A posthumous recognition is a ceremonial award given after the recipient has died, usually in honor of an action associated with his or her death.
Awards are normally given while the recipient is alive, but when awarded after death, the recipient is referred to as having been "awarded posthumously." Some awards are given only after the death of the recipient, and thus are by definition a posthumous recognition.
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posthumous recognition is a ceremonial award given after the recipient has died, usually in honor of an action associated with his or her death.
Awards are normally given while the recipient is alive, but when awarded after death, the recipient is referred to as having been "awarded posthumously." Some awards are given
only after the death of the recipient, and thus are by definition a posthumous recognition. Conversely, some awards, such as the
Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901...
, and most knighthoods, are forbidden to be awarded posthumously.
Examples
- As part of the criteria for bestowing the Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
or the Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...
, the recipient must have risked "great self-sacrifice" in an act of extraordinary heroism. As a consequence, many are awarded posthumously because the recipient was either killed outrightKilled in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces by other hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to hostile attack...
or mortally wounded during the action for which the medal was awarded.
- Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon were the first soldiers to be awarded Medals of Honor posthumously since the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
. They received these for defending a crashed helicopter from hundreds of advancing Somalis in the Battle of Mogadishu.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" image. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Bull Moose Party...
was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2001 for his charge up San Juan Hill, Cuba, during the Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba. The war began after American demands for the resolution of the Cuban fight for independence were rejected by Spain...
.
- Jeanne Eagels
Jeanne Eagels was an American actress on Broadway and in several motion pictures. She was a former Ziegfeld Follies Girl who went on to greater fame on Broadway and in the emerging medium of sound films....
was the only actress to be nominated for an Academy Award (1929) after her death, but she did not win. James DeanJames Byron Dean was an American film actor.Dean's status as a cultural icon is best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause, in which he starred as troubled high school rebel Jim Stark...
was the first actor to be nominated posthumously (1955, and again in 1956). Spencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 74 films from 1930 to 1967. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Tracy among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking 9th on the list...
, Peter FinchPeter Finch was a British - born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as 'crazed' television anchorman Howard Beale in the film, Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the BAFTA, and a Best Actor award from the Golden...
, Sir Ralph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, Massimo TroisiMassimo Troisi was an Italian actor, film director and poet. He is best known for his role as Mario Ruoppolo in the 1994 film Il Postino.-Early years and TV star:...
and Heath LedgerHeath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
were similarly recognized. Finch and Ledger were the only actors to win the award posthumously. For full details of such nominations and awards, see List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees.
- Pelle Lindbergh
Göran Per-Eric "Pelle" Lindbergh was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played parts of five seasons in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers.-Playing career:...
(GThis article is about the goaltender in ice hockey. For the similar position in other sports, see goalkeeper. For the basketball foul, see goaltending....
, Philadelphia FlyersThe Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Part of the 1967 NHL Expansion, the Flyers were the first non-Original Six to win the Stanley Cup,...
) in 1986 and Sean TaylorSean Michael Maurice Taylor was an American football free safety who played for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. Taylor was drafted in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Redskins...
(FS, Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington, D.C. area. The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, which is in Prince George's County, Maryland. The team's headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn, Virginia, a community...
) in 2008 were each posthumously elected to their respective All-Star GamesAn all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league, except in the circumstances of professional sports systems in which a democratic voting system is used...
as starters for the season during which they died. (Lindbergh to the NHL All-Star Game and Taylor to the NFL's Pro BowlThe 2008 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2008. The game was televised in the United States by Fox and began shortly after 11:40am local time . The NFC won, 42–30, despite a 17-point first half AFC...
.)
- The victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and...
were awarded posthumous degrees.
- The tongue-in-cheek Darwin Award is often given as a posthumous recognition, since one of the criteria for receiving it is that the recipient must have committed an act that unintentionally led to their own removal from the human gene pool
In population genetics, a gene pool is the complete set of unique alleles in a species or population.- Description :A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can survive bouts of intense selection...
, i.e., either their own death or self-sterilizationSterilization is a surgical technique leaving a male or female unable to reproduce. It is a method of birth control. For non-surgical causes of sterility, see infertility.Common sterilization methods include:...
- The Nishan-e-Haider
Nishan-e-Haider , is the highest military award given by Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a Republic, however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded to military personnel, regardless of rank, for extraordinary bravery in combat...
of Pakistan is also another example of posthumous recognition, given to military personnel, who have performed acts of greatest heroism or most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger and have shown bravery of the highest order or devotion to the country, in the presence of the enemy on land, at sea or in the air.