Posthumous

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Posthumous means after death.

• Posthumous works are those published after the death of the author. Many examples exist; see list of works published posthumously.
• A father's posthumous children are those born after his death. The name Posthumous or Postumus was sometimes given to children born after the death of their father.
  • Posthumous is a character in Shakespeare's play, Cymbeline.
• In many cultures, sovereigns are given new names honoring them after death. These names are known as posthumous names.
• Posthumous honors are those bestowed after the death of the person honored.
  • Military decorations are sometimes given to persons who have died in combat. Generally, death is not a bar to receiving such decorations, and meritorious soldiers often die in the course of their meritorious service.
  • Some awards can only be made posthumously. For example, in many republics, effigies of heads of state may appear on currency only posthumously.
  • Some awards, such as the Nobel Prize, are famously known for not being able to be awarded posthumously.
  • The Darwin Awards are, by their nature, usually granted posthumously, although death is not per se a mandatory qualification. (The recipient of the award is required to have rendered him or herself unable to reproduce, death being the usual means of achieving this.)
  • In Roman Catholicism, recognition of a person as a saint or as a Doctor of the Church is always posthumous.
• Posthumous pardons or acquittals can be issued if a wrongful conviction is discovered after the death or execution of the convict(s), to clear their record.