Order of Merit

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Order of Merit
Order of Merit medal of Dorothy Hodgkin, displayed in the Royal Society in London
Awarded by the Queen of the United Kingdom
Type	Order
Motto	FOR MERIT
Awarded for	At the monarch's pleasure
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Grades (w/ post-nominals)	Member
Statistics
Established	1902
Precedence
Next (higher)	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Next (lower)	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Ribbon of Order of Merit

The Order of Merit is a British and Commonwealth Order bestowed by the Monarch. It was established in 1902 by King Edward VII (based on the Prussian Pour le Mérite) as a reward for distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. 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 of the Order of the Bath, 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 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 was the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907.

Contents 1 Current members 2 Past members: 1902 to 2002 3 Past Honorary Members 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Current members

• Sovereign: HM The Queen
• Members:
  • The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM GBE AC QSO CD PC (1968), Royal Consort
  • Rev'd Owen Chadwick OM KBE FBA FRSE (1983), Theological Historian
  • Sir Andrew Huxley OM FRS (1983), Physiologist, Nobel Laureate (Medicine) and President of the Royal Society (1980-1985)
  • Dr Frederick Sanger OM CH CBE FRS (1986), Biochemist and Double Nobel Laureate (Chemistry)
  • Baroness Thatcher LG OM PC FRS (1990), British Prime Minister (1979-1990)
  • Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE (1991), Coloratura Soprano
  • Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS (1992), Mathematician, Fields medalist, Abel Laureate and President of the Royal Society (1990-1995)
  • Lucian Freud OM CH (1993), Painter
  • Sir Aaron Klug OM FRS (1995), Biophysicist, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry) and President of the Royal Society (1995-2000)
  • Lord Foster of Thames Bank OM RA (1997), Architect and Pritzker Laureate
  • Sir James Black OM FRS (2000), Pharmacologist and Nobel Laureate (Medicine)
  • Sir Anthony Caro OM CBE (2000), Sculptor
  • Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS (2000), Mathematical physicist
  • Sir Tom Stoppard OM CBE (2000), Playwright
  • The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB OM AK QSO CD PC ADC (2002), Heir to the Throne
  • Lord May of Oxford OM AC FRS (2002), Ecologist and President of the Royal Society (2000-2005)
  • Lord Rothschild OM GBE FBA (2002), Philanthropist
  • Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS (2005), Broadcaster
  • Baroness Boothroyd OM PC (2005), First female Speaker of the House of Commons
  • Sir Michael Howard OM CH CBE MC (2005), Military historian
  • Sir Timothy Berners-Lee OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA (2007), Inventor of the World Wide Web, Director of the W3C
  • Lord Rees of Ludlow OM PRS (2007), Astronomer Royal (1995 - ) and President of the Royal Society (2005 - )
  • Lord Eames OM (2007), Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh (1986-2006)
  • The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien PC CC OM QC (2009), Prime Minister of Canada (1993-2003)
• Honorary Members:
  • Nelson Mandela OM CC AC QC (1995), Statesman and Nobel Laureate (Peace).

[edit] 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 Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, VC KG KP GCB OM GCSI GCIE (1832-1914) 26 June 1902

2. Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, KP, GCB OM GCMG (1833-1913) 26 June 1902

3. Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG KP GCB OM GCSI GCMG GCIE (1850-1916) 26 June 1902

4. John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, OM FRS (1842-1919) 26 June 1902

5. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, OM GCVO FRS (1824-1907) 26 June 1902

6. Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, OM FRS (1827-1912) 26 June 1902

7. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, GCB OM (1809-1904) 26 June 1902

8. John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, OM FBA (1838-1923) 26 June 1902

9. William Edward Hartpole Lecky, OM FBA (1838-1903) 26 June 1902

10. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Hobart Seymour, GCB OM GCVO (1840-1929) 26 June 1902

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

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

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

14. Admiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot "Jackie" Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, GCB OM GCVO (1841-1920) 30 June 1905

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

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

17. George Meredith, OM (1828-1909) 30 June 1905

18. William Holman Hunt, OM (1827-1910) 30 June 1905

19. Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, GCB OM GCMG KCSI CIE FRS FBA (1841-1917) 29 June 1906

20. James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce, OM GCVO FRS FBA (1838-1922) 11 February 1907

21. Sir Joseph Hooker, OM GCSI CB FRS (1817-1911) 30 June 1907

22. Florence Nightingale, OM RRC (1820-1910) 29 November 1907

23. Henry Jackson, OM FBA (1839-1921) 26 June 1908

24. Alfred Russel Wallace, OM FRS (1823-1913) 26 June 1908

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

26. Thomas Hardy, OM (1840-1928) 8 July 1910

27. Sir George Otto Trevelyan, Bt. OM FBA (1838-1928) 19 June 1911

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

29. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Wilson, Bt. VC GCB OM GCVO (1842-1921) 8 March 1912

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

31. Sir Archibald Geikie, OM KCB FRS (1835-1924) 1 January 1914

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

33. Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, KT OM FRS (1856-1928) 26 May 1915

34. Henry James, OM (1843-1916) 1 January 1916

35. Admiral of the Fleet John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB OM GCVO (1859-1935) 31 May 1916

36. Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG OM FRS FBA (1848-1930) 3 June 1916

37. Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty , GCB OM GCVO DSO (1871-1936) 3 June 1919

38. Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT GCB OM GCVO KCIE (1861-1928) 3 June 1919

39. David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George, OM (1863-1945) 5 August 1919

40. Sir James Matthew (J. M.) Barrie, Bt. OM (1860-1937) 2 January 1922

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

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

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

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

45. Sir Charles Parsons, OM KCB FRS (1854-1931) 3 June 1927

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

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

48. John Galsworthy, OM (1867-1933) 3 June 1929

49. Samuel Alexander, OM FBA (1859-1938) 3 June 1930

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

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

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

53. Philip Wilson Steer, OM (1860-1942) 1 January 1931

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

55. John William Mackail, OM FBA (1859-1945) 1 January 1935

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

57. Ralph Vaughan Williams, OM (1872-1958) 3 June 1935

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

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

60. Herbert Fisher, OM FRS FBA (1865-1940) 1 February 1937

61. Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Bt. OM GCMG GCVO KCB (1857-1941) 11 May 1937

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

63. Admiral of the Fleet Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, GCB OM KCMG CVO (1873-1967) 2 January 1939

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

65. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall, GCB OM GCMG CBE AM (1886-1963) 29 October 1940

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

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

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

69. Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, OM FRS (1889-1977) 11 June 1942

70. Sir William Holdsworth, OM KC FBA (1871-1944) 1 January 1943

71. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound, GCB OM GCVO (1877-1943) 3 September 1943

72. Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, OM (1859-1947) 8 June 1944

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

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

75. Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS FBA (1861-1947) 1 January 1945

76. Sir Winston Churchill, KG OM CH FRS FBA (1874-1965) 1 January 1946

77. Marshal of the R.A.F. Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, KG GCB OM DSO MC (1893-1971) 1 January 1946

78. Field Marshal Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG GCB OM GCVO DSO (1883-1963) 13 June 1946

79. Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, KT GCB OM DSO (1883-1963) 13 June 1946

80. Edward Frederick Lindley (E. F. L.) Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, KG OM GCSI GCMG GCIE (1881-1959) 13 June 1946

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

82. William Lyon Mackenzie King, OM CMG 17 November 1947

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

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

85. Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM FRS FBA (1872-1970) 9 June 1949

86. Sir Alexander Cadogan, OM GCMG KCB (1884-1968) 1 January 1951

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

88. George Edward (G. E.) Moore, OM FBA (1873-1958) 7 June 1951

89. Clement Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG OM CH FRS (1883-1967) 5 November 1951

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

91. Walter de la Mare, OM CH (1873-1956) 1 June 1953

92. William Hailey, 1st Baron Hailey, OM GCSI GCMG GCIE (1872-1969) 31 May 1956

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

94. John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, GCB OM GCSI GCIE FRS (1882-1958) 8 December 1957

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

96. Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, GCB OM GBE (1870-1963) 21 November 1958

97. Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, KG GCB OM GCMG CSI DSO MC (1891-1969) 23 April 1960

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

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

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

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

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

103. George Peabody Gooch, OM CH FBA (1873-1968) 16 August 1963

104. Henry Moore, OM CH FBA (1898-1986) 16 August 1963

105. Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH (1913-1976) 23 March 1965

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

107. Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG GCB OM GCSI GCIE GCVO DSO FRS (1900-1979) 15 July 1965

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

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

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

111. Ben Nicholson, OM (1894-1982) 23 April 1968

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

113. The Duke of Edinburgh, KG KT OM GBE AC QSO FRS (b. 1921) 10 June 1968

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

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

116. William George Penney, Lord Penney, OM KBE FRS (1909-1991) 14 July 1969

117. Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor, OM FRS (1886-1975) 14 July 1969

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

119. John Cawte Beaglehole, OM CMG (1901-1971) 21 March 1970

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

121. Sir Isaiah Berlin, OM CBE FBA (1909-1997) 20 May 1971

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

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

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

125. Harold Macmillan, Earl of Stockton, OM FRS (1894-1986) 2 April 1976

126. Christopher Hinton, Lord Hinton of Bankside, OM KBE FRS (1901-1983) 2 April 1976

127. Kenneth Clark, Lord Clark, OM CH KCB FBA (1903-1983) 2 April 1976

128. Sir Ronald Syme, OM FBA (1903-1989) 2 April 1976

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

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

131. Sir Frederick Ashton, OM CH CBE (1904-1988) 24 October 1977

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

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

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

135. Group Captain Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Lord Cheshire, VC OM DSO DFC. (1917-1992) 6 February 1981

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

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

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

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

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

141. Frederick Sanger, OM CH CBE FRS (b. 1918) 11 February 1986

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

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

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

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

146. Dame Cicely Saunders, OM DBE (1918-2005) 30 November 1989

147. George Porter, Lord Porter of Luddenham, OM FRS (1920-2002) 30 November 1989

148. Margaret Thatcher, Lady Thatcher of Kesteven, OM FRS (b. 1925) 7 December 1990

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

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

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

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

153. Lucian Freud, OM CH (b. 1922) 6 December 1993

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

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

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

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

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

159. Sir Denis Rooke, OM CBE FRS FEng. (1924 - 2008) 25 November 1997

160. Edward James Ted Hughes, OM OBE (1930-1998) 10 August 1998

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

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

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

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

165. Sir Tom Stoppard, OM CBE FRSL (b. 1937) 9 May 2000

166. The Prince of Wales , KG KT GCB OM AK QSO ADC. (b. 1948) 27 June 2002

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

168. Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild OM GBE GM FRS (b. 1936) 28 October 2002

[edit] Past Honorary Members

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

• Field Marshal Prince Aritomo Yamagata (Japan; 1906)
• Field Marshal Prince Iwao Oyama (Japan; 1906)
• Admiral of the Fleet Marquis Heihachiro Togo (Japan; 1906)
• Marshal and Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch (France; 1918)
• Marshal Joseph Joffre (France; 1919)
• General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower (United States; 1945)
• John Gilbert Winant (United States; 1947)
• Albert Schweitzer (France; 1955)
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (India; 1963)
• Mother Teresa of Calcutta (India; 1983)

[edit] References

• Martin, Stanley (2007). The Order of Merit. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1-86064-848-7. 

[edit] External links

• A history of the Order of Merit

v • d • e Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom Current orders Garter · Thistle · Bath · St. Michael and St. George · Distinguished Service · Royal Victorian · Merit · Imperial Service · British Empire · Companions of Honour Former orders St. Patrick · Royal Guelphic · Star of India · Indian Empire · British India · Indian Merit · Crown of India · Victoria and Albert · Burma · Kaisar-I-Hind Other honours Hereditary peerage · Life peerage · Privy Counsellor · Baronet · Knighthood · St. John · ADC · more See also : Revocations