The 1878 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and were published in The London Gazette in May 1878.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.

United Kingdom and British Empire

Viscount and Earl

The Right Honourable Thomas George, Lord Northbrook GCB GCSI lately Her Majesty's Viceroy and Governor-General of India, by the names, styles, and titles of Viscount Baring, of Lee, in the county of Kent, and Earl of Northbrook, in the county of Southampton

Baronetcies

The Right Honourable Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere GCB GCSI of Wimbledon, in the County of Surrey

Knight Bachelor

Thomas Elder, Member of the Legislative Council of the Colony of South Australia
Salvatore Naudi, Doctor of Laws, Judge of the Court of Appeal of the Island of Malta
Edward Eyre Williams, late Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of the Colony of Victoria

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)

Civil Division

Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere GCSI KCB

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)

Civil Division

Charles, Lord Suffield, of the Household of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales

The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India

Knight Grand Commander (GCSI)

Knight Commander (KCSI)

The Honourable Ashley Eden CSI Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal
Stuart Colvin Bayley CSI Bengal Civil Service, Secretary to the Government of Bengal in the Judicial and Political Departments

Companion (CSI)

James Gibbs, Bombay Civil Service, Member of the Council of the Governor of Bombay
Colonel Charles James Merriman, Royal (late Bombay) Engineers, Superintending Engineer for Irrigation in Sind
James Bellett Richey, Bombay Civil Service, Extra First Assistant to the Collector and Magistrate of Kaira for the Panch Mahals
Lieutenant-Colonel William Scott Drever, Madras Staff Corps, Commissioner, Madras Town Police
John Henry Garstin, Madras Civil Service, Collector and Magistrate, South Arcot
Robert Davidson, Madras Civil Service, District and Sessions Judge, Chingleput
Charles Alfred Elliott, Bengal Civil Service, Commissioner of Revenue and Circuit, North-Western Provinces
Major Colin Campbell Scott Moncrieff, Royal (late Bengal) Engineers, Chief Engineer, Mysore and Coorg

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG)

Major-General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois KCMG CB Royal Engineers, Governor of the Colony of South Australia
Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt KCMG Member of the Halifax Fisheries Commission

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG)

Albert Smith, Minister of the Marine for the Dominion of Canada, and lately employed in connection with the Halifax Fisheries Commission
Henry Turner Irving CMG Governor of the Island of Trinidad
Sanford Freeling CMG Governor of the Gold Coast Colony
Sir James Milne Wilson Kt lately Premier of the Colony of Tasmania, and now President of the Legislative Council of that Colony
John Hay, President of the Legislative Council of the Colony of New South Wales
Archibald Michie QC formerly Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the Colony of Victoria, and now Agent-General in England for that Colony
Frederick B. T. Carter, late Premier and Attorney-General of the Island of Newfoundland

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)

Anthony O'Grady Lefroy, Treasurer of the Colony of Western Australia
Doctor Francis Reid, Chief Medical Officer of the Island of Mauritius
George Henry Kendrick Thwaites, Director of the Botanical Gardens in the Island of Ceylon
Colonel William Acland Douglas Anderson, in Command of the Local Military Forces in the Colony of Victoria
Henry Halloran, Principal Under-Secretary for the Colony of New South Wales
Timothy Darling, Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council of the Bahama Islands
Colville Arthur Durell Barclay, formerly of Mauritius, and lately Auditor-General of the Island of Ceylon
Colonel George Pomeroy Colley CB for services in Natal and South Africa
Captain Francis W. Sullivan CB RN Commodore on the Cape and African Station
Captain Warren, Royal Engineers, Boundary Commissioner, Griqualand West
Captain Matthew J. Blyth, Resident Magistrate, Griqualand East
Captain Charles Mills, Assistant Colonial Secretary, Cape of Good Hope

References

^ "No. 24327". The London Gazette. 19 May 1876. p. 3040.
^ "No. 24586". The London Gazette. 25 May 1878. p. 3300.
^ "No. 24588". The London Gazette. 31 May 1878. p. 3363.

v t e British honours lists
New Year Honours	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902† 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940† 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 † Not issued because of Birthday Honours of the new monarch (1902) and World War II (1940)
Birthday Honours	1860 1861 1862 1863§ 1864§ 1865§ 1866 1867 1868§ 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876§ 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887† 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897† 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911† 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937† 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953† 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 § Not issued † Not issued because of Jubilee Honours (1887, 1897) and Coronation Honours (1911, 1937, 1953)
Coronation Honours	1821 1831 1838 1902 1911 1937 1953 2023† † Not issued
Jubilee Honours	1887 (Golden) 1897 (Diamond) 1935 (Silver) 1977 (Silver) 2002 (Golden) 2012 (Diamond) 2022 (Platinum)† † Not issued
Demise Honours	2002 (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret) 2021 (The Duke of Edinburgh) 2023 (Queen Elizabeth II)
Dissolution Honours	1874 1885 1892 1895 1900† 1906† 1910† 1918† 1922 1923† 1924 1929 1931 1935† 1945 1950 1951† 1955† 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (February) 1974 (October) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017† 2019 † Not issued
Prime Minister's Resignation Honours	1895 1905 1916 1924 1945 1951 1955† 1957† 1963 1964 1970 1976 1979† 1990 1997 2007† 2010† 2016 2019 2022 (Johnson) 2022 (Truss) † Not issued
Special Honours	1923 1952 1972 1973 1974 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1999 2004 2006 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Additional Honours	1911 (Delhi Durbar) 1969 (Investiture of The Prince of Wales) 1990 (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 90th Birthday)
Honours by nation	Australia Canada Ceylon India New Zealand