The Legion of Honour () is the highest decoration in France and is divided into five degrees in ascending order: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand Croix (Grand Cross).
Membership in the Legion is restricted to French nationals.Légion Code, article 16. Foreign citizens who have served France or the ideals it upholdsLes 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. may, however, receive a distinction of the Legion, which is broadly equivalent to membership, and can be awarded at any of the ranks. Foreign nationals who live in France are submitted to the same requirements as French nationals.
A complete list of the members of the Legion from 1802, when the award was established, does not exist. The number of awards is estimated at one million. Approximately 3,000 of these were awarded at the most senior rank of Grand Cross (including 1,200 French nationals).WATTEL Michel et Béatrice, Les Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur. De 1805 à nos jours, titulaires français et étrangers, Archives et Culture, 2009
List of some recipients
Before 1880 Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia (1805), member of the Prussian royal family (Grand Aigle) Carel Hendrik Ver Huell (1806), Dutch (and later French) admiral who served in the Napoleonic Wars (Grand Aigle) Alessandro Volta (1806), Italian physicist and chemist who was a pioneer of electricity (Chevalier) Maximilian von Montgelas (1810), Bavarian statesman (Grand Aigle) Thomas Jones Barker, British artist; painter to Louis Philippe I.Bénézit, Emmanuel. "BARKER (Thomas-Jones)" in Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs, Paris: Librairie Gründ, 1939, vol. I, p. 368. Patrick James Smyth, Irish revolutionary and politician. Smyth was made a Chevalier in recognition of his efforts organising an Irish ambulance service who serviced the French Army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Louis von Blanc, Prussian naval officer who assisted with the recovery of the corvette in 1867
1880 to 1889 Joseph O'Kelly (1881), French-born Irish composer and pianistAxel Klein: O'Kelly. An Irish Musical Family in Nineteenth-Century France (Norderstedt: BoD, 2014), p. 79–80. Sir Francis Dillon Bell MLC (1889), New Zealand politician and representative at the 1889 Paris World fair and exhibitionBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: Officiers, Commandeurs and Dignites', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 35(3), March 2010, p. 132. The Honourable Thomas William Hislop (1889), New Zealand politician and representative at the 1889 Paris World fair and exhibitionBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: Officiers, Commandeurs and Dignites', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 35(3), March 2010, p. 133. Sir Walter Lawry Buller (1889), New Zealand politician, naturalist and ornithologist who displayed at the 1889 Paris World fair and exhibition
1900 to 1909 Abdessalem ben Mohamed Gaoied El Ferchichi El Aloui El Mohammedi (1877–1919) Leader & Caid of the Fraichiche tribe, Thala, Tunisia, Knight of the Order of Glory, Tunisia, 1901, Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor, France, 1907, Knight of the Order of Glory, Tunisia, 1910. Dr. Carlos Finlay (1908), Cuban physician and scientist Dr Richard Strauss (1907), German composer and conductorTrenner, Franz (2003) Richard Strauss Chronik, Verlag Dr Richard Strauss Gmbh, Wien, , page 292. Navrotskiy Sergey Sergeevich(1862-1924) General, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, general for assignments at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was wounded during the assassination attempt on P.A.Stolypin on Aptekarsky Island. Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class; Order of St. Anna, 3rd class; Order of St. Stanislaus, 2rd class; Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class; Order of St. Stanislaus, 1rd class; Order of St. Anna, 1st class; Order of the Montenegrin Prince Daniel I, 4th Class. He resigned after the February Revolution. He died in the custody of the Communist Revolutionaries.
1910 to 1919 Annie Mistrick (née Brewer). Nurse who served in a French hospital and ambulance group in Europe throughout World War I, often near the front line. Also awarded the Croix de Guerre. Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph Robert Cheeseman (1917). Awarded for gallantry during World War I while serving in France in the 53rd Battalion, AIF. Also awarded the MC and DSO Lieutenant Colonel James Waddell (1915), New Zealand born officer in the French Foreign Legion during World War I (Chevalier 1915, Officier 1917. Commandeur 1920) Major General Robert Young CB CMG DSO (1916), New Zealand Army officer in recognition of services on GallipoliBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, p. 114. Major Norman Frederick Hastings DSO (1916), New Zealand Army officer in recognition of services on Gallipoli Major General Sir George Spafford Richardson KBE (1916), New Zealand Army officer attached to the Royal Navy Division on GallipoliBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, p. 115. Brigadier General Robert O'Hara Livesay CMG DSO (1917), British Army officer attached to the New Zealand Division on the Western Front during World War IBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, pp. 119–120. Major General George Napier Johnston CB, CMG, DSO (1917), New Zealand Army officer and Commander New Zealand Division Artillery in France during World War IBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: Officiers, Commandeurs and Dignites', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 35(3), March 2010, pp. 134–135.Brewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, p. 118. Major General Sir William Sinclair-Burgess KBE, CB, CMG, DSO (1917), a New Zealand Army Officer attached to the Australian Army Artillery in France during World War IBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: Officiers, Commandeurs and Dignites', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 35(3), March 2010, p. 135.Brewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, p. 119. Colonel, later Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur (1918, Commander) (US), Chief of Staff of the 42nd (Rainbow) Division and later the commander of the 84th Brigade of the 42nd Division. Awarded by Général d'Armée Henri Gouraud for his leadership and bravery in the Second Battle of the Marne. Upgraded to Grand Cross in 1946 for his performance in World War II. Lieutenant Colonel William Avery Bishop VC, DSO, MC, DFC (1918), (Canada), Air Marshal and highest scoring Canadian ace of the First World War; appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'HonneurSupplement to the London Gazette, 2 November 1918, page 12977 Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hellier Davies Evans DSO (1919), Commander of the New Zealand Cyclist Corps on the Western Front during World War IBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, p. 120. Brigadier James Hargest CBE DSO (and two bars) MC ED MP (1919), New Zealand Army officer on the Western Front during World War IBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, p. 121. William B. Greeley (1919) for commanding U.S. Forestry troops in France during World War I; appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur Major Henry Whitehorn (1919), New Zealand Army officer who served in the Sinai during World War IBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, p. 124. Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell KCB (1919), New Zealand Army officer and Commander of the New Zealand Division on the Western Front during World War I Colonel Robert Logan CB (1919), New Zealand Army officer and Administrator of Samoa during World War I in "recognition of valuable services"McDonald, Wayne, Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War 1914–1918, Napier: Helen McDonald, 2001, p. 183.Brewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part One', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(2), November 2011, p. 113. Edith Mary Pye Légion d'honneur (1919) for running maternity hospital in Châlons-sur-Marne for duration of WW I, OBE Officer of the British Empire – for services to Obstetrics & Gynecology as president of the Royal College of Obs & Gyny 1929–1949Légion d'honneur Medal held at RCOG, certificate at Friends House, Euston RoadUglow, Jennifer (1998). The Northeastern Dictionary of Women's Biography. Great Britain: Macmillan. p. 128. .
1920 to 1929 The Right Honourable William Fergusson Massey (1921), Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925, appointed Grand Officier in recognition of New Zealand's contribution during World War IBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: Officiers, Commandeurs and Dignites', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 35(3), March 2010, p. 136.Brewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part Two', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(3), March 2012, p. 179. Colonel the Honourable Sir James Allen GCMG KCB (1922) New Zealand Minister of Defence during World War I Colonel the Honourable Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes KCVO KBE VD (1920), New Zealand politician and special commissioner to the Red Cross during World War IBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Great War, Part Two', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 37(3), March 2012, p. 178. Major General Alfred William Robin KCMG CB (1922), Commandant of New Zealand Military Forces during World War I Victor-Joseph-Adrien Boutilly (1925), Officer rank for service as Inspector, Head of the Technical Department for Water and Forests to the General Government of Algeria Excelsior, Feb 8, 1925. P4 Karen Bramson (1927), a Danish author who lived in France and wrote plays and novels in French was appointed the Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur(2003) Karen Bramson (1875–1936) KVINFO, Danish autobiographical library, Retrieved 12 May 2015
1930 to 1939 Henri O'Kelly (1931), Franco-Irish composer and church musicianAxel Klein: O'Kelly. An Irish Musical Family in Nineteenth-Century France (Norderstedt: BoD, 2014, p. 303). Reverend Hadden Kingston Vickery (1934), head of the Auckland Flying Angel Mission to Seaman and host of French Naval visits to AucklandBrewer, Mark, 'New Zealand and the Legion d'honneur: The Mid-War period', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, awaiting publication. The Honourable John Alexander (1934), President of the Auckland Branch of the Navy League and host of French Warship visits to Auckland George William Hutchison (1934), Mayor of Auckland City and host to French Naval visits to Auckland