• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Why Was the Victoria Cross Introduced By Queen Victoria and What Is the Highest Military Decoration Made Of?

Why Was the Victoria Cross Introduced By Queen Victoria and What Is the Highest Military Decoration Made Of?

July 21, 2020 by Karen Hill

The United Kingdom’s Queen Victoria created the Victoria Cross in 1856 to recognize individual acts of gallantry by soldiers and sailors of the British Empire.

The new medal came on the heels of, and was inspired by, the heroics of the Crimean War fought by Britain, France, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire against Russia between 1854 and 1856.

To this day each Victoria Cross is forged from the melted-down metal of Russian cannon captured during the Crimean War.

Unlike some other British medals, the Victoria Cross can be awarded to any member of the military regardless of rank.

To date, at the time of this writing, 1,355 people have received the medal.

Related Facts

  • Where does Heat come from and Who Discovered that friction causes heat?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Who Was the Last Canadian Recipient of the Victoria Cross and Who Was the Last?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • Why isn’t Queen Elizabeth II a Saxe-Coburg-Gotha if she was a direct descendent of Queen Victoria?
  • When did Queen Victoria of England marry her first cousin?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Who Was the Last Canadian Recipient of the Victoria Cross and Who Was the Last?
Next Post: What Does “On the Double” Mean and Where Does the Phrase For Hurry Up Come From? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy