The French government gives out the Legion of Honour awards, to both French[1] and foreign[2] nationals, based on a recipient's exemplary services rendered to France, or to the causes supported by France. This award is divided into five distinct categories (in ascending order[3]), i.e. three ranks: Knight, Officer, Commander, and two titles: Grand Officer and Grand Cross. Knight is the most common and is awarded for either at least 20 years of public service or acts of military or civil bravery.[3] The rest of the categories have a quota for the number of years of service in the category below before they can be awarded. The Officer rank requires a minimum of eight years as a Knight, and the Commander, the highest civilian category for a non-French citizen, requires a minimum of five years as an Officer. The Grand Officer and the Grand Cross are awarded only to French citizens, and each requires three years' service in their respective immediately lower rank.[4] The awards are traditionally published and promoted on 14 July.[5]
The following is a non-exhaustive list of recipients of the Legion of Honour awards, since the first ceremony in May 1803.[3] 2,550 individuals can be awarded the insignia every year.[5] The total number of awards is close to 1 million[6] (estimated at 900,000 in 2021,[5] including over 3,000 Grand Cross recipients[7]), with some 92,000 recipients alive today.[8] Only until 2008 was gender parity achieved amongst the yearly list of recipients, with the total number of women recipients since the award's establishment being only 59 at the end of the second French empire and only 26,000 in 2021.[5]
| Recipient | Dates (birth – death) |
General work & reason for the recognition | Award category (date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Babeș[9] | 1854 – 1926 | Romanian physician and scientist | Knight (TBA)[citation needed] |
| John Tremayne Babington | 1891 – 1979 | Senior commander in the Royal Air Force | Knight (TBA)[citation needed] |
| Andre Bach | 1888 – 1945 | TBA[citation needed] | |
| Amitabh Bachchan[10] | 1942 – present | Indian actor. Recognised for his "exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond".[11] | Knight (2007)[citation needed] |
| Louis Bachelier | 1870 – 1946 | French mathematician. He is credited with being the first person to model the stochastic process now called Brownian motion. | Knight (TBA)[citation needed] |
| Michel Bacos[12] | 1924 – 2019[13] | French pilot of Air France Flight 139. Recognised for refusing to leave his Jewish passengers behind, when captain of the terrorist-hijacked Air France Flight 139. | Knight (1976)[14] |
| Absalom Baird | 1824 – 1905 | Union Army general in the American Civil War |
|
| Josephine Baker | 1906 – 1975 | American-born French actress and Resistance agent | Knight (TBA)[16] |
| Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna | 1930 – 2016 | Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. | TBA [citation needed] |
| James Arthur Baldwin | 1924 – 1987 | African-American writer & defender of human rights |
|
| Albert Ball | 1896 – 1917 | World War I British fighter pilot |
|
| Benjamin Ball | 1833 – 1893 | English-born French psychiatrist | Knight (TBA)[citation needed] |
| Basile Baltus de Pouilly | 1766 – 1845 | General, French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars |
|
| Raffaello de Banfield | 1922 – 2008 | British-born Italian composer | Knight (TBA)[citation needed] |
| François Barbé-Marbois | 1745 – 1837 | French politician | Grand Officer (1805)[citation needed] |
| Jean-François Barbier | 1754 – 1828 | General, French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars | TBA [citation needed] |
| John J. Barceló III[20] | American Law Professor | TBA [citation needed] | |
| Van T. Barfoot | 1919 – 2012 | United States Army officer | TBA [citation needed] |
| Karno Barkah | 1922 – 2009 | Indonesian aviation pioneer | TBA (28 February 1984)[21] |
| Michael Barker[22] | Co-President and Co-Founder of Sony Pictures Classics | TBA [citation needed] | |
| Myron G. Barlow[23] | 1873 – 1937 | American painter. Recognised for his painting achievements. photo | TBA (1932)[citation needed] |
| George Barnett | 1859 – 1930 | 12th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He was a pioneer of amphibious warfare and the U.S. Marine Commandant during American involvement in World War I. |
|
| Denis Gabriel Barois | 1922 – Present | Delegate to the Superior Council of French Nationals Abroad (Mexico) | Knight (decree: 28 March 1997)[24] |
| Théophile Barrau | 1848 – 1913 | French sculptor | Knight (1892)[citation needed] |
| Claude Barrès | 1925 – 1959 | French Army officer who served in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Korean War and the Algerian War |
|
| Charles Barrois | 1851 – 1939 | French geologist and palaeontologist |
|
| Jeanne Julia Bartet | 1854 – 1941 | French actress |
|
| Marcus "Stub" Bartusek | World War II soldier (United States), 106th Infantry Division (United States), 424th Regiment | Knight (ceremony: 9 October 2018)[27] | |
| Dame Shirley Bassey | 1937 – Present | U.K. (Welsh) Singer | Knight (2003)[28][29] |
| Maryse Bastié | 1898 – 1952[30] | French aviator. Her Knight rank was in recognition of her flight on 28 June 1931, a 2976 km journey from Le Bourget to Yurino (Russia) undertaken in 30 hours 30 minutes at an average speed of 97 km/h. Her officer rank was in reocognition of her flight aboard a Caudron 635 Simoun F-Anxo on 30 December 1936, which broke the record for crossing the South Atlantic in 12 hours 5 minutes. The commander rank was in recognition of her "exceptional war titles and acts of resistance". | |
| Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière | 1759 – 1812 | General, French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars |
|
| Jean Baubérot | 1941 – present | French historian and sociologist (religions). He is Known for being the founder of secularism sociology. | Knight (TBA)[citation needed] |
| Luc-Marie Bayle | 1914 – 2000 | French naval officer, painter, and artist | TBA[citation needed] |
| François Achille Bazaine | 1811[34][35] – 1888 | French Army officer, who obtained the rank of Marshal of France (1863). On 22 July 1835, he was wounded in the battle of Macta (French: la Macta) of fires to the wrist, received a knight rank of France's Legion of Honour. On 9 November 1845, he was promoted to the rank of Officer, following the combat of Sidi Kafir. On 2 July 1863, his rank was upgraded to a Grand Cross. He received a citation at the battle of San Lorenzo |
|
| Pierre-Dominique (Adolphe) Bazaine known as Adolphe Bazaine-Vasseur | 1809 – 1893 | French Railway Engineer | |
| Pierre-Dominique Bazaine | 1786 – 1838 | French Mathematician and Engineer |
|
| George Albert Bazaine-Hayter | 1843 – 1914 | French General. By decree on 9 September 1870 he rcieved the Knight for acts of war during the battles of Metz. During his command of the 12th regiment at Lạng Sơn, Tonkin (North Vietnam), he was upgraded to the rank of Officer by decree on 4 May 1889. On April 9, 1903, he was called to head the 57th Infantry Brigade in to defend the Nice group, and had his rank promoted to Commander on 3 September 1903. At the end of his career, just before being placed in the reserve section (4 December 1908), he was awarded the title of Grand Officer on 3 December 1908. | |
| Paul Bazelaire | |||
| Cecil Beaton | |||
| Gérald Beaudoin | |||
| Roger Beaufrand | |||
| Thomas Beecham | |||
| Azouz Begag | |||
| Reginald R. Belknap | 1871 – 1959 | United States Navy rear admiral | |
| Alexander Graham Bell | |||
| Sir Francis Dillon Bell | New Zealand Statesman | ||
| Jean-Louis Bélard[39][40] | |||
| Monica Bellucci | 1964 – Present | Italian actress and model. In recognition of her cultural achievement in France. | Knight (24 November 2016)[41] |
| Jean-Paul Belmondo | |||
| Guillermo B. Belt[42] | 1906 – 1989 | Cuban diplomat | |
| Arnaud Beltrame | Gendarme Colonel, Gendarmerie National (Award and promotion both Posthumous) | TBA (2018) | |
| Charles Bequignon | |||
| Józef Bem | |||
| Edvard Beneš | |||
| Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant | |||
| François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo | |||
| Jean Béraud | |||
| Henri Bergson | |||
| Jean Berlie | |||
| Louis Bernacchi | |||
| Claude Bernard | Physiologist, founding father of modern physiology and endocrinology | ||
| Dominique Bernard | School teacher killed in Arras school stabbing by an Islamic terrorist in 2023 | ||
| Tom Bernard | Co-President and Co-Founder of Sony Pictures Classics | ||
| Étienne-Prosper Berne-Bellecour | |||
| Sarah Bernhardt | |||
| Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld | |||
| Pier Luigi Bersani[43][44] | |||
| Louis-Alexandre Berthier | |||
| Pierre Berthier | |||
| Roberte Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough | |||
| Jean-Baptiste Bessières | |||
| Ramón Emeterio Betances | 1827 – 1898 | Puerto Rican medical doctor, political leader and diplomat | |
| Íngrid Betancourt | |||
| André Bettencourt | |||
| Jacques Claude Beugnot | |||
| Bhumibol Adulyadej | King of Thailand | ||
| Marthe Bibesco | |||
| Marcel Bigeard | |||
| Kenneth W. Bilby | American businessman and author | ||
| Carl Bildt | |||
| Pierre Billotte | |||
| Émile Bin | |||
| Maria Ilva Biolcati | Italian singer and actress | ||
| Wilfred Bion | |||
| Sir Robert Bird, 2nd Baronet | |||
| George Christopher Molesworth Birdwood | |||
| Billy Bishop | |||
| Harry Gore Bishop | |||
| Monique de Bissy | |||
| Henri Biva | 1848 – 1929 | French painter | Knight (1900) |
| George G. Blackburn | |||
| Alice Guy-Blaché | Cinema pioneer | ||
| Sergent Blandan | |||
| Tasker H. Bliss | |||
| Denise Bloch | |||
| Marc Bloch | |||
| Marc Boegner | |||
| Jean-Bédel Bokassa | |||
| Albina du Boisrouvray | |||
| Petar Bojović | |||
| Claude Bolling | |||
| Kathryne Bomberger | |||
| Marie-Claude Bomsel | |||
| Napoleon Bonaparte | Founder of the Légion d'honneur | ||
| Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon VI) |
| ||
| Bono | |||
| Jorge Luis Borges | |||
| Frank Borland | |||
| Władysław Bortnowski | |||
| Alfred Bossom | |||
| Lucien Bouchard | |||
| Georges Ernest Boulanger | |||
| Gustave Boulanger | TBA (1868) | ||
| Pierre Boulle | |||
| Jean-Gustave Bourbouze | |||
| Antoine Bourseiller | |||
| Paul-Émile Boutigny | Painter of military subjects | ||
| Victor Boutilly[46] | 1864 – 1934 | French forestry inspector | TBA (1911) |
| Frank Henry Bowater | |||
| Maurice Bowra | |||
| Charles Boyer | |||
| Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński | |||
| Ali Bozer | |||
| Olga Boznańska | |||
| Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee | Vice President At-Large of The Washington Post | ||
| Jean Branger[47] | Captain, 8th infantry regiment | Knight (26 December 1852) | |
| Lloyd Samuel Breadner | |||
| Théophile Marie Brébant | |||
| Yves Bréchet | |||
| Annie Brewer | |||
| Francis Charles Bridgeman Bridgeman | |||
| Louis Brière de l'Isle | General, Troupes de marine | ||
| Donald F. Breitenberg[48] | USA World War II, 101st Airborne | ||
| Louis de Broglie | |||
| Louis Bromfield | |||
| Robert S. Brookings | |||
| Romaine Brooks | |||
| Albert Bros | Escaped pow and member of the Resistance | ||
| Daniel Brottier | |||
| John Nicholas Brown II | Philanthropist | ||
| Margaret Brown | |||
| Josip Broz Tito | Leader of Yugoslavia | ||
| John Bruce Lockhart | Scotland, Great War | ||
| Angélique Brûlon | |||
| Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné | |||
| Charles F. Bruns[49] | |||
| Michael Bruxner | |||
| Frank Buckles | |||
| Jean-Eugène Buland | French painter | ||
| Eugene Bullard | |||
| Omar Bundy | American general | ||
| Joseph Richard Burke[50] | Canadian Army, WWII veteran, dispatch rider with the Toronto Scottish Regiment | Knight (8 August 2015) | |
| Richard Burrows | Chairman of British American Tobacco | ||
| Robert Busnel | |||
| Stephen Butcher | |||
| Richard E. Byrd | American admiral and explorer | ||
| Myles Byrne |
See also
edit
- Legion of Honour
- List of Legion of Honour recipients by name
- List of foreign recipients of Legion of Honour by name
- List of foreign recipients of the Legion of Honour by country
- List of British recipients of the Legion of Honour for the Crimean War
- Legion of Honour Museum
- Ribbons of the French military and civil awards
- War Cross (France)
References
edit- ^ Légion Code, article 16.
- ^ Les étrangers qui se seront signalés par les services qu’ils ont rendus à la France ou aux causes qu’elle soutient, Légion Code, art. 128.
- ^ a b c "France train attack: Chris Norman awarded Legion d'honneur". BBC News. 24 August 2015. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ DM, Florey (29 March 2017). "Michelle Yeoh receives France's highest civilian honour". Cinema Online. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Alt URL
- ^ a b c d "The Grand Chancellery is co-producing a film on women and the Legion of Honor". The Grand Chancellery of the Legion of Honour. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Legion of Honour". Australian Government – Department of Veteran's Affairs. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ Wattel, Michel; Wattel, Béatrice (2009). "Les Grand Croix de la Légion d'honneur. De 1805 à nos jours, titulaires français et étrangers". Archives & Culture.
- ^ Benoist, Chloé (18 December 2020). "Explained: Sisi, Macron and the dubious history of France's Legion of Honour". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ Leşcu, Christine (29 October 2016). "Radio Romania International – Scientist Victor Babes". Radio Romania International. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "Highest French distinction, the Officer of the Legion of Honour conferred on Amitabh Bachchan". La France en Inde / France in India. 27 January 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ Pandey, Geeta (27 January 2007). "South Asia | French honour for Bollywood star". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
- ^ Langer, Emily (5 April 2019). "Remembering Michel Bacos, French pilot who survived the 1976 Entebbe hijacking – as a hero". The Independent. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ Roberts, Sam (28 March 2019). "Michel Bacos, Hero Pilot of Jet Hijacked to Entebbe, Dies at 94". NY Times. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Entebbe Postscript". Flight International. 17 July 1976. p. 122. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ Norbury MacKenzie, George (1917). Colonial Families of the United States of America: In which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families who Settled in the American Colonies from the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. Vol. 6. Grafton Press.
- ^ "Siren of the Resistance: The Artistry and Espionage of Josephine Baker". The National WWII Museum, New Orleans (www.nationalww2museum.org). February 2020. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "James Arthur Baldwin". The New York Times. 20 June 1986. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ "No. 30110". The London Gazette. 1 June 1917. p. 5451.
- ^ "Baltus (Basile-Guy-Marie-Victor) - Centificate No 1479". France’s National Archives - Léonore Database (in French). France. 11 July 1807. p. 1. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ "John J. Barceló III". Cornell Law School. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ "Menerima bintang kehormatan". Tempo. 3 March 1984. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ "Michael Barker". The Hollywood Reporter. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Myron G. Barlow". The Barlow Genealogy. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Denis Gabriel Barois". Le service public de la diffusion du droit. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Barrès (Claude Henri Maurice) - Certificate No 14674". National Archives of France - Base Léonore (in French). France. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "A Loss to the Française". The Times. 21 January 1920. p. 12.
- ^ Miller, Ashley (9 October 2018). "Manly vet receives highest French honor for World War II service (with photos)". Global Gazette. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022.
- ^ Stassen, Murray (6 August 2020). "Dame Shirley Bassey inks exclusive record deal with Decca Records". Music Business Worldwide (www.musicbusinessworldwide.com). Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- ^ F.Daniels, Karu (8 August 2020). "At 83, Dame Shirley Bassey working on new album, referred to as 'grand finale'". Daily News. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- ^ Abalo, Hélène (27 February 2018). "Maryse Bastié avait des ailes". France Info (www.francetvinfo.fr) (in French). Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ Bastié, Maryse (1 January 1937). Ailes ouvertes: Carnet d'une aviatrice [Open Wings: An Airwoman's Notebook] (in French). Grasset. ASIN B07KTCMM8G. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "Maryse BASTIE 1898 – 1952". slhada (www.slhada.fr) (in French). Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ Maryse, Bastié. "Bastié Maryse". Aero-Mondo (www.aero-mondo.fr) (in French). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Bazaine, François Achille - Certificate No 150/12". France’s National Archives - Léonore Database (in French). France. 2 July 1863. p. 1. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ a b c "Recontitution des Matricules - Bazaine, François Achille" [Recontitution des Matricules - Bazaine, François Achille]. France’s National Archives - Léonore Database (in French). France. 2 July 1863. p. 2. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Bazaine-Vasseur, Dominique - Certificate No 150/18". France’s National Archives - Léonore Database (in French). France. 5 August 1861. p. 3. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022. Alt URL
- ^ a b "Sr Bazaine (pierre Dominique)- Certificate No 168". France’s National Archives - Léonore Database (in French). France. 12 February 1829. p. 1. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Bazaine-Hayter, George Albert - Certificate No 150/17". France’s National Archives - Léonore Database (in French). France. 30 December 1908. p. 1. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Jean-Louis Bélard". Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Jean-Louis Bélard". Le service public de la diffusion du droit. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ Le Moal, Océane (25 November 2016). "Monica Bellucci émue de recevoir la légion d'honneur à l'Elysée" [Monica Bellucci moved to receive the Legion of Honour at the Élysée]. TF1 (in French). Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ Guillermo B. Belt. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804707572. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Legion D'onore Al Ministro Bersani". Staffetta Quotidiana (From the print archives of the daily). 2010 [1999-10-29]. ISSN 2499-5924. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Bersani promuove il governo su Fincantieri, ma lo boccia su Tim". Huffington Post (in Italian). 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017.
- ^ "Ordre De La Legion D'honneur – Décret du 14 Avril 1990 Portant Promotion". Legífrance. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ "Boutilly's Legion d'honneur file". www2.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Jean Branger". Heredis online. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Donald F. Breitenberg". Consulate General of France in Los Angeles. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Charles F. BrunsCharles F. Bruns". Consulate General of France in Chicago. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Pride, sorrow mesh for honoured Second World War veteran". 7 August 2015.
