The Order of the British Empire was founded back in 1917 by order of King George V. Since then, not only well-known personalities within the state, but also outside it have become knights of this organization. For foreigners, a special title of "honorary members" was created, which was awarded to many people from other countries. Several well-known holders of the order will be discussed in the article.
Development in the field of genetics
Order of the British Empire in 1994 Alec Jeffreys was awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of genetics. It was he who developed the special technology of DNA fingerprinting. It is still actively used in all countries in the conduct of forensic examination. The invention greatly facilitated the process of proving guilt when committing a crime. Alec Jeffries is currently a professor at the University of Leicester. It is worth noting that in his entire life he received more than fifteen different awards. In 2015, a short 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 queenElizabeth
Prince Charles also received the Order of the British Empire for his work. He was born in 1948 and became the first grandson of King George. In his honor, the bells of Westminster Abbey rang five thousand times, 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. Homeschooled from the age of five to eight, he is a graduate of the prestigious University of Cambridge. 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 remarried his mistress Camilla Bowles, with whom he had a long 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, polo and fox hunting.
Famous athlete
Order of the British Empire also received the famous yachtsman Rodney Stewart Pattison for his achievements in this sporting category. He was born in 1943 in Scotland, and it is known that he served as a pilot in the army. When moving to England, he entered Pengbourn College, which produced specialists for the Navy. In those years, he actively became interested in competitions on sailing ships. He met MacDonald-Smith in London, who worked as a lawyer. Together theyparticipated in the nineteenth Olympic Summer Games, which were held in Mexico City. In the Flying Dutchman competition, they won gold. After that, Rodney and his crew won gold three more times over the next four years. In 1971, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services to 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 Brooke-Highton only to a duo from Germany. Until 2008, he was the most titled yachtsman in the UK, until his record was broken by Ben Ainslie.
Sculpture Achievements
John Skelton also became an MBE, joining the ranks 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 the city of Coventry, and also went to classes at the choir at Norwich Cathedral. It was here that he began to get involved in art for the first time. Later, his uncle Eric Gill, who was already a renowned English sculptor, took him on as an apprentice. John was an ordinary assistant until he had to join the army in 1942. While serving in the artillery, he visited many Asian countries. After his arrival, he completed his education. In 1948 he set up his own workshop in East Sussex. Many works belong to his hands, including the tombstone of Edward James and the inscriptions in different fonts on Chichester Cathedral. He was one ofcraftsmen 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 presented to him for the fact that he perfectly conveyed the image of the legendary detective on the screens. The Queen admitted that even the masters of English cinema could not create an image more subtly. Vasily Livanov himself said that they succeeded for one simple reason - they followed the 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 based on these works was shown as a man running errands for a brilliant detective. In Soviet films, he was equated with Sherlock, and it turned out to be an excellent duet. The Order of the British Empire was presented to Livanov in Moscow, at the British Embassy.
