"Royal Air Force and, in 1969, the definition of honorary recipients was expanded to include members of the Commonwealth of Nations that are not realms. From its inception, the order has been open to women, Florence Nightingale being the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907. Several individuals have refused admission into the Order of Merit, such as Rudyard Kipling, A. E. Housman, and George Bernard Shaw. To date, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, remains the youngest person ever inducted into the Order of Merit, having been admitted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, when he was 47 years"
"Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign—currently Edward VII's great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II—and is restricted to a maximum of 24 living recipients from the Commonwealth realms, plus a limited number of honorary members. While all members are awarded the right to use the post-nominal letters ""OM"" and wear the badge of the order, the Order of Merit's precedence among other"
"week later, Lieutenant, junior grade Ann A. Bernatitus, a U.S. Navy Nurse Corps officer, became the first member of the United States Armed Forces and the first woman to receive the Legion of Merit. She received the award for her service during the defense of the Philippines. LTJG Bernatitus was also the first recipient of the Legion of Merit authorized to wear a Combat ""V"" with the medal. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was presented the Legion of Merit by President Roosevelt while he was en route to the Tehran Conference, in Cairo, Egypt, on November 26, 1943. In 1943, at"
"honours differs between countries. The first mention of a possible Order of Merit was made following the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, in correspondence between First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Barham and William Pitt, though nothing came of the idea. Later, it was thought by Queen Victoria, her courtiers, and politicians alike, that a new order, based on the Prussian order ""Pour le Mérite"", would make up for the insufficient recognition offered by the established honours system to achievement outside of public service, in fields such as art, music, literature, industry, and science. Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort, took"
"Order Of Merit first class for her work on Beethoven. She died at Hampstead, London in October 1962. Emily Anderson Emily Anderson, OBE (March 1891 – October 1962) was a British Foreign Office official and scholar of German. She was born in Galway, Ireland, the daughter of Alexander Anderson, president of Queens College Galway. Ms Anderson was educated privately and won the Browne Scholarship in 1909 at QCG, where she received a B.A. in 1911. She displayed a strong interest in the suffragette movement in Galway. After further study in Berlin and Marburg, she taught for two years at Queen's"
"Merit was the highest civilian award for merit a Canadian could receive. Some orders of precedence are as follows: Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign—currently Edward VII's great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II—and is restricted to a maximum of 24 living recipients from the Commonwealth realms, plus a limited number of honorary members. While all members are awarded the right to"
"Device for the Legion of Merit. The U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the United States Coast Guard do. The first U.S. Armed Forces recipient of the Legion of Merit medal was WWII combat veteran Lt. (j.g.) Ann Bernatitus, U.S.N., one of the ""Angels of Bataan"" and the only U.S. Navy nurse to escape from Bataan and Corregidor during the war. She was also the first person authorized to wear the ""V"" Device with the award. Her medal is now housed at the Smithsonian Institution. Recipients of the Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit is a decoration of"
"Dorothie Feilding Lady Dorothie Mary Evelyn Feilding-Moore, MM (6 October 1889 – 24 October 1935) was a British heiress who shunned her aristocratic background to become a highly decorated volunteer nurse and ambulance driver on the Western Front during World War I. She was the first woman to be awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. She also received the 1914 Star, the Croix de guerre from the French and the Order of Leopold II from the Belgians for services to their wounded. Born on 6 October 1889 to Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh and the Countess"
"women have made up a steady 30–31% of recipients. Colloquially, the decorations of the different classes of the Order are also known as the Federal Cross of Merit (""Bundesverdienstkreuz""). Most of the German federal states (""Länder"") have each their own order of merit as well, with the exception of the Free and Hanseatic Cities of Bremen and Hamburg, which reject any orders (by old tradition their citizens, particularly former or present senators, will refuse any decoration in the form of an order — the most famous example: former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt). The order was established on 7 September 1951 by"
"Beatrice Mary MacDonald Beatrice Mary MacDonald (September 27, 1881 – September 4, 1969), an American Army nurse during World War I, received a Purple Heart for combat wounds on January 4, 1936, making her retroactively the first women to receive the award. MacDonald was also one of three women to receive the United States Distinguished Service Cross for her heroism during World War I. Other awards for her heroism include the French Croix de Guerre (Bronze), a British Military Award for gallantry, the British Royal Red Cross (Second Class) medal, and the United States Distinguished Service Medal. MacDonald was born"
"Ladies Merit Cross The Ladies Merit Cross (""Frauenverdienstkreuz"") was founded on 22 October 1907 by King William II of Prussia as a two-class Ladies Order and to reward women and young women, who worked in the field of charity, or in a religious or social field, who rendered outstanding had personal self-sacrificing service. The award was ranked just behind the Order of Louise. To be awarded the first class, a member must have held the second class for ten years. In exceptional cases, this requirement could be waived. The insignia were returnable upon death. The badge is made of gold"
"Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (February 3, 1821 – May 31, 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council. Elizabeth Blackwell played an important role in both the United States and the United Kingdom as a social and moral reformer. She acted as a pioneer in promoting the education of women in medicine. Elizabeth Blackwell's contributions remain celebrated through an Elizabeth Blackwell medal that is awarded to one woman every year who has added to the cause"
"Distinguished Service Medal. After General Douglas MacArthur created the Purple Heart for combat wounds, MacDonald applied for and received the first Purple Heart to a woman on January 4, 1936. By both her date of injury and her award date, she is the first woman to be awarded a Purple Heart. Beatrice Mary MacDonald Beatrice Mary MacDonald (September 27, 1881 – September 4, 1969), an American Army nurse during World War I, received a Purple Heart for combat wounds on January 4, 1936, making her retroactively the first women to receive the award. MacDonald was also one of three women"
"be appointed to the Order of Merit by a king or queen. She was the first and, as of 2016, remains the only woman to receive the prestigious Copley Medal. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1947 and EMBO Membership in 1970., Hodgkin was Chancellor of the University of Bristol from 1970 to 1988. In 1958, she was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1966, she was awarded the Iota Sigma Pi National Honorary Member for her significant contribution. She became a foreign member of the USSR Academy of"
"of Merit. It was the highest award ever made to a woman marine as a result of World WarII service. The Marine Corps also dedicated the headquarters building of the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island, South Carolina, to her. Streeter died on 9September 1990, two days before her 95th birthday. The qualifications for women who wished to become members of the Reserve were stringent. The eligibility requirements for officer candidates and enlisted women were similar: United States citizenship; not married to a marine; either single or married but with no children under 18; height not less than ;"
"Medal of Honor for his heroic actions and sacrifice of life. On December 10, 1968, U.S. Army Captain Riley Leroy Pitts became the first African-American commissioned officer to be awarded the Medal of Honor. His medal was presented posthumously to his wife, Eula Pitts, by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Three out of the 21 African-American Medal of Honor recipients who served in Vietnam were members of the 5th Special Forces Group otherwise known as The Green Berets. These men are as follows: Sergeant First Class Melvin Morris, SFC. Eugene Ashley, Jr., and SFC. William Maud Bryant. Melvin Morris received the"
"seven knights and dames. The government has not commented on its position regarding knighthoods and damehoods, but the Prime Minister did specifically congratulate two women on becoming Dames Companion. New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of chivalry in New Zealand's honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, ""for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits"", to recognise"
"Source: AMWA Elizabeth Blackwell Medal The Elizabeth Blackwell Medal is awarded annually by the American Medical Women's Association. The medal is named in honor of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States and a pioneer in promoting the education of women in medicine. Established by Elise S. L'Esperance in 1949, 100 years after Blackwell received her medical degree, the medal is granted to a woman physician ""who has made the most outstanding contributions to the cause of women in the field of medicine."" Before 1993, the medal was only awarded to members of"
"one of only eight civilians to receive it. Her name was deleted from the Army Medal of Honor Roll in 1917 (along with over 900 other male MOH recipients); however, it was restored in 1977. After the war, she was a writer and lecturer supporting the women's suffrage movement until her death in 1919. Mary Edwards Walker was born in the Town of Oswego, New York, on November 26, 1832, the daughter of Alvah (father) and Vesta (mother) Walker. She was the youngest of seven children: she had five sisters and one brother. Alvah and Vesta raised both their son"
"a military disability pension in 1798, the rank of 2nd lieutenant in 1822, and the Legion of Honor in 1852. A recipient of the Ordre National du Mérite recently requested from the order's Chancery the permission to call herself ""chevalière,"" and the request was granted (AFP dispatch, Jan 28, 2000). As related in ""Orders of Knighthood, Awards and the Holy See"" by H. E. Cardinale (1983), the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded by two Bolognese nobles Loderingo degli Andalò and Catalano di Guido in 1233, and approved by Pope Alexander IV in 1261. It was the first"
"Elizabeth Blackwell Medal The Elizabeth Blackwell Medal is awarded annually by the American Medical Women's Association. The medal is named in honor of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States and a pioneer in promoting the education of women in medicine. Established by Elise S. L'Esperance in 1949, 100 years after Blackwell received her medical degree, the medal is granted to a woman physician ""who has made the most outstanding contributions to the cause of women in the field of medicine."" Before 1993, the medal was only awarded to members of the AMWA."
"of age. All citizens of the Commonwealth realms are eligible for appointment to the Order of Merit. There may be, however, only 24 living individuals in the order at any given time, not including honorary appointees, and new members are personally selected by the reigning monarch of the realms, currently Queen Elizabeth II, with the assistance of her private secretaries; the order has thus been described as ""quite possibly, the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth."" Within the limited membership is a designated military division, with its own unique insignia; though it has not been abolished, it"
"Women's Hall of Fame. Carol Mutter Carol A. Mutter (born December 17, 1945) is a former United States Marine Corps lieutenant general. She is the first woman in the history of the U.S. Armed Forces to be appointed to a three-star grade. She retired from the Marine Corps on January 1, 1999. Her last active duty assignment was as Deputy Chief of Staff, Manpower and Reserve Affairs (DC/S, M&RA) at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mutter was born on December 17, 1945 in Greeley, Colorado. In 1967 she was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps upon"
"herself. To date, Baloyo is one of only four recipients of the medal from the Philippine Air Force and the only female recipient of the medal. She was posthumously promoted to the rank of Captain. Mary Grace Baloyo Mary Grace Baloyo was a First lieutenant in the Philippine Air Force who posthumously received the Philippines' highest military award for courage - the Medal of Valor. The circumstances in which she was awarded the medal is unique in that it was not given for actions against enemy forces but rather for self-sacrifice. On 26 March 2001, the plane she was flying,"
"Mary Edwards Walker Mary Edwards Walker (November 26, 1832 – February 21, 1919), commonly referred to as Dr. Mary Walker, was an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war and surgeon. She is the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor. In 1855, she earned her medical degree at Syracuse Medical College in New York, married and started a medical practice. She volunteered with the Union Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War and served as a surgeon at a temporary hospital in Washington, D.C., even though at the time women and sectarian physicians were considered unfit"
"Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (, , , , , ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg Monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolin, by the Empress Maria Theresa, the honour was to reward especially meritorious and valorous acts by commissioned officers, including and especially the courageous act of defeating an enemy, and thus ""serving"" their monarch. It was specifically given for ""successful military acts of essential impact to a campaign that were undertaken on [the officer's] own initiative, and might"
"Cross of Merit for Women and Girls The Cross of Merit for Women and Girls (""Ehrenkreuz für Frauen und Jungfrauen"") was created on 22 March 1871 by Kaiser Wilhelm I, German Emperor, in his capacity as King of Prussia. The award was presented only to women, but was not a Ladies Order in the most narrow sense. Women and girls were awarded at the request of Empress Augusta, and the award was bestowed by the Kaiser. The appearance and shape is very similar to the Iron Cross, but on the obverse at the junction of the arms is an emblem"
"Warwickshire and buried on 27 October in the family plot at the Monks Kirby Roman Catholic cemetery. Dorothie Feilding Lady Dorothie Mary Evelyn Feilding-Moore, MM (6 October 1889 – 24 October 1935) was a British heiress who shunned her aristocratic background to become a highly decorated volunteer nurse and ambulance driver on the Western Front during World War I. She was the first woman to be awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. She also received the 1914 Star, the Croix de guerre from the French and the Order of Leopold II from the Belgians for services to"
"three-volume ""History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution"", the first history of the American Revolution authored by a woman (followed only by Ms. Courtney Mitchell of Ala.). Mercy Otis Warren was born on September 14, 1728 (old style), the third of thirteen children and first daughter of Colonel James Otis (1702–1778) and Mary Allyne Otis (1702–1774).Only six of her siblings survived to adulthood. The family lived in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. Mary Allyne was a descendant of ""Mayflower"" passenger Edward Doty. James Otis, Sr., was a farmer, and attorney, who served as a judge for the Barnstable"
"but your Serene Highness is also aware of her devoted services to the Belgian Army and to the French – notably to the Brigade des Marins."" This citation ultimately resulted in Feilding becoming the first woman awarded the Military Medal for bravery on 1 September 1916 as notified in the ""London Gazette"". Five days later she was decorated with the medal by King George V himself at Windsor Castle. She was also decorated by King Albert I of Belgium with the Order of Leopold II, Knights Cross (with palm) for service to his country's wounded. In her letters, which she"
"Order of Merit in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to local-body affairs and the community; and a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2017 for services to the State and the community. She has three adult children from her first marriage to Geoffrey Wilde. Her husband Christopher Kelly was CEO of Landcorp and a former veterinary surgeon. Fran Wilde Dame Frances Helen Wilde (née Kitching, born 11 November 1948) is a New Zealand politician, and former Wellington Labour MP, Minister of Tourism and Mayor of Wellington City. She was the first woman to serve"
"has been proven inaccurate: Napoleon I never distinguished a woman with the Legion of Honor and was located in Bayonne in Southern France in June 1808. The first woman decorated with the Legion of Honor was Angélique Brûlon who received the Legion of Honor from Napoleon III in 1851. Schellinck's service record and testimony from military comrades and commanders resulted in her being granted a pension of 667 livres per year for her service to France. Marie Schellinck Marie Schellinck (25 July 1757, Ghent – 1 September 1840, Menen) was a Belgian soldier who fought in the French Revolution. Also"
"noted that immediately after the ribbon was cut, the gateway was ""consecrated"" by the birth of a baby during an air raid warning; the article quoted Gwynne-Vaughan as saying, ""In the old days, a new building was consecrated by the building in of a human being who had therefore died. This was consecrated yesterday by the birth of a baby!"" Mona Chalmers Watson Alexandra Mary Chalmers Watson CBE, (née Geddes; 31 May 1872 – 7 August 1936), known as Mona Chalmers Watson, was a Scottish physician and head of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. The first woman to receive an"