The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
       (Medicine) and President of the Royal Society
      Royal Society

      The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
       (1980-1985)
    • Dr Frederick Sanger
      Frederick Sanger

      Frederick Sanger, Order of Merit , Order of the Companions of Honour, Order of the British Empire, Royal Society is an England biochemistry and twice a Nobel laureate in chemistry....
       OM CH CBE FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1986), Biochemist
      Biochemistry

      Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry processes in living organisms. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules....
       and Double Nobel
      Nobel Prize

      The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
       Laureate
      Nobel Prize in Chemistry

      The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Pri...
       (Chemistry)
      Nobel Prize in Chemistry

      The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Pri...
    • Baroness Thatcher
      Margaret Thatcher

      Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Fellow of the Royal Society was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990....
       LG OM PC FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1990), British Prime Minister
      Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

      The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the head of government Her Majesty's Government....
       (1979-1990)
      Thatcherism

      Thatcherism is the "distinctive ideology, political style and programme of polices of the British Conservative Party after Margaret Thatcher was elected leader in 1975"....
    • Dame Joan Sutherland
      Joan Sutherland

      Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, Order of Merit, Order of Australia, Order of the British Empire is an Australian voice type soprano noted for her contribution in the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s....
       OM AC DBE
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1991), Coloratura
      Coloratura

      Coloratura has several meanings. The word derives from the Italian colorare or colorazione .The term normally refers to a soprano who has the vocal ability to produce notes above C#6 and whose tessitura is A4-A5 or higher ....
       Soprano
      Soprano

      A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
    • Sir Michael Atiyah
      Michael Atiyah

      Sir Michael Francis Atiyah, Order of Merit , Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh is a United Kingdom mathematician, and one of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century....
       OM FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1992), Mathematician
      Algebraic topology

      Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics which uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariant that classification theorem topological spaces up to homeomorphism....
      , Fields medal
      Fields Medal

      The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of Mathematicians of the International Mathematical Union, a meeting that takes place every four years....
      ist, Abel Laureate
      Abel Prize

      The 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 people mathematician Niels Henrik Abel ....
       and President of the Royal Society
      Royal Society

      The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
       (1990-1995)
    • Lucian Freud
      Lucian Freud

      Lucian Michael Freud, Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour is a British Painting of Germany origin....
       OM CH
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1993), Painter
      Portrait

      A portrait is a portrait painting, portrait photography, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant....
    • Sir Aaron Klug
      Aaron Klug

      Sir Aaron Klug, Order of Merit, President of the Royal Society is a Lithuanian-born United Kingdom chemist and biophysicist, and winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his development of electron crystallography and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes....
       OM FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1995), Biophysicist
      Biophysics

      Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that employs and develops theories and methods of the physical sciences for the investigation of biology systems....
      , Nobel Laureate
      Nobel Prize

      The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
       (Chemistry)
      Nobel Prize in Chemistry

      The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Pri...
       and President of the Royal Society (1995-2000)
    • Lord Foster of Thames Bank
      Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

      Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, Order of Merit, Royal Institute of British Architects, Chartered Society of Designers, Royal Designers for Industry, is a British architect whose company maintains an international design practice....
       OM RA
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1997), Architect
      Foster and Partners

      Foster + Partners is a leading architectural firm based in the United Kingdom. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
       and Pritzker Laureate
      Pritzker Prize

      The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honor "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 environment through the art of architecture."...
    • Sir James Black
      James W. Black

      Sir James Whyte Black, Order of Merit, Royal Society, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Royal College of Physicians is a Scotland Physician and Pharmacology who invented Propranolol, synthesized Cimetidine and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988 for these discoveries....
       OM FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2000), Pharmacologist
      Pharmacology

      Pharmacology is the study of drug action. More specifically it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and exogenous chemicals that alter normal biochemical function....
       and Nobel Laureate (Medicine)
      Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

      The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded once a year by the Swedish Karolinska Institutet. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Physiology or Medic...
    • Sir Anthony Caro
      Anthony Caro

      Sir Anthony Caro, Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire, is an England, abstract art sculpture whose work is characterised by assemblies of metal using 'found' industrial objects....
       OM CBE
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2000), Sculptor
      Sculpture

      Sculpture is Three-dimensional space artwork created by shaping or combining hard and or plastic material, sound, and or text and or light, commonly Stone sculpture , metal, glass, or wood....
    • Sir Roger Penrose
      Roger Penrose

      Sir Roger Penrose, Order of Merit , Royal Society 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....
       OM FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2000), Mathematical physicist
      Penrose tiling

      File:Penrose Tiling .svgA Penrose tiling is a nonperiodic tessellation generated by an aperiodic tiling of prototiles named after Roger Penrose, who investigated these sets in the 1970s....
    • Sir Tom Stoppard
      Tom Stoppard

      Sir Tom Stoppard Order of Merit , Order of the British Empire, FRSL is a British screenwriter and playwright. He has written plays such as The Coast of Utopia, Arcadia , Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, and Rock 'n' Roll ....
       OM CBE
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2000), Playwright
      The 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....
    • The Prince of Wales
      Charles, Prince of Wales

      The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, making him heir apparent, equally and separately, to the thrones of Commonwealth realm....
       KG KT GCB OM AK QSO CD PC ADC
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2002), Heir to the Throne
      Prince of Wales

      Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom . The current Prince of Wales is Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom....
    • Lord May of Oxford OM AC FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2002), Ecologist
      Ecology

      Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
       and President of the Royal Society
      Royal Society

      The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
       (2000-2005)
    • Lord Rothschild
      Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild

      Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild , Baronet Order of Merit Order of the British Empire Fellow of the British Academy is a United Kingdom investment banker, philanthropist and a member of the prominent Rothschild family of bankers....
       OM GBE FBA
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2002), Philanthropist
      Philanthropy

      Philanthropy derives from Latin, meaning "to love people". Philanthropy is the act of donation money, goods, services, time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause, with a defined objective and with no financial or material reward to the donor....
    • Sir David Attenborough
      David Attenborough

      Sir David Frederick Attenborough Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour, Royal Victorian Order, Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Royal Society is a broadcasting and naturalist....
       OM CH CVO CBE FRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2005), Broadcaster
    • Baroness Boothroyd
      Betty Boothroyd

      Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, Order of Merit, Privy Council of the United Kingdom served as the first, and to date only woman Speaker of the House of Commons of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom between 1992 and 2000....
       OM PC
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (2005), First female Speaker of the House of Commons
      Speaker of the British House of Commons

      In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land....
    • Sir Michael Howard
      Michael Howard (historian)

      Sir Michael Eliot Howard, Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour, Order of the British Empire, Military Cross is a retired United Kingdom military history, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War and Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University, and Robert A....
       OM CH KBE MC
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
              (2005), Military historian
      Franco-Prussian War

      The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between Second French Empire and Kingdom of Prussia, while Prussia was backed by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Grand Duchy of Baden, History of W?rttemberg#The Kingdom...
    • Sir Timothy Berners-Lee
      Tim Berners-Lee

      Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire, Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society of Arts is an English people computer scientist and MIT professor credited with inventing the World Wide Web....
       OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
              (2007), Inventor of the World Wide Web
      World Wide Web

      The World Wide Web is a very large set of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a Web browser, one can view Web pages that may contain writing, s, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them using hyperlinks....
      , Director of the W3C
    • Lord Rees of Ludlow
      Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow

      Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, Order of Merit, President of the Royal Society is an England Physical cosmology and astrophysicist. He has been Astronomer Royal since 1995, and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge since 2004....
       OM PRS
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
              (2007), Astronomer Royal
      Astronomer Royal

      Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Monarch 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....
       (1995 - ) and President of the Royal Society
      Royal Society

      The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
       (2005 - )
    • Lord Eames
      Robin Eames

      Robin Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames, Order of Merit was the Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006....
       OM
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
              (2007), Anglican Primate of All Ireland
      Primate of All Ireland

      Primate of All Ireland is a title held by the Archbishop of Armagh , in both the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland traditions, and signifies that within their respective churches they are the senior churchmen in the island of Ireland....
       and Archbishop of Armagh (1986-2006)
      • There is one vacancy, following the death of Sir Denis Rooke
        Denis Rooke

        Sir Denis Eric Rooke, Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire, Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering was a British industrialist and engineer....
         in September 2008.
  • Honorary Members:
    • Nelson Mandela
      Nelson Mandela

      Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the first President of South Africa of South Africa to be elected in a universal suffrage democratic election, serving in the office from 1994?99....
       OM CC AC QC
      List of post-nominal letters

      Post-nominal letters are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, office, or honour.An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters....
       (1995), Statesman
      History of South Africa in the apartheid era

      Apartheid ? meaning separateness in Dutch language ? was a system of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government in South Africa between 1948 and 1994....
       and Nobel Laureate
      Nobel Prize

      The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
       (Peace)
      Nobel Peace Prize

      The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel's will , the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for :wikt:fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the h...
      .


Past members: 1902 to 2002

[Current members before 2002 are highlighted; date shown is date of entry to the order; formal titles and honours or decorations are shown.]

1. Field Marshal Right Hon. Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts

Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, Victoria Cross, Order of the Garter, Order of St Patrick, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit , Order of the Star of India, Order of the Indian Empire, Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a distinguished Anglo-Irish soldier and one of the most successful commanders of the Victorian...
, VC., KG., KP., GCB., OM., GCSI., GCIE. (1832-1914) 26th June 1902

2. Field Marshal Right Hon. Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley. KP, GCB., OM., GCMG. (1833-1914) 26th June 1902

3. Field Marshal Right Hon. Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener

Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Order of the Garter, Order of St Patrick, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Order of the Star of India, Order of St Michael and St George, Order of the Indian Empire, Aid...
 KG., KP., GCB., OM., GCSI., GCMG., GCIE. (1850-1916) 26th June 1902

4. Right Hon. John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh, OM., FRS. (1842-1919) 26th June 1902

5. Right Hon. William, Lord Kelvin, OM., GCVO., FRS. (1824-1907) 26th June 1902

6. Right Hon. Joseph, Lord Lister, OM., FRS. (1827-1912) 26th June 1902

7. Admiral of the Fleet Right Hon. Sir Henry Keppel
Henry Keppel

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit was a United Kingdom admiral, son of the William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Lord de Clifford....
, GCB., OM. (1809-1904) 26th June 1902

8. Right Hon. John, Viscount Morley of Blackburn, OM., FBA. (1838-1923) 26th June 1902

9. Right Hon. William Edward Hartpole Lecky
William Edward Hartpole Lecky

William Edward Hartpole Lecky, Order of Merit was an Ireland historian and publicist....
, OM., FBA. (1838-1903) 26th June 1902

10. Admiral of the Fleet Right Hon. Sir Edward Hobart Seymour
Edward Hobart Seymour

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Hobart Seymour Order of the Bath Order of Merit Royal Navy was a United Kingdom Admiral of the Fleet.He was the grandson of Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, 1st Baronet, and nephew of Admiral Michael Seymour ....
, GCB., OM., GCVO. (1840-1929) 26th June 1902

11. Sir William Huggins, OM., KCB., FRS. (1824-1910) 26th June 1902

12. George Frederick Watts, OM., RA. (1817-1904) 26th June 1902

13. Field Marshal Sir George White, VC., GCB., OM., GCSI., GCMG., GCIE., GCVO. (1835-1912) 30th June 1905

14. Admiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot, Lord Fisher, GCB., OM., GCVO. (1841-1920) 30th June 1905

15. Sir Richard Jebb, OM., FBA. (1841-1905) 30th June 1905

16. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, OM., RA. (1836-1912) 30th June 1905

17. George Meredith
George Meredith

| name= George Meredith| image = George Meredith.1893.jpg| imagesize = 200px| caption = George Meredith in 1893 by George Frederic Watts....
, OM. (1828-1909) 30th June 1905

18. William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt

William Holman Hunt Order of Merit was a British painter, and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood....
, OM. (1827-1910) 30th June 1905

19. Right Hon. Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer
Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer

Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Order of St Michael and St George, Order of the Star of India, Order of the Indian Empire, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Royal Society , was a United Kingdom statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator....
, GCB., OM., GCMG., KCSI., CIE., FRS., FBA. (1841-1917) 29th June 1906

20. Right Hon. James, Viscount Bryce, OM., GCVO., FRS., FBA. (1838-1922) 11th February 1907

21. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Joseph Dalton Hooker

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Order of Merit, Order of the Star of India, Order of the Bath, Doctor of Medicine, Fellow of the Royal Society was an England botanist and explorer....
, OM., GCSI., CB., FRS. (1817-1911) 30th June 1907

22. Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale, Order of Merit , Royal Red Cross , who came to be known as "The Lady with the Lamp", was a pioneering nurse, writer and noted statistician....
, OM., RRC. (1820-1910) 29th November 1907

23. Henry Jackson (classicist)
Henry Jackson (classicist)

Henry Jackson, Order of Merit , , 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 26th June 1908....
, OM., FBA. (1839-1921) 26th June 1908

24. Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace, Order of Merit, Fellow of the Royal Society was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Natural history, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist....
, OM., FRS. (1823-1913) 26th June 1908

25. Sir William Crookes, OM., FRS. (1832-1919) 8th July 1910

26. Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy, Order of Merit was an England author of the naturalism movement, though he regarded himself primarily as a poet and composed novels mainly for financial gain....
, OM. (1840-1928) 8th July 1910

27. Right Hon. Sir George Otto Trevelyan, BT., OM., FBA. (1838-1928) 19th June 1911

28. Sir Edward Elgar, BT., OM., GCVO. (1857-1934) 19th June 1911

29. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson
Arthur Knyvet Wilson

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson Victoria Cross, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Royal Victorian Order , was an England Admiral and First Sea Lord....
, BT., VC., GCB., OM., GCVO. (1842-1921) 8th March 1912

30. Sir Joseph John Thomson, OM., FRS. (1856-1940) 15th March 1912

31. Sir Archibald Geikie
Archibald Geikie

Sir Archibald Geikie, OM, KCB, Presidents of the Royal Society , Scotland geologist, was born in Edinburgh.The elder brother of James Geikie, he was educated at the high school and University of Edinburgh, and in 1855 was appointed an assistant on the British Geological Survey....
, OM., KCB., FRS. (1835-1924) 1st January 1914

32. Field Marshal Right Hon. John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, KP., GCB., OM., GCVO., KCMG. (1852-1925) 3rd December 1914

33. Right Hon. Richard Burdon Sanderson Viscount Haldane, KT., OM., FRS. (1856-1928) 26th May 1915

34. Henry James
Henry James

Henry James, Order of Merit , son of theologian Henry James Sr., brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James, was an United States author....
, OM. (1843-1916) 1st January 1916

35. Admiral of the Fleet John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe

Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit , Royal Victorian Order was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland....
, GCB., OM., GCVO. (1859-1935) 31st May 1916

36. Right Hon. Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, Order of the Garter, Order of Merit , Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a United Kingdom Conservative Party politician and statesman....
, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG., OM., FRS., FBA. (1848-1930) 3rd June 1916

37. Admiral of the Fleet Right Hon. David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty

Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty Order of the Bath, Order of Merit , Royal Victorian Order, Distinguished Service Order , was an admiral in the Royal Navy....
, GCB., OM., GCVO., DSO. (1871-1936) 3rd June 1919

38. Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Order of the Thistle, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Royal Victorian Order, Order of the Indian Empire, Aide de Camp was a United Kingdom soldier and senior commander during World War I....
, KT., GCB., OM., GCVO., KCIE. (1861-1928) 3rd June 1919

39. Right Hon. David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor Order of Merit , Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a United Kingdom statesman and the only Wales Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - he is also the only one to have spoken English language as a second language, Welsh language having been his first....
 1st Earl Lloyd-George, OM. (1863-1945) 5th August 1919

40. Sir James Matthew Barrie, BT., OM. (1860-1937) 2nd January 1922

41. Francis Herbert Bradley, OM., FBA. (1846-1924) 3rd June 1924

42. Sir Charles Scott Sherrington, OM., GBE., FRS. (1857-1952) 3rd June 1924

43. Sir James George Frazer, OM., FRS., FBA. (1854-1941) 1st January 1925

44. Ernest, Lord Rutherford of Nelson, OM., FRS. (1871-1937) 1st January 1925

45. Hon. Sir Charles Algernon Parsons
Charles Algernon Parsons

Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, O.M. was a British 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....
, OM., KCB., FRS. (1854-1931) 3rd June 1927

46. Sir George Abraham Grierson, OM., KCIE., FBA. (1851-1941) 4th June 1928

47. Robert Seymour Bridges, OM. (1844-1930) 3rd June 1929

48. John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy

John Galsworthy Order of Merit was an England novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter....
, OM. (1867-1933) 3rd June 1929

49. Samuel Alexander
Samuel Alexander

Samuel Alexander Order of Merit was an Australian-born Great Britain philosopher. He was the first Jewish fellow of an Oxbridge college ....
, OM., FBA. (1859-1938) 3rd June 1930

50. Montague Rhodes James, OM., FBA. (1862-1936) 3rd June 1930

51. George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM., CBE., FRS., FBA. (1876-1962) 3rd June 1930

52. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Edward Madden, 1st Baronet, BT., GCB., OM, GCVO., KCMG. (1862-1935) 1st January 1931

53. Philip Wilson Steer
Philip Wilson Steer

File:Philip Wilson Steer photo by George Charles Beresford 1922 .jpgPhilip Wilson Steer Order of Merit was an England artist....
, OM. (1860-1942) 1st January 1931

54. Sir William Henry Bragg, OM., KBE., FRS. (1862-1942) 3rd June 1931

55. 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....
, OM., FBA. (1859-1945) 1st January 1935

56. John Edward Masefield, OM. (1878-1967) 3rd June 1935

57. Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams Order of Merit was an England composer of symphony, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film Film score. He was also a collector of England folk music and folk song; this also influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, which began in 1904, many folk song arrangements being set as hymn tunes,...
, OM. (1872-1958) 3rd June 1935

58. Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, OM., FRS. (1861-1947) 3rd June 1935

59. Field Marshal Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode, GCB., OM., GCSI., KCMG., DSO. (1869-1950) 1st January 1936

60. Right Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher, OM., FRS., FBA. (1865-1940) 1st February 1937

61. Lieutenant General Robert Stephenson Smyth, Lord Baden Powell, BT., OM., GCMG., GCVO., KCB. (1857-1941) 11th May 1937

62. Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, OM., FRS. (1882-1944) 9th June 1938

63. Admiral of the Fleet Right Hon. Albert Montacute, Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield
Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield

Admiral of the Fleet Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Order of St Michael and St George, Royal Victorian Order, Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a Royal Navy officer and held the position of First Sea Lord from 1933 to 1938....
, GCB., OM., KCMG., CVO. (1873-1967) 2nd January 1939

64. Sir James Jeans, OM., FRS. (1877-1946) 2nd January 1939

65. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall
Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Louis Norton Newall, 1st Baron Newall Order of the Bath Order of Merit Order of St Michael and St George Order of the British Empire Albert Medal , was a United Kingdom aviator and political figure who rose to the Royal Air Force senior rank and served as Governor-General of New Zealand from 22 February 1...
, GCB., OM., GCMG., CBE., AM. (1886-1963) 29th October 1940

66. George Gilbert Aimé Murray, OM., FBA. (1866-1957) 1st January 1941

67. Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM., KCIE., RA. (1869-1944) 1st January 1942

68. Augustus Edwin John, OM., RA. (1878-1961) 11th June 1942

69. Edgar Adrian, Lord Adrian, OM., FRS. (1889-1977) 11th June 1942

70. Sir William Searle Holdsworth
William Searle Holdsworth

Sir William Searle Holdsworth, Order of Merit, King's Counsel, Doctor of Civil Law, LLD, British Academy, was Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford University and a legal historian, amongst whose works is the 12 volume History of English Law....
, OM., KC., FBA (1871-1944) 1st January 1943

71. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pound
Dudley Pound

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound Order of the Bath Order of Merit Royal Victorian Order Royal Navy was a British naval officer who served as First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy from June 1939 to September 1943....
, GCB., OM., GCVO. (1877-1943) 3rd September 1943

72. Right Hon. Sidney James Webb, Lord Passfield, OM. (1859-1947) 8th June 1944

73. Sir Henry Hallett Dale, OM., GBE., FRS. (1875-1968) 8th June 1944

74. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM., RA. (1880-1960) 8th June 1944

75. Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead

Alfred North Whitehead, Order of Merit was an England mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education....
, OM., FRS., FBA. (1861-1947) 1st January 1945

76. Right Hon. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, KG., OM., CH., FRS., FBA. (1874-1965) 1st January 1946

77. Marshal of the R.A.F. Charles Portal, 1st 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 Order of the Garter Order of the Bath Order of Merit Distinguished Service Order Military Cross was a senior Royal Air Force officer and an advocate of strategic bombing....
, KG., GCB., OM., DSO., MC. (1893-1971) 1st January 1946

78. Field Marshal Alan Francis, Viscount Alanbrooke
Viscount Alanbrooke

Viscount Alanbrooke, of Brookeborough in the County of Fermanagh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 29 January 1946 for Field Marshal Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke....
, KG., GCB., OM., GCVO., DSO. (1883-1963) 13th June 1946

79. Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne, Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, KT., GCB., OM., DSO. (1883-1963) 13th June 1946

80. Right Hon. E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Order of the Star of India, Order of St Michael and St George, Order of the Indian Empire, Privy Council of the United Kingdom , known as The Baron Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the mos...
, KG., OM., GCSI., GCMG., GCIE. (1881-1959) 13th June 1946

81. Field Marshal Right Hon. Jan Christian Smuts, OM., CH., FRS. (1870-1950) 1st January 1947

82. Right Hon. William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Order of Merit , Order of St Michael and St George was a Canadian lawyer, economist, university professor, civil servant, journalist, and politician....
, OM., CMG. 17th November 1947

83. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM. (1888-1965) 1st January 1948

84. Sir Robert Robinson, OM., FRS. (1886-1975) 9th June 1949

85. Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, Order of Merit , Fellow of the Royal Society , was a British people philosopher, mathematical logic, mathematician, historian, advocate for social reform, and pacifism....
, Earl Russell, OM., FRS., FBA. (1872-1970) 9th June 1949

86. Right Hon. Sir Alexander Cadogan
Alexander Cadogan

Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan Order of Merit Order of St Michael and St George Order of the Bath was a British civil servant. He was Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office from 1938 to 1946....
, OM., GCMG., KCB. (1884-1968) 1st January 1951

87. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Trenchard, Viscount Trenchard, GCB., OM., GCVO., DSO. (1873-1956) 1st January 1951

88. George Edward Moore
George Edward Moore

George Edward Moore Order of Merit, usually known as G. E. Moore, was a distinguished and influential English philosopher. He was, with Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Gottlob Frege, one of the founders of the analytic philosophy tradition in philosophy....
, OM., FBA. (1873-1958) 7th June 1951

89. Right Hon. Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee

Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Fellow of the Royal Society was a British people politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955....
, Earl Attlee, KG., OM., CH., FRS. (1883-1967) 5th November 1951

90. Wilder Graves Penfield, CC., OM., CMG., FRS. (1891-1976) 1st January 1953

91. Walter John De La Mare, OM., CH. (1873-1956) 1st June 1953

92. Right Hon. William Hailey, Lord Hailey, OM., GCSI., GCMG., GCIE. (1872-1969) 31st May 1956

93. Sir John Douglas Cockcroft, OM., KCB., CBE., FRS. (1897-1967) 1st January 1957

94. Right Hon. John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley

John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, Order of the Bath, Order of Merit, Order of the Star of India, Order of the Indian Empire, Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a Scotland politician who served under Winston Churchill as Lord President of the Council, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary....
, GCB., OM., GCSI., GCIE., FRS. (1882-1958) 8th December 1957

95. Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, OM., AK., KBE., FRS. (1899-1985) 12th June 1958

96. Right Hon.Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel
Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel

Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel Order of the Bath Order of Merit Order of the British Empire Privy Council of the United Kingdom was a British people politician and diplomat....
, GCB., OM., GBE. (1870-1963) 21st November 1958

97. Field Marshal Right Hon. Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis

Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Order of the Star of India, Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Canadian Forces De...
, KG., GCB., OM., GCMG., CSI., DSO., MC. (1891-1969) 23rd April 1960

98. Sir Cyril Hinshelwood, OM., FRS. (1897-1967) 23rd April 1960

99. Graham Vivian Sutherland, OM. (1903-1980) 23rd April 1960

100. Sir Geoffrey De Havilland, OM., CBE., AFC. (1882-1965) 23rd November 1962

101. Sir Basil Urwin Spence, OM., OBE., RA. (1907-1976) 23rd November 1962

102. Right Hon. Sir Owen Dixon, OM., GCMG., FBA. (1886-1972) 29th May 1963

103. George Peabody Gooch
George Peabody Gooch

George Peabody Gooch Order of Merit, Companion of Honour was a British journalist, historian and politician. A follower of Lord Acton, he never held an academic position, but knew the work of historians of continental Europe....
, OM., CH., FBA. (1873-1968) 16th August 1963

104. Henry Moore
Henry Moore

Henry Spencer Moore Order of Merit Companion of Honour Federation of British Artists was an English artist and Sculpture. He is best known for his abstract art monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as Public art....
, OM., CH., FBA. (1898-1986) 16th August 1963

105. Edward Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten

Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, Order of Merit Order of the Companions of Honour was an England composer, conducting, viola and pianist....
, Lord Britten, OM., CH. (1913-1976) 23rd March 1965

106. Dorothy Mary Hodgkin, OM., FRS. (1910-1994) 23rd March 1965

107. Admiral of the Fleet Right Hon. Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, KG., GCB., OM., GCSI., GCIE., GCVO., DSO., FRS. (1900-1979) 15th July 1965

108. Howard Florey, Lord Florey, OM., FRS. (1898-1968) 15th July 1965

109. Patrick Blackett, Lord Blackett, OM., CH., FRS. (1897-1974) 20th November 1967

110. Sir William Turner Walton, OM. (1902-1983) 20th November 1967

111. Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson

Benjamin Lauder Nicholson Order of Merit, , known as Ben Nicholson, was an England abstract art....
, OM. (1894-1982) 23rd April 1968

112. Solly, Lord Zuckerman, OM., KCB., FRS. (1904-1993) 23rd April 1968

113. The Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom since 20 November 1947, and her prince consort since 6 February 1952....
, KG., KT., OM., GBE., AC., QSO., FRS. (b. 1921) 10th June 1968

114. Edward Morgan Forster, OM., CH. (1879-1970) 1st January 1969

115. Right Hon. Malcolm John MacDonald, OM. (1901-1981) 14th July 1969

116. William George Penney
William George Penney

William George Penney, Baron Penney Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire was a British physicist who was responsible for the development of British nuclear technology following the World War II....
, Lord Penney, OM., KBE., FRS. (1909-1991) 14th July 1969

117. Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor
Geoffrey Ingram Taylor

Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor OM was a physicist, mathematician and expert on fluid dynamics and wave theory. He has been described as "one of the greatest physical scientists of the 20th century"....
, OM., FRS. (1886-1975) 14th July 1969

118. Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood, OM., DBE., FBA. (1910-1997) 14th July 1969

119. John Cawte Beaglehole
John Cawte Beaglehole

John Cawte Beaglehole, Order of Merit , Order of St Michael and St George 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....
, OM., CMG. (1901-1971) 21st March 1970

120. Right Hon. Lester Bowles Pearson, CC., OM., OBE. (1897-1972) 20th May 1971

121. Sir Isaiah Berlin
Isaiah Berlin

Sir Isaiah Berlin, Order of Merit was a philosopher and historian of ideas, regarded as one of the leading liberal thinkers of the twentieth century....
, OM., CBE., FBA. (1909-1997) 20th May 1971

122. Sir George Edwards, OM., CBE., FRS. (1908 - 2003) 20th May 1971

123. Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, OM., KBE., FRS. (1914-1998) 17th April 1973

124. Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM., FRS. (1902-1984) 17th April 1973

125. Right Hon. Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan

Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, Order of Merit, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council was a British Conservative Party politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
, Earl of Stockton, OM., FRS. (1894-1986) 2nd April 1976

126. Christopher Hinton
Christopher Hinton

Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Royal Society, was a UK nuclear power engineer, and supervisor of the construction of Calder Hall, the world's first large-scale commercial nuclear power station....
, Lord Hinton of Bankside, OM., KBE., FRS. (1901-1983) 2nd April 1976

127. Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark

Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, Order of Merit , Companion of Honour, Order of the Bath, Fellow of the British Academy was an England author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the most famous Art history of his generation....
, Lord Clark, OM., CH., KCB., FBA. (1903-1983) 2nd April 1976

128. Sir Ronald Syme
Ronald Syme

Sir Ronald Syme, Order of Merit , Fellow of the British Academy was a New Zealand-born historian and classics....
, OM., FBA. (1903-1989) 2nd April 1976

129. Alexander Robertus, Lord Todd, OM., FRS. (1907-1997) 24th October 1977

130. Right Hon. Oliver Shewell, Lord Franks, OM., GCMG., KCB., KCVO., CBE., FBA. (1905-1992) 24th October 1977

131. Sir Frederick Ashton
Frederick Ashton

Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour,Order of the British Empire, was a leading international dancer and choreographer....
, OM., CH., CBE. (1904-1988) 24th October 1977

132. J B Priestley, OM. (1894-1984) 24th October 1977

133. Laurence Kerr, Lord Olivier, OM. (1907-1989) 6th February 1981

134. Sir Peter Brian Medawar, OM., CH., CBE., FRS., FBA. (1915-1987) 6th February 1981

135. Group Captain Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire
Leonard Cheshire

Group Captain Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, Victoria Cross, Order of Merit, Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross was a highly decorated United Kingdom Royal Air Force aviator during the Second World War....
, Lord Cheshire, VC., OM., DSO., DFC. (1917-1992) 6th February 1981

136. Reverend William Owen Chadwick, OM., KBE., FBA. (b. 1916) 11th November 1983

137. Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley, OM., FRS. (b. 1917) 11th November 1983

138. Sir Sidney Robert Nolan, OM., AC., CBE., ARA. (1917-1992) 11th November 1983

139. Sir Michael Tippett, OM., CH., CBE. (1905-1998) 11th November 1983

140. Henry Graham Greene, OM., CH. (1904-1991) 11th February 1986

141. Frederick Sanger
Frederick Sanger

Frederick Sanger, Order of Merit , Order of the Companions of Honour, Order of the British Empire, Royal Society is an England biochemistry and twice a Nobel laureate in chemistry....
, OM., CH., CBE., FRS. (b. 1918) 11th February 1986

142. Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM., KBE., CB., FRS. (1907-1996) 11th February 1986

143. Yehudi, Lord Menuhin, OM., KBE. (1916-1999) 25th February 1987

144. Sir Ernst Gombrich, OM., CBE., FBA. (1909-2001) 15th February 1988

145. Max Ferdinand Perutz, OM., CH., CBE., FRS. (1914-2002) 15th February 1988

146. Dame Cicely Saunders
Cicely Saunders

Dame Cicely Mary Saunders, Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire was a prominent Anglicanism nurse, physician and writer, involved with many international university....
, OM., DBE. (b. 1918) 30th November 1989

147. George Porter
George Porter

George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, Order of Merit, Fellow of the Royal Society was a United Kingdom chemist.Porter was born in Stainforth, South Yorkshire, near Thorne, Yorkshire....
, Lord Porter of Luddenham, OM., FRS. (1920-2002) 30th November 1989

148. Right Hon. Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Fellow of the Royal Society was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990....
, Lady Thatcher of Kesteven, OM., FRS. (b. 1925) 7th December 1990

149. Dame Joan Sutherland, OM., AC., DBE. (b. 1926) 27th November 1991

150. Francis Harry Compton Crick, OM., FRS. (1916 - 2004) 27th November 1991

151. Dame Ninette de Valois, OM., CH., DBE. (1898-2001) 17th November 1992

152. Sir Michael Francis Atiyah, OM., PRS. (b. 1929) 17th November 1992

153. Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud

Lucian Michael Freud, Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour is a British Painting of Germany origin....
, OM., CH. (b. 1922) 6th December 1993

154. Right Hon. Roy Harris, Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, OM., FBA. (1920 - 2003) 6th December 1993

155. Sir Aaron Klug, OM., FRS. (b. 1926) 23rd October, 1995

156. Sir John Gielgud, OM., CH. (1904-2000) 9th December, 1996

157. Alfred Thompson, The Lord Denning, OM. (1899-1999) 25th November, 1997

158. Norman Robert, The Lord Foster of Thamesbank, OM., RA. (b. 1935) 25th November, 1997

159. Sir Denis Rooke
Denis Rooke

Sir Denis Eric Rooke, Order of Merit, Order of the British Empire, Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering was a British industrialist and engineer....
, OM., CBE., FRS., FEng. (1924 - 2008) 25th November, 1997

160. Edward James Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes

Edward James Hughes Order of Merit was an England poet and Children's literature, known as Ted Hughes. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation....
, OM., OBE. (1930-1998) 10th August, 1998

161. His Eminence Cardinal George Basil Hume, OM., OSB. Archbishop of Westminster (1923-1999) 25th May, 1999

162. Sir James Whyte Black, OM., FRCP., FRS. (b. 1924) 9th May, 2000

163. Sir Anthony Caro, OM., CBE. (b. 1924) 9th May, 2000

164. Sir Roger Penrose, OM., FRS. (b. 1931) 9th May, 2000

165. Sir Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard

Sir Tom Stoppard Order of Merit , Order of the British Empire, FRSL is a British screenwriter and playwright. He has written plays such as The Coast of Utopia, Arcadia , Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, and Rock 'n' Roll ....
, OM., CBE., FRSL. (b. 1937) 9th May, 2000

166. The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales

The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, making him heir apparent, equally and separately, to the thrones of Commonwealth realm....
 , K.G., K.T., G.C.B., O.M., A.K., Q.S.O., A.D.C. (b. 1948) 27th June, 2002

167. Lord May of Oxford, OM. (b. 1936) 28th October, 2002

168. Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild
Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild

Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild , Baronet Order of Merit Order of the British Empire Fellow of the British Academy is a United Kingdom investment banker, philanthropist and a member of the prominent Rothschild family of bankers....
 OM., GBE., GM., FRS. (b. 1936) 28th October, 2002

Past Honorary Members



The following people were previously made honorary members of the Order:

Field Marshal Prince Aritomo Yamagata (Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
; 1906) Field Marshal Prince Iwao Oyama (Japan; 1906) Admiral of the Fleet Marquis Heihachiro Togo (Japan; 1906) Marshal and Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch . Order of Merit List of honorary British knights was a France soldier, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French Army" in the early 20th century....
 (France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
; 1918) Marshal Joseph Joffre
Joseph Joffre

Joseph Jacques C?saire Joffre was a France general who was Commander-in-Chief of the French Army between 1914 and 1916 during the First World War....
 (France; 1919) General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower (United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
; 1945) John Gilbert Winant
John Gilbert Winant

John Gilbert Winant was an United States teacher and Republican Party politician from Concord, New Hampshire. Born in New York City, Winant held positions in New Hampshire, national, and international politics....
 (United States; 1947) Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer was a German theology, musician, philosopher, and physician. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Elsass-Lothringen of the German Empire....
 (France; 1955) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Order of Merit, Fellow of the British Academy , , was an Indian philosopher and statesman.One of the popular scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, he was among the scholars of 20th century that built a bridge between Eastern and Western thought showing each to be comprehensible within the terms of th...
 (India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
; 1963) Mother Teresa of Calcutta (India; 1983)

External links

  • A history of the Order of Merit;