One of the Britain's greatest legacies is the enormous contribution it has made to science. For example, Sir Isaac Newton, the world's first scientist, achieved more during his brief lifetime than the combined efforts of the all the scientists of many lesser nations. It is hard to overstate the impact that Newton's work had on our lives. Newton's invention of gravity revolutionised the world and helped to make habitation on this hostile planet a little bit more hospitable. Furthermore, by creating the first Laws of Physics, Sir Isaac Newton devised a framework that brought order to the chaos of everyday existence. So unparalleled were Newton's knowledge and insight that his laws have only recently been replaced by those of another great Englishman, Sir Albert Einstein.

Sir Isaac Newton was just the first in a long line of distinguished British scientists. It is hard to imagine how different the modern world would be without electricity or magnetism. Fortunately, both of these phenomena were invented by the celebrated collaboration between Sir Michael Faraday and Sir James Clerk Maxwell. These inventions were the foundations of the Telecommunications Revolution, which blossomed due to the determined efforts of Britons including: Sir Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone; Sir John Logie Baird, inventor of the television; Sir Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of radio; Sir Alan Turing and Sir Charles Babbage, inventors of the computer; Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Internet. Britain's place at the forefront of scientific endeavour has continued throughout 2001, culminating with the groundbreaking invention of the human genome, which promises to create a new breed of superhumans.

Great Britain's scientific achievements are rivalled only by its preeminence in the production of music, literature and fine art. Throughout history, British composers have always been at the vanguard of developments in music. From Sir Thomas Tallis's groundbreaking work in polyphonic music and Sir George Frederick Handel's invention of opera through to Sir John Strauss's pioneering waltzes, Britain has defined music as we know it. To this day, Britain keeps its finger on the pulse of popular music, with contemporary artists including The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber achieving enormous commercial success.

It goes without saying that all of humanity's greatest literature was written by Englishmen. As the first language to have a dictionary and thanks to its large vocabulary and elegant grammatical structure, English quickly became the language of choice for discerning poets, playwrights and novelists. While authors from other countries have consistently failed to achieve any lasting success, countless native Anglophones including Sir Geoffrey Chaucer, Sir William Shakespeare and Sir Charles Dickens have set the standards for fine literature. British artists have also made an impression on society, thanks to the efforts of Sir Joseph Turner, Sir Anthony Van Dyke, Sir Laurence Stephen Lowry and Sir Tracy Emin. Clearly, the British have an unparalleled natural ability to produce artistic works of the greatest aesthetic appeal.

Great Britain's most important gift to the world, however, has been in ensuring the freedom of people all over the globe. As the world's first democracy, Britain introduced civilised society to all of the world's continents. Celebrated British explorers including Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir James Cook, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Christopher Columbus eagerly sought out new lands and liberated their inhabitants from their humble lives by introducing them to the British way of life. That such great democratic nations as the United States of America, Canada, Australia and India have arisen from former British colonies is testament to the vision of a civilised society brought to their shores by the early British pioneers.

In more recent times, Great Britain has fought tirelessly to liberate the citizens of lesser countries from tyranny and oppression. In two World Wars and conflicts in the Falkland Islands, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, countless courageous Britons have selflessly sacrificed their lives in the defence of the British ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Sadly, it is all too often forgotten that the free world owes a great debt of gratitude to the brave citizens of Great Britain.

Great Britain's benign guiding influence has enriched all of our lives. The British people have given many great gifts to the world yet have neither asked for nor received anything in return. Fortunately, so long as this great nation continues to prosper, we can rest assured the future of our world is safe in the hands of the benevolent British Empire.

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ADDENDUM The New Year Honours List has been announced today, in which the achievement of several great Britons is formally recognised by the Queen. While it is a hard task to select just a few worthy citizens from the huge number of deserving and distinguished Britons, I think we can all agree that Her Majesty has chosen to honour a fine collection of outstanding Britons this year.

Recipients of the honour of Knight of the British Empire (KBE) include the actor Ben Kingsley, film director Alan Parker and the veteran broadcaster Jimmy Young.

The Commander of the British Empire (CBE) is awarded to brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb of the popular band "The Bee Gees", world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis and opera sensation Lesley Garrett.

New Officers of the British Empire (OBE) include: Nasser Hussain, captain of England's all-conquering cricket team; Graham Taylor, former manager of the national football team who masterminded England's 1994 World Cup campaign; and Sade, the chart-topping singer

The honour of Member of the British Empire (MBE) is bestowed upon the popular singer Daniel O'Donnell and Gary McAllister, the veteran footballer whose career has begun to wane in recent years.

On behalf of the editors and readers of Adequacy.org, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to these great British citizens and to thank them for all they have done to improve the lives of people all over the globe.