List of members of the Order of Merit
Appearance
Below is a list of Members of the Order of Merit from the order's creation in 1902 until the present day. The number shown is the individual's place in the wider order of appointment since the Order of Merit's inception; the blue colour denotes honorary members and the orange colour denotes current members.
Member number | Country | Image | Name | Date of appointment | Lifetime | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | The Earl Roberts | 26 June 1902 | 30 September 1832 – 14 November 1914 | Field Marshal | ||
2. | The Viscount Wolseley | 26 June 1902 | 4 June 1833 – 25 March 1913 | Field Marshal | ||
3. | The Lord Kitchener of Khartoum | 26 June 1902 | 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916 | Field Marshal, Statesman | ||
4. | The Lord Rayleigh | 26 June 1902 | 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919 | Physicist | ||
5. | The Lord Kelvin | 26 June 1902 | 26 June 1824 – 17 December 1907 | Physicist | ||
6. | The Lord Lister | 26 June 1902 | 5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912 | Surgeon | ||
7. | Sir Henry Keppel | 26 June 1902 | 14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904 | Admiral | ||
8. | John Morley | 26 June 1902 | 24 December 1838 – 23 September 1923 | Politician | ||
9. | William Edward Hartpole Lecky | 26 June 1902 | 26 March 1838 – 22 October 1903 | Historian, Politician | ||
10. | Sir Edward Hobart Seymour | 26 June 1902 | 30 April 1840 – 2 March 1929 | Admiral | ||
11. | Sir William Huggins | 26 June 1902 | 7 February 1824 – 12 May 1910 | Astronomy | ||
12. | George Frederic Watts | 26 June 1902 | 23 February 1817 – 1 July 1904 | Painter | ||
13. | Sir George Stuart White | 30 June 1905 | 6 July 1835 – 24 June 1912 | Field Marshal | ||
14. | Sir John Fisher | 30 June 1905 | 25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920 | Admiral | ||
15. | Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb | 30 June 1905 | 27 August 1841 – 9 December 1905 | Classicist, Politician | ||
16. | Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | 30 June 1905 | 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912 | Painter | ||
17. | George Meredith | 30 June 1905 | 12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909 | Novelist | ||
18. | William Holman Hunt | 30 June 1905 | 2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910 | Painter | ||
19. | Prince Yamagata Aritomo | 21 February 1906 | 14 June 1838 – 1 February 1922 | Field Marshal, Statesman | ||
20. | Prince Ōyama Iwao | 21 February 1906 | 12 November 1842 – 10 December 1916 | Field Marshal | ||
21. | Marquess Tōgō Heihachirō | 21 February 1906 | 27 January 1848 – 30 May 1934 | Admiral | ||
22. | The Earl of Cromer | 29 June 1906 | 26 February 1841 – 29 January 1917 | Colonial Administrator | ||
23. | James Bryce | 11 February 1907 | 10 May 1838 – 22 January 1922 | Politician, Historian | ||
24. | Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker | 30 June 1907 | 30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911 | Botanist | ||
25. | Florence Nightingale | 12 May 1907 | 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910 | Nurse | ||
26. | Henry Jackson | 26 June 1908 | 12 March 1839 – 25 September 1921 | Classicist | ||
27. | Alfred Russel Wallace | 26 June 1908 | 8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913 | Naturalist | ||
28. | Sir William Crookes | 8 July 1910 | 17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919 | Chemist | ||
29. | Thomas Hardy | 8 July 1910 | 2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928 | Novelist | ||
30. | Sir George Trevelyan, Bt | 19 June 1911 | 20 July 1838 – 17 August 1928 | Politician | ||
31. | Sir Edward Elgar | 19 June 1911 | 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934 | Composer | ||
32. | Sir Arthur Wilson | 8 March 1912 | 4 March 1842 – 25 May 1921 | Admiral | ||
33. | Sir Joseph John Thomson | 15 March 1912 | 18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940 | Physicist | ||
34. | Sir Archibald Geikie | 1 January 1914 | 28 December 1835 – 10 November 1924 | Geologist | ||
35. | Sir John French | 3 December 1914 | 28 September 1852 – 22 May 1925 | Field Marshal | ||
36. | The Viscount Haldane | 26 May 1915 | 30 July 1856 – 19 August 1928 | Politician | ||
37. | Henry James | 1 January 1916 | 15 April 1843 – 28 February 1916 | Novelist | ||
38. | Sir John Jellicoe | 31 May 1916 | 5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935 | Admiral | ||
39. | Arthur Balfour | 3 June 1916 | 25 July 1848 – 19 March 1930 | Politician | ||
40. | Ferdinand Foch | 29 November 1918 | 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929 | General | ||
41. | Sir David Beatty | 3 June 1919 | 17 January 1871 – 11 March 1936 | Admiral | ||
42. | Sir Douglas Haig | 3 June 1919 | 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928 | Field Marshal | ||
43. | Joseph Joffre | 26 June 1919 | 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931 | General | ||
44. | David Lloyd George | 5 August 1919 | 17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945 | Politician | ||
45. | Sir James Matthew Barrie, Bt | 2 January 1922 | 9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937 | Novelist | ||
46. | F. H. Bradley | 3 June 1924 | 30 January 1846 – 18 September 1924 | Philosopher | ||
47. | Sir Charles Scott Sherrington | 3 June 1924 | 27 November 1857 – 4 March 1952 | Physiologist | ||
48. | Sir James George Frazer | 1 January 1925 | 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941 | Sociologist | ||
49. | Sir Ernest Rutherford | 1 January 1925 | 30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937 | Physicist | ||
50. | Sir Charles Algernon Parsons | 3 June 1927 | 13 June 1854 – 11 February 1931 | Engineer | ||
51. | Sir George Abraham Grierson | 4 June 1928 | 7 January 1851 – 9 March 1941 | Linguist | ||
52. | Robert Seymour Bridges | 3 June 1929 | 23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930 | Poet | ||
53. | John Galsworthy | 3 June 1929 | 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933 | Novelist | ||
54. | Samuel Alexander | 3 June 1930 | 6 January 1859 – 13 September 1938 | Philosopher | ||
55. | M. R. James | 3 June 1930 | 1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936 | Historian, Writer | ||
56. | G. M. Trevelyan | 3 June 1930 | 16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962 | Historian | ||
57. | File:SirCharlesMadden.jpg | Sir Charles Madden, Bt | 1 January 1931 | 5 September 1862 – 5 June 1935 | Admiral | |
58. | Philip Wilson Steer | 1 January 1931 | 28 December 1860 – 18 March 1942 | Painter | ||
59. | Sir William Henry Bragg | 3 June 1931 | 2 July 1862 – 10 March 1942 | Physicist | ||
60. | John William Mackail | 1 January 1935 | 26 August 1859 – 13 December 1945 | Classicist | ||
61. | John Masefield | 3 June 1935 | 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967 | Poet | ||
62. | Ralph Vaughan Williams | 3 June 1935 | 12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958 | Composer | ||
63. | Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins | 3 June 1935 | 20 June 1861 – 16 May 1947 | Biochemist | ||
64. | Sir Philip Chetwode, Bt | 1 January 1936 | 21 September 1869 – 6 July 1950 | Field Marshal | ||
65. | Herbert Fisher | 1 February 1937 | 21 March 1865 – 18 April 1940 | Historian, Politician | ||
66. | The Lord Baden-Powell | 11 May 1937 | 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941 | Soldier, Scouting Pioneer | ||
67. | Sir Arthur Eddington | 9 June 1938 | 28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944 | Astronomer | ||
68. | The Lord Chatfield | 2 January 1939 | 27 September 1873 – 15 November 1967 | Admiral, Statesman | ||
69. | Sir James Hopwood Jeans | 2 January 1939 | 11 September 1877 – 16 September 1946 | Physicist | ||
70. | Sir Cyril Newall | 29 October 1940 | 15 February 1886 – 30 November 1963 | Marshal of the Air Force | ||
71. | Gilbert Murray | 1 January 1941 | 2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957 | Classicist | ||
72. | Sir Edwin Lutyens | 1 January 1942 | 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944 | Architect | ||
73. | Augustus John | 11 June 1942 | 4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961 | Painter | ||
74. | Edgar Adrian | 11 June 1942 | 30 November 1889 – 4 August 1977 | Physiologist | ||
75. | Sir William Searle Holdsworth | 1 January 1943 | 7 May 1871 – 2 January 1944 | Legal Scholar | ||
76. | Sir Dudley Pound | 3 September 1943 | 29 August 1877 – 21 October 1943 | Admiral | ||
77. | The Lord Passfield | 8 June 1944 | 13 July 1859 – 13 October 1947 | Economist, Politician | ||
78. | Sir Henry Hallett Dale | 8 June 1944 | 9 June 1875 – 23 July 1968 | Pharmacologist | ||
79. | Sir Giles Gilbert Scott | 8 June 1944 | 9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960 | Architect | ||
80. | Alfred North Whitehead | 1 January 1945 | 15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947 | Mathematician, Philosopher | ||
81. | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 12 June 1945 | 14 October 1890 – 28 March 1969 | General, Statesman | ||
82. | Winston Churchill | 1 January 1946 | 30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965 | Politician | ||
83. | The Viscount Portal of Hungerford | 1 January 1946 | 21 May 1893 – 22 April 1971 | Marshal of the Air Force | ||
84. | The Viscount Alanbrooke | 13 June 1946 | 23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963 | Field Marshal | ||
85. | The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope | 13 June 1946 | 7 January 1883 – 12 June 1963 | Admiral | ||
86. | The Earl of Halifax | 13 June 1946 | 16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959 | Politician | ||
87. | Jan Smuts | 1 January 1947 | 24 May 1870 – 11 September 1950 | Politician, Soldier | ||
88. | John Gilbert Winant | 1 January 1947 | 23 February 1889 – 3 November 1947 | Politician, Diplomat | ||
89. | William Lyon Mackenzie King | 17 November 1947 | 17 December 1874 – 22 July 1950 | Politician | ||
90. | T. S. Eliot | 1 January 1948 | 26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965 | Poet | ||
91. | Sir Robert Robinson | 9 June 1949 | 13 September 1886 – 8 February 1975 | Chemist | ||
92. | The Earl Russell | 9 June 1949 | 18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 | Philosopher, Mathematician | ||
93. | Sir Alexander Cadogan | 1 January 1951 | 25 November 1884 – 9 July 1968 | Civil Servant | ||
94. | The Viscount Trenchard | 1 January 1951 | 3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956 | Marshal of the Air Force | ||
95. | File:George Edward Moore.jpg | G. E. Moore | 7 June 1951 | 4 November 1873 – 24 October 1958 | Philosopher | |
96. | Clement Attlee | 5 November 1951 | 3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967 | Politician | ||
97. | Wilder Penfield | 1 January 1953 | 26 January 1891 – 5 April 1976 | Surgeon | ||
98. | Walter de la Mare | 1 June 1953 | 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956 | Writer | ||
99. | Albert Schweitzer | 25 February 1955 | 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965 | Physician, Missionary, Theologian | ||
100. | The Lord Hailey | 31 May 1956 | 15 February 1872 – 1 June 1969 | Colonial Administrator | ||
101. | Sir John Cockcroft | 1 January 1957 | 27 May 1897 – 18 September 1967 | Physicist | ||
102. | The Viscount Waverley | 8 December 1957 | 8 July 1882 – 4 January 1958 | Civil Servant, Statesman | ||
103. | Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet | 12 June 1958 | 3 September 1899 – 31 August 1985 | Physiologist | ||
104. | The Viscount Samuel | 21 November 1958 | 6 November 1870 – 2 February 1963 | Politician | ||
105. | The Earl Alexander of Tunis | 23 April 1960 | 10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969 | Field Marshal | ||
106. | Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood | 23 April 1960 | 19 June 1897 – 9 October 1967 | Chemist | ||
107. | Graham Sutherland | 23 April 1960 | 24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980 | Artist | ||
108. | Sir Geoffrey de Havilland | 23 November 1962 | 27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965 | Aircraft Engineer | ||
109. | Sir Basil Spence | 23 November 1962 | 13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976 | Architect | ||
110. | Sir Owen Dixon | 29 May 1963 | 28 April 1886 – 7 July 1972 | Judge | ||
111. | Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 12 June 1963 | 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975 | Statesman, Philosopher | ||
112. | George Peabody Gooch | 16 August 1963 | 21 October 1873 – 31 August 1968 | Historian, Politician | ||
113. | Henry Moore | 16 August 1963 | 30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986 | Sculptor | ||
114. | Benjamin Britten | 23 March 1965 | 22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 | Composer | ||
115. | Dorothy Hodgkin | 23 March 1965 | 12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994 | Biochemist | ||
116. | File:Mountbatten.jpg | The Earl Mountbatten of Burma | 15 July 1965 | 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979 | Admiral, Statesman | |
117. | The Lord Florey | 15 July 1965 | 24 September 1898 – 21 February 1968 | Pharmacologist | ||
118. | Patrick Blackett | 20 November 1967 | 18 November 1897 – 13 July 1974 | Physicist | ||
119. | Sir William Walton | 20 November 1967 | 29 March 1902 – 8 March 1983 | Composer | ||
120. | Ben Nicholson | 23 April 1968 | 10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982 | Painter | ||
121. | Sir Solly Zuckerman | 23 April 1968 | 30 May 1904 – 1 April 1993 | Zoologist | ||
122. | The Duke of Edinburgh | 10 June 1968 | 10 June 1921 – | Prince Consort | ||
123. | E. M. Forster | 1 January 1969 | 1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970 | Novelist | ||
124. | Malcolm MacDonald | 14 July 1969 | 17 August 1901 – 11 January 1981 | Politician | ||
125. | The Lord Penney | 14 July 1969 | 24 June 1909 – 3 March 1991 | Mathematician | ||
126. | Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor | 14 July 1969 | 7 March 1886 – 27 June 1975 | Physicist | ||
127. | Dame Veronica Wedgwood | 14 July 1969 | 20 July 1910 – 9 March 1997 | Historian | ||
128. | John Beaglehole | 21 March 1970 | 13 June 1901 – 10 October 1971 | Historian | ||
129. | Lester B. Pearson | 20 May 1971 | 23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972 | Politician | ||
130. | Sir Isaiah Berlin | 20 May 1971 | 6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997 | Philosopher, Historian | ||
131. | Sir George Edwards | 20 May 1971 | 9 July 1908 – 2 March 2003 | Aircraft Engineer | ||
132. | Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin | 17 April 1973 | 5 February 1914 – 20 December 1998 | Physiologist | ||
133. | Paul Dirac | 17 April 1973 | 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984 | Physicist | ||
134. | File:Harold Macmillan number 10 official.jpg | Harold Macmillan | 2 April 1976 | 10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986 | Politician | |
135. | The Lord Hinton of Bankside | 2 April 1976 | 12 May 1901 – 22 June 1983 | Engineer | ||
136. | The Lord Clark | 2 April 1976 | 13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983 | Art Historian, Broadcaster | ||
137. | Sir Ronald Syme | 2 April 1976 | 11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989 | Historian | ||
138. | The Lord Todd | 24 October 1977 | 2 October 1907 – 10 January 1997 | Biochemist | ||
139. | The Lord Franks | 24 October 1977 | 16 February 1905 – 15 October 1992 | Civil Servant, Diplomat | ||
140. | Sir Frederick Ashton | 24 October 1977 | 17 September 1904 – 18 October 1988 | Ballet Dancer | ||
141. | J. B. Priestley | 24 October 1977 | 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984 | Playwright, Novelist | ||
142. | The Lord Olivier | 6 February 1981 | 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989 | Actor | ||
143. | Sir Peter Medawar | 6 February 1981 | 28 February 1915 – 2 October 1987 | Biologist | ||
144. | Leonard Cheshire | 6 February 1981 | 7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992 | Soldier, Philanthropist | ||
145. | The Reverend Owen Chadwick | 11 November 1983 | 20 May 1916 – 17 July 2015 | Priest, Historian | ||
146. | Sir Andrew Huxley | 11 November 1983 | 22 November 1917 – 30 May 2012 | Physiologist | ||
147. | Sir Sidney Nolan | 11 November 1983 | 22 April 1917 – 28 November 1992 | Painter | ||
148. | Sir Michael Tippett | 11 November 1983 | 2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998 | Composer | ||
149. | Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa) | 18 November 1983 | 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997 | Nun, Missionary | ||
150. | Graham Greene | 11 February 1986 | 2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991 | Novelist | ||
151. | Frederick Sanger | 11 February 1986 | 13 August 1918 – 19 November 2013 | Biochemist | ||
152. | Sir Frank Whittle | 11 February 1986 | 1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996 | Aircraft Engineer | ||
153. | Sir Yehudi Menuhin | 25 February 1987 | 22 April 1916 – 12 March 1999 | Violinist | ||
154. | Sir Ernst Gombrich | 15 February 1988 | 30 March 1909 – 3 November 2001 | Art Historian | ||
155. | Max Perutz | 15 February 1988 | 19 May 1914 – 6 February 2002 | Biologist | ||
156. | Dame Cicely Saunders | 30 November 1989 | 22 June 1918 – 14 July 2005 | Nurse, Social Worker | ||
157. | Sir George Porter | 30 November 1989 | 6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002 | Chemist | ||
158. | Lady Thatcher | 7 December 1990 | 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013 | Politician | ||
159. | Dame Joan Sutherland | 29 November 1991 | 7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010 | Soprano | ||
160. | Francis Crick | 27 November 1991 | 8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004 | Biologist | ||
161. | Dame Ninette de Valois | 17 November 1992 | 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001 | Ballet Dancer | ||
162. | Sir Michael Atiyah | 17 November 1992 | 22 April 1929 – | Mathematician | ||
163. | Lucian Freud | 6 December 1993 | 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011 | Painter | ||
164. | The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead | 6 December 1993 | 11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003 | Politician | ||
165. | Nelson Mandela | 21 March 1995 | 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013 | Statesman | ||
166. | Sir Aaron Klug | 23 October 1995 | 11 August 1926 – | Chemist | ||
167. | Sir John Gielgud | 9 December 1996 | 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000 | Actor | ||
168. | The Lord Denning | 25 November 1997 | 23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999 | Judge | ||
169. | Sir Norman Foster | 25 November 1997 | 1 June 1935 – | Architect | ||
170. | Sir Denis Rooke | 25 November 1997 | 2 April 1924 – 2 September 2008 | Engineer | ||
171. | Ted Hughes | 10 August 1998 | 17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998 | Poet, Writer | ||
172. | Basil Hume | 25 May 1999 | 2 March 1923 – 17 June 1999 | Archbishop, Cardinal | ||
173. | Sir James Whyte Black | 9 May 2000 | 14 June 1924 – 22 March 2010 | Pharmacologist | ||
174. | Sir Anthony Caro | 9 May 2000 | 8 March 1924 – 23 October 2013 | Sculptor | ||
175. | Sir Roger Penrose | 9 May 2000 | 8 August 1931 – | Mathematician | ||
176. | Sir Tom Stoppard | 9 May 2000 | 3 July 1937 – | Playwright | ||
177. | The Prince of Wales | 27 June 2002 | 14 November 1948 – | Heir Apparent | ||
178. | The Lord May of Oxford | 28 October 2002 | 8 January 1936 – | Ecologist | ||
179. | The Lord Rothschild | 28 October 2002 | 29 April 1936 – | Banker, Philanthropist | ||
180. | Sir David Attenborough | 10 June 2005 | 8 May 1926 – | Broadcaster, Naturalist | ||
181. | The Baroness Boothroyd | 10 June 2005 | 8 October 1929 – | Politician | ||
182. | Sir Michael Howard | 10 June 2005 | 29 November 1922 – | Historian | ||
183. | The Lord Eames | 13 June 2007 | 27 April 1937 – | Archbishop | ||
184. | Sir Tim Berners-Lee | 13 June 2007 | 8 June 1955 – | Computer Scientist | ||
185. | The Lord Rees of Ludlow | 13 June 2007 | 23 June 1942 – | Astronomer | ||
186. | Jean Chrétien | 13 July 2009 | 11 January 1934 – | Politician | ||
187. | Neil MacGregor | 4 November 2010 | 16 June 1946 – | Art Historian | ||
188. | David Hockney | 1 January 2012 | 9 July 1937 – | Painter | ||
189. | John Howard | 1 January 2012 | 26 July 1939 – | Politician | ||
190. | Sir Simon Rattle | 1 January 2014 | 19 January 1955 – | Conductor | ||
191. | Martin Litchfield West | 1 January 2014 | 23 September 1937 – 13 July 2015 | Classicist | ||
192. | Sir Magdi Yacoub | 1 January 2014 | 16 November 1935 – | Surgeon | ||
193. | The Lord Darzi of Denham | 31 December 2015 | 7 May 1960 – | Surgeon | ||
194. | Dame Ann Dowling | 31 December 2015 | 15 July 1952 – | Engineer | ||
195. | Sir James Dyson | 31 December 2015 | 2 May 1947 – | Industrial Designer |