2 Princeton University Professors Honored By Queen Elizabeth II

PRINCETON, NJ — Two Princeton University Professors, David MacMillan and Linda Colley, have been honored by Queen Elizabeth II, as she celebrates 70 years on the throne.

MacMillan is from the Department of Chemistry and Colley is a professor of history. They will now be known as Sir David MacMillan and Dame Linda Colley.

MacMillan, who won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was recognized for “an exceptional and sustained contribution to chemistry and science,” according to the birthday honor list published by the UK government.

Colley was recognized for her “outstanding contribution to history.”

“Awarded a CBE in 2009, she has continued to produce historical works of profound political and cultural relevance, helping the understanding of Britain’s constitutional place in the world, and of constitutions more generally,” the announcement said.

The titles were announced on Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth II,96, as part of her annual Birthday Honours lists. People from various walks of life are named knights and dames or given the country’s highest awards.

MacMillan, a Scot and dual citizen of the UK and the U.S., said he started "tearing up" after hearing the news. “You grow up as this working-class kid in Scotland, and then you find yourself on the phone in Korea in the middle of the night and someone’s telling you you’ve just been knighted by the queen,” he said in a statement posted by Princeton University.

Born in Chester, England, Colley joined the Princeton faculty in 2003. "I was delighted to get the news, of course, but also delighted that the humanities had been recognized in the list as well as the sciences. History matters,” Colley said in a statement.

The United Kingdom is celebrating the queen's Platinum Jubilee this week, to mark her record-setting 70 years on the throne.

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