List of Légion d'honneur recipients by name (B)

The French government gives out the Legion of Honour awards, to both FrenchLégion Code, article 16. and foreignLes 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. 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), 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. 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. Alt URL The awards are traditionally published and promoted on 14 July.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of recipients of the Legion of Honour awards, since the first ceremony in May 1803. 2,550 individuals can be awarded the insignia every year. The total number of awards is close to 1 million (estimated at 900,000 in 2021, including over 3,000 Grand Cross recipients), with some 92,000 recipients alive today. 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.

RecipientDates(birth–death) General work & reason for the recognitionAward category (date) Victor Babeș 1854–1926 Romanian physician and scientist Knight (TBA) John Tremayne Babington 1891–1979 Senior commander in the Royal Air Force Knight (TBA) Andre Bach 1888–1945 TBA Amitabh Bachchan 1942 Indian actor. Recognised for his "exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond". Knight (2007) 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) Michel Bacos 1924–2019 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) 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) Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna 1930–2016 Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. TBA 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) Basile Baltus de Pouilly 1766–1845 General, French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars Raffaello de Banfield 1922–2008 British-born Italian composer Knight (TBA) François Barbé-Marbois 1745–1837 French politician Grand Officer (1805) Jean-François Barbier 1754–1828 General, French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars TBA John J. Barceló III American law professor TBA Van T. Barfoot 1919–2012 United States Army officer TBA Karno Barkah 1922–2009 Indonesian aviation pioneer TBA (28 February 1984) Michael Barker Co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics TBA Myron G. Barlow 1873–1937 American painter. Recognised for his painting achievements. photo TBA (1932) 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 Delegate to the Superior Council of French Nationals Abroad (Mexico) Knight (decree: 28 March 1997) Théophile Barrau 1848–1913 French sculptor Knight (1892) Marcel Barrére 1920–1996 French aerospace engineer Knight 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) Dame Shirley Bassey 1937 U.K. (Welsh) singer Knight (2003) Maryse Bastié 1898–1952 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 French historian and sociologist (religions). He is known for being the founder of secularism sociology. Knight (TBA) Luc-Marie Bayle 1914–2000 French naval officer, painter, and artist TBA François Achille Bazaine1811–1888 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 received 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 9 April 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 Monica Bellucci 1964 Italian actress and model. In recognition of her cultural achievement in France.Knight (24 November 2016) Jean-Paul Belmondo 1933–2021 Guillermo B. Belt 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 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 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 Susan Blumenthal Leader in global health, women's health, and the fight against cancer. Knight (2025) 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 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 Captain, 8th infantry regiment Knight (26 December 1852) Lloyd Samuel Breadner Théophile Marie Brébant Yves Bréchet Jeremy Brett1933-1995Actor, known as the definitive Sherlock Holmes Knight (April,1994) Annie Brewer Francis Charles Bridgeman Bridgeman Louis Brière de l'Isle General, Troupes de marine Donald F. Breitenberg 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 Michael Bruxner Frank Buckles Jean-Eugène Buland French painter Eugene Bullard Omar Bundy American general Joseph Richard Burke 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

List of Légion d'honneur recipients by name (B)

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