The Order of the British Empire was founded in 1917 by order of King George V. Since then, not only well-known personalities within the state, but also beyond its borders became gentlemen of this organization. A special title of “honorary members” was created for foreigners, which was awarded to many people from other countries. Several well-known cavaliers of the order will be discussed in the article.
Genetics Development
The Order of the British Empire in 1994 was awarded to Alec Jeffries for outstanding achievements in the field of genetics. It was he who developed the special technology of DNA fingerprinting. To this day, it is actively used in all countries in conducting forensic examinations. The invention greatly facilitated the process of proving guilt in the commission of a crime. Now Alec Jeffries is a professor at the University of Leicester. It is worth noting that in his entire life he received more than fifteen various awards. In 2015, a small series was shot about a man, which told about the invention of DNA fingerprinting, the first application and future success of the technology.
The first son of the current Queen Elizabeth
The Order of the British Empire also received Prince Charles for its activities. He was born in 1948 and became the first grandson of King George. The bells of Westminster Abbey rang five thousand times in his honor, forty-one artillery shots were fired, and sailors throughout the country received a double portion of their favorite alcoholic drink. In 1953, he attended the coronation of his mother Elizabeth. From five to eight, he studied at home, is a graduate of the prestigious Cambridge University. He was married to Princess Diana, who died in 1997 in a car accident. From this marriage two sons were born - William and Harry. In 2005, he again married his mistress Camille Bowles, with whom he had a long-standing relationship even during his marriage to Diana. The man is actively involved in charity work, has his own foundation and patronizes a huge number of various organizations. Prince Charles has written many books in the fields of architecture, painting, gardening, is interested in playing polo and hunting foxes.
Famous athlete
The Order of the British Empire also received the renowned yachtsman Rodney Stewart Pattison for his achievements in this sports category. He was born in 1943 in Scotland, and it is known that he served as a pilot in the army. Upon moving to England, he entered the Penborn College, which graduated specialists for the Navy. In those years he was actively carried away by competitions on sailing ships. He met in London with MacDonald Smith, who worked as a lawyer. Together they participated in the nineteenth Olympic summer games that took place in Mexico City. In the Flying Dutchman contest, they won gold. After that, Rodney and his crew won the gold three more times over the next four years. In 1971 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services in sports. In Munich, he managed to defend the title of Olympic champion, and in 1976 in Montreal he became the standard-bearer of his state. Then, in sailing battles, he lost together with Julian Brook Highton only to a duet from Germany. Until 2008, he was the most titled yachtsman in the UK, until Ben Ainsley beat his record.
Sculpture Achievements
The holder of the Order of the British Empire was also John Skelton, who joined the list of famous personalities on this list. A man was born in Glasgow in Scotland in 1923 and had five more brothers and sisters. He attended school in Coventry, and also attended classes at the choral institution at Norwich Cathedral. It was here that he began to join art for the first time. Later, his uncle Eric Jill, who was already a famous English sculptor, took him to study. John was an ordinary assistant until in 1942 he had to go into the army. When serving in artillery, he visited many Asian countries. After arrival I graduated. In 1948, he created his own workshop in East Sussex. His hands belong to many works, including the tombstone of Edward James and inscriptions in different fonts at Chichester Cathedral. He was one of the craftsmen who worked on the memorial to British generals in World War II.
Russian actor
In 2006, Queen Elizabeth herself presented the Order of the British Empire to Vasily Livanov. This Russian actor received a high award for his most popular role as Sherlock Holmes in a number of Soviet films of the same name. The award was given to him for perfectly conveying the image of the legendary detective on the screens. The Queen admitted that even masters of English cinema could not create a finer image. Vasily Livanov himself said that they succeeded for one simple reason - they followed the original source. Holmes emphasized the main qualities, made him a true gentleman and did not try to add something from himself. At the same time, Watson in other paintings from these works was shown as an errand man at a brilliant detective. In Soviet films, he was equated with Sherlock, and he turned out a great duet. The Order of the British Empire was handed to Livanov in Moscow, at the British Embassy.