Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/George, Order of St.

GEORGE, ORDER OF ST., the name of numerous orders which have been founded in honor of St. George. They include (1) a military order instituted in Russia in 1769 by the Empress Catharine II. as a reward of military achievements. It consists of four classes, to which a fifth, intended for non-commissioned officers and privates, was added in 1807. (2) An order instituted in Bavaria by the Emperor Charles VII. (Charles Albert) in 1729, and reorganized by King Louis II. in 1871. Since the reorganization the order, which had previously been a mere decoration for the nobility, has devoted itself to such services as the care of the wounded on battlefields, etc. (3) An order instituted by Ernest Augustus of Hanover in 1839. (4) A Sicilian military order, instituted by Joseph Napoleon, Feb. 24, 1808, and remodeled by King Ferdinand IV. in 1819. (5) The name under which the order of the Garter was first instituted in England.