Order of Merit

Order of Merit medal of Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, displayed in the Royal Society in London.

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. The rarer military awards are distinguished from the civil by having a pair of crossed swords behind the central medallion. Appointments to the Order are in the Sovereign's personal gift and ministerial advice is not required. The Order of Merit is a very high honour, ranking immediately below Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath - even though it confers no title.

Ribbon of Order of Merit

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; Florence Nightingale was the first woman to receive the Order, in 1907. The Order confers no knighthood or other status, but recipients of this single-class Order are entitled to use the post-nominal letters OM. The badge has the appearance of a red cross surmounted by a golden crown. The ribbon is red and blue.

Current members

• Sovereign: HM The Queen
• Members:
  • HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM GBE AC QSO CD PC (1968), Royal Consort
  • The Revd Owen Chadwick OM KBE (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)
  • The Rt Hon The 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)
  • The Rt Hon The Lord Foster of Thames Bank OM RA (1997), Architect and Pritzker Laureate
  • Sir Denis Rooke OM CBE (1997), Industrial Engineer
  • 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
  • HRH The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB OM AK QSO CD PC ADC (2002), Heir to the Throne
  • The Rt Hon The Lord May of Oxford OM AC FRS (2002), Ecologist and President of the Royal Society (2000-2005)
  • The Rt Hon The Lord Rothschild OM GBE FBA (2002), Philanthropist
  • Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS (2005), Broadcaster
  • The Rt Hon The Baroness Boothroyd OM PC (2005), First female Speaker of the House of Commons
  • Sir Michael Howard OM CH KBE MC (2005), Military historian
  • Sir Timothy Berners-Lee OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA (2007), Inventor of the World Wide Web, Director of the W3C.
  • The Rt Hon The Lord Rees of Ludlow OM PRS (2007), Astronomer Royal (1995 - ) and President of the Royal Society (2005 - )
  • The Most Rev. The Lord Eames OM (2007), Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh (1986-2006)
• Honorary Members:
  • Nelson Mandela OM CC AC QC (1995), Statesman and Nobel Laureate (Peace)

References

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

See also

• Members of the Order of Merit

External links

• A history of the Order and a full list of all recipients 1902-2002