Editing Doctor (title) (section)

==Honorary doctorates==
{{Main|Honorary degree}}
An honorary doctorate is a doctoral degree awarded for service to the institution or the wider community.  It may also be awarded for outstanding achievement in a particular field.  This service or achievement does not need to be academic in nature. Often, the same set of degrees is used for higher doctorates, but they are distinguished as being ''honoris causa'': in comprehensive lists, the lettering used to indicate the possession of a higher doctorate is often adjusted to indicate this, for example, "Hon ScD", as opposed to the earned research doctorate "[[ScD]]". The degrees of Doctor of the University (DUniv) and [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] (DHL), however, are only awarded as honorary degrees.

By convention, recipients of honorary doctorates do not use the title "Dr" in general correspondence, although in formal correspondence from the university issuing the honorary degree it is normal to address the recipient by the title.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://honorarydegrees.wvu.edu/history|title=The Honorary Degree|publisher=[[West Virginia University]]|quote=[H]onorary degree recipients should not refer to themselves as "Doctor", nor should they use the title on business cards or in correspondence. However, the recipient is entitled to use the appropriate honorary abbreviation behind his or her name|access-date=14 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330034606/http://honorarydegrees.wvu.edu/history|archive-date=30 March 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.formsofaddress.info/Degree_Honorary.html|title=How to Address Those With Honorary Degrees|publisher=Protocol School of Washington|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref> However, this social convention is not always scrupulously observed; notable people who defied social convention and used the honorary prefix include:

* [[Benjamin Franklin]], who received honorary master's degrees from [[Harvard University|Harvard]] and [[Yale University|Yale]] in 1753, and from the [[College of William & Mary]] in 1756,<ref>[http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Honorary_degree_recipients Honorary degree recipients] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705165157/http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Honorary_degree_recipients |date=5 July 2008 }} on the Special Collections Research Center Wiki</ref> and doctorates from the [[University of St Andrews]] in 1759 and the [[University of Oxford]] in 1762 for his scientific accomplishments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2002/title,42559,en.php|title=Permanent tribute to Benjamin Franklin|date=29 October 2002|publisher=University of St Andrews|access-date=26 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427194001/https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2002/title,42559,en.php|archive-date=27 April 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-10-02-0040|title=Oxford University: Record of Degree of Doctor of Civil Law, 30 April 1762|publisher=Archives.gov|access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> He thereafter referred to himself as "Doctor Franklin".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SIQPyABjJiYC&pg=PA47|page=47|title=Benjamin Franklin: Inventing America
|author= Edwin S. Gaustad|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]], USA|date=16 September 2004|isbn=9780195157321}}</ref>
* [[Maya Angelou]], who held many honorary doctorates, called herself and was referred to by many as "Dr. Angelou" despite holding no undergraduate or advanced (non-honorary) degree.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography |url=http://mayaangelou.com/bio |website=mayaangelou.com |date=5 December 2016 }}</ref>
* [[Booker T. Washington]] was often referred to as "Dr. Washington" after receiving an honorary doctorate from [[Dartmouth College]].{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}
* [[Sukarno]], President of [[Indonesia]], was awarded twenty-six honorary doctorates from various international universities including [[Columbia University]], the [[University of Michigan]], the [[University of Berlin]], the [[Al-Azhar University]], the [[University of Belgrade]], the [[Lomonosov University]] and many more. And also from domestic universities including the [[Universitas Gadjah Mada]], the [[Universitas Indonesia]], the [[Bandung Institute of Technology]], and the [[Universitas Padjadjaran]]. He had often been referred to by [[Indonesian Government]] at the time as 'Dr. Ir. Sukarno',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tatanusa.co.id/tapmpr/67TAPMPRS-XXXIII.pdf |title=KETETAPAN MAJELIS PERMUSYAWARATAN RAKYAT SEMENTARA REPUBLIK INDONESIA No.XXXIII/MPRS/1967 TENTANG PENCABUTAN KEKUASAAN PEMERINTAH NEGARA DARI PRESIDEN SUKARNO |access-date=7 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813071935/http://tatanusa.co.id/tapmpr/67TAPMPRS-XXXIII.pdf |archive-date=13 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> combined with his degree in architecture ([[Ingenieur|Ir.]]) from [[Bandung Institute of Technology]]. Sukarno is the president with the highest number of honorary doctorates in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jelajahunik.us/2010/04/soekarno-presiden-dengan-26-gelar.html|title=Sukarno, Presiden dengan 26 Gelar Honoris Causa|publisher=jelajahunik.us|date=April 2010|access-date=7 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908024005/http://www.jelajahunik.us/2010/04/soekarno-presiden-dengan-26-gelar.html|archive-date=8 September 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* Author and [[Lexicography|lexicographer]] [[Samuel Johnson]], who had some years earlier been unable (due to financial considerations) to complete his undergraduate studies at [[Pembroke College, Oxford]], was awarded the degree of Master of Arts by diploma in 1755, in recognition of his scholarly achievements.<ref>{{cite journal |title=About Samuel Johnson|url=http://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/node/340|journal=The Samuel Johnson Prize|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150516004826/http://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/node/340 |archive-date =16 May 2015}}</ref>  In 1765, [[Trinity College Dublin]] awarded him the degree of [[Doctor of Laws]]<ref name=Johnson2>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Dr. Johnson|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/305432/Samuel-Johnson/14771/Dr-Johnson|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|first = Robert|last = Folkenflik|date = 14 September 2018}}</ref> and in 1775 Oxford bestowed upon him the degree of [[Doctor of Civil Law]] by diploma.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Brute Johnson: A Critical Look at the Life of Dr. Samuel Johnson, L.L.D.|url=http://www.hamiltoninstitute.com/brute-johnson-a-critical-look-at-the-life-of-dr-samuel-johnson-l-l-d/|journal=Hamilton Institute|date = 12 August 2008}}</ref>  He never referred to himself as "Dr. Johnson", even though a degree by diploma is distinct from an honorary degree, but it was used by his contemporaries and in his biography by [[James Boswell]].<ref name=Johnson2/><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/1996-7/weekly/300197/news/story_2.htm|title= Herzog and Heaney set for Encaenia|date=1997|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170922030448/http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/1996-7/weekly/300197/news/story_2.htm|archive-date= 22 September 2017}}</ref>