Heaviside was not interested in receiving honours. Indeed, he never made any money from his discoveries and often found it difficult to pay the bills. He was probably very pleased to be made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1891. He was awarded a £120 a year Civil List pension by the government. In 1908 he was elected an Honorary Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and in 1918 Honorary Membership of the Americal Institute of Electrical Engineers. In 1921 he was the first person to be honoured with the Faraday Medal.