30th MAY 1919 RABINDRANATH TAGORE RETURNED BACK TITLE OF KNIGHTHOOD
10 Famous People Who Turned Down a Knighthood
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Of all the honors that the Queen of England bestows on her subjects, a knighthood is easily the most coveted. To British citizens, few titles could be greater than having a “Sir” or “Dame” in front of their name. So what kind of person would turn down such a title? Surprisingly enough, many notables have done so. Here are some of them.
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1. DAVID BOWIE
A few rock stars have been knighted, including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and Sir Mick Jagger – much to the anger of his fellow Rolling Stone, Keith Richards, who felt that Jagger should have declined … like another of Sir Mick’s friends, David Bowie. Bowie turned down a knighthood in 2003. “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that,” he said. “I seriously don't know what it's for. It's not what I spent my life working for.”
2. VANESSA REDGRAVE
The Oscar-winning actress is often considered one of the “grand Dames” of the British stage. But unlike Dame Judi Dench and Dame Helen Mirren, Redgrave actually turned down the title in 1999. Known for supporting various left-wing and humanitarian causes, she might have thought (like many others) that a knighthood would make her too much a part of the establishment. Still, she was happy to be awarded the next-highest honor, a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire).
3. L.S. LOWRY
The artist, famous for paintings of the Lancashire industrial scene, turned down more honors from the Queen than any other individual – a total of five, including an OBE in 1955, a CBE in 1961 and a knighthood in 1968. Always a friend to the working class, he turned down the honors because, according to a friend, he did not want to “change his situation.”
4. ALFRED DEAKIN
The Australian statesman turned down a knighthood in 1887, when Australia was still a colony of Great Britain. He went on to become one of Australia’s founding fathers (it became a nation in 1901) and serve as Prime Minister three times. It seems that his refusal of a knighthood was due to a combination of humility (he would turn down several honors) and his preference for Australia becoming a republic, severing the last of its political links to the British Empire. Australia continued to award knighthoods (conferred by the Crown) after winning independence from Britain, even though many saw them as a remnant of the colonial past. Though it has still not become a republic, Australia finally stopped awarding knighthoods in 1983.
5. ROBERT MORLEY
The actor and playwright, famous for playing a variety of rotund eccentrics, accepted an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1957, but turned down a knighthood in 1975. Other actors to turn down knighthoods included Trevor Howard, Alistair Sim and Paul Scofield.
6. ALDOUS HUXLEY
The essayist and author (Brave New World) refused a knighthood in 1959, only four years before his death. Random fact: Huxley, C.S. Lewis and John F. Kennedy all died on November 22, 1963.
7. DORIS LESSING
When she was young, the Nobel Prize-winning author was an ardent communist, rebelling against the monarchy and the British political system. In 1993, at the age of 74, she refused to be made a Dame. “Surely," she said, "there is something unlikable about a person, when old, accepting honors from an institution she attacked when young?” Some years earlier, she had turned down an OBE, as the honor came from a “non-existent empire.” In 2000, however, she accepted a Companion of Honor (CH), claiming to prefer it because “you’re not called anything."
8. HENRY MOORE
The great sculptor, a major figure in the modern art movement, was always keen to remember his roots as the son of a Yorkshire coal miner. Hence, he turned down a knighthood in 1951 because he didn't want to be seen as an establishment figure.
9. RABINDRANATH TAGORE
One of India’s great hyphenates – spiritual man, the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize (for literature, in 1913), poet, songwriter, dramatist, novelist, painter, educator – Tagore was offered a knighthood by King George V in 1915… and accepted it. However, he renounced his knighthood in 1919, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which hundreds of Indians, suspected of plotting an insurrection, were gunned down by British troops.
10. MICHAEL FARADAY
Just to prove that turning down knighthoods isn’t just for modern-day rebels, Faraday (1791-1867), the great chemist and physicist who discovered the electromagnetic field, also turned down a knighthood. Over a century later, another famed scientist, Stephen Hawking, also reportedly said no to the Queen.
BONUS: JOHN LENNON
While turning down returning an MBE, Lennon spelled out his reasons in a letter to the Queen:
"Your Majesty, I am returning this in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With Love, John Lennon of Bag."
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Jallianwala Bagh massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacreThe Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April .... Mahatma Gandhi, recently returned to India, began emerging as an ....Rabindranath Tagore received the news of the massacre by 22 May 1919. ... The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in the ...Rabindranath Tagore - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_TagoreTagore returned to Jorosanko and completed a set of major works by 1877, one of them ... He collected mostly token rents and blessed villagers who in turn honouredhim with ... He renounced it after the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. ..... a lantern in his left hand and on his back a bag of letters climbing down for ever so ...History - jallianwala bagh
www.jallianwalabagh.ca/pages.php?id=4The Jallianwalla Bagh during 1919, months after the massacre. ... Back in his headquarters, General Dyer reported to his superiors that he had ... had returned to India in January 1915 and Mrs. Annie Besant (1847-1933), ... in the country is exemplified by the renunciation by Rabindranath Tagore of the British Knighthood.Massacre of Jalianwala Bagh, Amritsar - Sikh History
www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/jbagh.htmlAmritsar jalianwala bagh massacre. ... had returned to India in January 1915 and Mrs Annie Besant (1847-1933), head of the Theosophical Sociely of India, who ...Today in Indian History - Events for May 30 - IndianAge.Com
www.indianage.com/show.php30-May-1919, Rabindranath Tagore returned back the honour as a protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. 30-May-1950, Devdutta Ramkrishna ...You've visited this page many times. Last visit: 30/5/15Tagore renounced his Knighthood in protest for Jalianwalla ...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Tagore...in...Bagh.../7967616.cmsApr 13, 2011 - The letter written by Rabindranath Tagore to Lord Chelmsford, the British viceroy, repudiating his Knighthood in protest for Jalianwalla Bagh mass killing. ... of knighthood, which I had the honour to accept from His Majesty the ...lists 10 Famous People Who Turned Down a Knighthood
mentalfloss.com/article/.../10-famous-people-who-turned-down-knighth...Feb 3, 2012 - Still, she was happy to be awarded the next-highest honor, a CBE ...Rabindranath Tagore ... renounced his knighthood in 1919, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, ... While turning down returning an MBE, Lennon spelled out his ... The Highest Paying Cash Back Credit Card Has Just Hit The Market ...Lest We Forget: Jallianwala Bagh, 94 years later - Rediff.com
www.rediff.com › NewsApr 12, 2013 - What greater honour could be bestowed on me than death for the sake of my motherland? ... way Britain looked back at a 10-minute long cold-bloodedmassacre of ... But for the granddaughter of a freedom-fighter, Jallianwala Bagh is a .... Rabindranath Tagore to Lord Chelmsford, returning his knighthood, ...Rabindranath Tagore returned the title of knighthood to the ...
www.allinterview.com/.../rabindranath-tagore-returned-title-knighthood-...Answer # 2, Rowlatt Act of 1919. Rabindranath Tagore returned the title of Sir to the british government to protest against The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre ...Missing:honour7th August 1941: Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore ...
www.mapsofindia.com › On this DayIn 1880, Tagore returned back to India with an aim to merge European novelty with ... whom he collected minimal rent and who in return respected and honoured Tagore. ... which he surrendered in 1919 after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
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