The highest French distinction:
Created to reward eminent military and civil merits in the service of France, the Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour) is the highest distinction that can be conferred in France on a French citizen as well as on a foreigner.
Origin:
Founded in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte, First Consul (a position he occupied from 1799 to 1804), the Legion of Honour is one of his most important creations with the Napoleonic Code.
Grades and Ranks:
This distinction is divided into four grades (Knight – Officer Commander-Grand Officer)
Description of the insignia:
Since its inception, the medal consists of a five double-cornered star enamelled in white, joined with branches of laurel and oak. At the centre of the star, there is a medallion representing
in the front side, the symbol of the Republic with the inscription République Française
on the other side, a flag and a banner intertwining one another with the circular inscription Honneur et Patrie 29 Floréal an X. The ribbon has always been in red moire silk.
Some famous historical personalities awarded:
Berthollet (chemist), Balzac, Stendhal, Victor Hugo, Chateaubriand, Theophile Gautier, Alfred De Musset, Alexandre Dumas (novelists and poets), Laplace (mathematician), Montgolfier (physician), Berlioz (musician), Cuvier, Lamarck (naturalists), David, Ingres, Delacroix painters).
American personalities awarded:
Thomas A. Edison (commander in 1889), Alexander Graham Bell (officer in 1881), the astronomer Simon Newcomb (officer in 1896), the sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens (officer in 1901), the painter John Singer Sargent (knight in 1889, later promoted officer).
Organization of the order: The Order is managed by a Chancery and a Council of the Order; they are situated in Paris:
Chancellerie de la Légion d’Honneur
1, rue de Solférino
Paris 75007
In the United States of America:
The American Society of the French Legion of Honor, Inc
740 Madison avenue, suite 5-S
New York, NY 10021
Tel. : (212) 861 1599 – Fax : (212) 861 1581
The French Will Never Forget: 2,500 people gather at Omaha Beach on July 4th
IN NORMANDY, A HUMAN CHAIN OF GRATITUDE HONORS THE FALLEN AMERICAN HEROES WHO LIBERATED FRANCE DURING WW II
(www.thefrenchwillneverforget.com)
Une petite visite chez nos partenaires !!!
