# List of Légion d'honneur recipients by name (D)

The French government gives out the Legion of Honour awards, to both French and foreign 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. 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 in 2008 was gender parity achieved amongst the yearly list of recipients, with the total number of women recipients since the award's establishment reaching 59 at the end of the second French empire and only 26,000 in 2021.

## List of Légion d'honneur recipients by name

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| Recipient | Dates (birth – death) | General Work, and reason for the recognition | Award category (date) |
| Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie | 1810 – 1897 | French explorer, geographer, and astronomer | Knight (27 September 1850) |
| William G. Dabney | 1924 – 2018 | American soldier (African-American resident of Roanoke, Virginia). Recognised for his actions during the invasion of Normandy, as last known surviving soldier from the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion. Awarded on the 65th anniversary of Normandy landings. | Knight (5 June 2009) |
| Leon Dabo | 1865 – 1960 | American painter. Recognised for his contributions to art. | Knight (1934) |
| Jan Henryk Dąbrowski | 1755 – 1818 | Polish general and statesman | Officer (1804) Grand Cross |
| Stefan Dąb-Biernacki | 1890 – 1959 | Polish general | Knight |
| Artin Dadyan Paşa | 1830 – 1901 | Ministre of Foreign affairs of Ottoman | TBA |
| Saro Dadyan | | Turkish Ottoman historian | TBA |
| Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre | 1787 - 1851 | Artist and inventor of the daguerreotype process of photography. | TBA |
| Edouard Daladier | 1884 – 1970 | Prime Minister of France. Recognised for his gallantry in action. | TBA (May 1917) |
| Salvador Dalí | 1904 – 1989 | Spanish surrealist artist | TBA |
| Ahmad Hasan Dani | 1920 – 2009 | Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. | TBA (1998) |
| Barney Danson | 1921 – 2011 | Canadian World War II veteran and Canadian politician (former Defence Minister). | TBA |
| Robert Darnton | 1939 – Present | American cultural historian and academic librarian specializing in 18th-century France. | Knight (1999) |
| André Darrigade | 1929 – Present | French professional road bicycle racer | Officer |
| Raymond Daudel | 1920 – 2006 | French chemist | Officier |
| Madeleine Hamm Dautartas | 1923 – 2021 | French Resistance member | TBA |
| Paul Davenport | 1946 – Present | University of Alberta president (10th) and University of Western Ontario president (9th). | TBA |
| Walter J. Davey | 1897 – 2001 | British World War I veteran. Recognised for his service in France. | TBA |
| Athanase David | 1882 – 1953 | Canadian lawyer, politician, and businessman. | Knight (1923) Officer (1925) Commander (1934) |
| Michel David-Weill | 1932 – Present | Investment banker and former Chairman of Lazard Frères. | Commander |
| Miles Davis | 1926 – 1991 | American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. | Knight (1991) |
| Michael S. Davison | 1917 – 2006 | United States Army four-star general | TBA |
| Louis Nicolas Davout | 1770 – 1823 | Marshal of France | Grand Cross] |
| Marcel Déat | 1894 – 1955 | French politician | TBA |
| Francois Debat | 1785 – 1861 | | TBA |
| Alma de Bretteville Spreckels | 1881 – 1968 | Wealthy socialite and philanthropist (San Francisco, California) | Grand Cross |
| André Debry | 1898 – 2005 | Last surviving French veterans of the World War I. Recognised for his war record and work as school principal | Officer |
| Claude Debussy | 1862 – 1918 | French composer | Knight (January 1903) |
| Clara Longworth de Chambrun | 1873 – 1954 | American patron of the arts and scholar of Shakespeare | Knight (1928) |
| George W. Deckard | 1896 – 2001 | American World War I veteran | TBA |
| Odile Decq | 1955 – Present | Architect | Knight (2003) |
| Reza Deghati | 1952 – Present | Iranian-French photojournalist | TBA |
| Kambiz Derambakhsh | | Iranian cartoonist | Knight (26 October 2014) |
| Simone Del Duca | 1912 – 2004 | French businesswoman | Commander |
| Cino Del Duca | 1899 – 1967 | Italian-born businessman film producer and philanthropist | TBA |
| Percival Alfred Delafield | 1897 – 1999 | UK Royal Engineer. | TBA |
| Léon Delagrange | 1873 – 1910 | French aviator | Knight (1909) |
| Paul-Louis Delance | 1845 – 1924 | French painter | Knight (1908) |
| Sonia Delaunay | 1885 – 1979 | French artist | Officer (1975) |
| Alain Delon | 1935 – Present | French actor (1960s-1970s) and businessman. | Knight (21 February 1991) Officer (25 March 2005) |
| Eugène Deloncle | 1890 – 1944 | French fascist leader and former naval engineer. Recognised for his military service (World War I), including the Western Front. Known for becoming a prominent nazi-collaborator during World War II. | Knight (decree: 16 June 1920) |
| Ousmane Dembélé | 1997 – Present | French professional football player (FC Barcelona / France national football team). | Knight (2018) |
| Jeanne Marie-Madeleine Demessieux | 1921 – 1968 | French composer and organist | Knight |
| Horst Demler | 1979-Present | French Soldier | Knight |
| Mimi Denisi | | Greek actress | TBA |
| Gérard Depardieu | 1948 – Present | French actor | Knight (1996) |
| William E. DePuy | 1919 – 1992 | United States Army General | Commander |
| Georges Descrières | 1930 – 2013 | French actor | Officer (January 2004) |
| Adrien Charles Deshommets de Martainville | 1783 – 1847 | French politician | Knight (1821) |
| Catherine Destivelle | 1960 – Present | French rock climber and mountaineer | TBA |
| Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe | 1846 – 1919 | French petroleum businessman (oil) and early aviation supporter | Commander (20 November 1912) |
| Gabriel Devéria | 1844 – 1899 | French diplomat and interpreter | Knight (1876) Officer (1896) |
| Louis DeWachter (known as Louis Dewis) | 1872 – 1946 | Belgian Post-Impressionist painter | Knight |
| Harry DeWolf | 1903 – 2000 | Canadian naval officer. Recognised for his services at sea in the war against the enemy. | Officer (3 September 1946) |
| Douglas Dickerson | | World War II 82nd Airborne Division veteran | TBA |
| Joseph T. Dickman | 1857 – 1927 | United States Army officer (major general, service in five wars) | Commander (1919) |
| William Didier-Pouget | 1864 – 1959 | French artist | Knight (decree: 14 November 1900) Officer (decree: 13 July 1933) |
| Laure Diebold | 1915 – 1965 | Member of the French Resistance during World War II | TBA |
| Marlene Dietrich | 1901 – 1992 | American actress and Singer. Recognised for his wartime work. | Knight Commander |
| Céline Dion | 1968 – Present | Canadian singer | Knight (May 2008) |
| Jacques Diouf | 1938 – 2019 | Senegalese diplomat and United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General | Officer (1978) Commander (1998) |
| Walt Disney | 1901 – 1966 | American entrepreneur, animator, writer, voice actor, and film producer | Knight (1935) |
| Abdelkader El Djezairi | 1808 – 1883 | Algerian religious and military leader. Recognised for leading a struggle against the French colonial invasion in the mid-19th century. | Grand Cross |
| Do Cao Tri | 1923 – 1971 | General in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) | TBA |
| Douglas Dodds-Parker | 1909 – 2006 | British imperial administrator, wartime soldier, and Conservative politician. | TBA |
| Robert Doisneau | 1912 – 1994 | Photographer | TBA |
| Arnold Dolmetsch | 1858 – 1940 | French-born musician and instrument maker | Knight (1938) |
| Arielle Dombasle | 1953 – Present | French actress, singer, producer | TBA |
| Phạm Văn Đồng (ARVN general) | 1919 – 2008 | General of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam | TBA |
| Kees van Dongen | 1877 – 1968 | Dutch-French painter. Known for being one of the leading Fauves. | Knight (decree: 13 January 1926) Officer (decree: 27 February 1954) |
| Francis Patrick Donovan | 1922 − 2012 | Australian academic, lawyer, and diplomat. | Knight (1998) |
| William J. Donovan | 1883 – 1959 | American World War I veteran | TBA |
| Gustave Doret | 1866 – 1943 | Swiss composer and conductor | TBA |
| Henri Lucien Doucet | 1856 – 1895 | French painter | TBA (1891) |
| Kirk Douglas | 1916 – 2020 | American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Recognised for his distinguished services to France in arts and letters. | TBA (1990) |
| Henry Doulton | 1820 –1897 | English businessman, inventor and manufacturer of pottery. Known for developing the firm of Royal Doulton. | Knight (1878) |
| Mahmoud Dowlatabadi | 1940 | Iranian writer and actor. Known for his promotion of social and artistic freedom in contemporary Iran. | TBA (2014) |
| Wayne A. Downing | 1940 – 2007 | United States Army general (four-stars) | TBA |
| Jacques Drabier | | Pilot in the Free French Air Force during the Nazi Occupation | TBA |
| Normand Drapeau | | U.S. WWII veteran | TBA |
| Alfred Dreyfus | 1859 – 1935 | French artillery officer | Knight (decree: 13 July 1906; ceremony: 21 July 1906) Officer (November 1918) |
| Marie-Odette Dubois-Violette | 1918 - 2004 | First female Inspector General of National Education in France | Knight (1977) |
| Louis Auguste Dubuisson | | | TBA |
| Marcel Louis Célestin Dubuisson | | | TBA |
| René Ducourtieux | 1924 - 2013 | French NCO Army (1944–1962) | TBA |
| Francis P. Duffy | 1871 – 1932 | Canadian American soldier, Catholic priest and military chaplain. | TBA |
| Margot Duhalde | 1920 – 2018 | Chilean pilot. Known for serving with the Air Transport Auxiliary of the Royal Air Force in World War II, as Chile's first female military pilot and first female air traffic controller. | Knight (1946) Commander (2007) |
| Alexandre Dumas, fils | 1824 – 1895 | French author and playwright. Known for the romantic novel "The Lady of the Camellias" (1848) | TBA |
| Dr. Allen B. Du Mont | | | TBA |
| François Joseph Dumont | 1918 - 1997 | Free French Air Force | TBA |
| Jules Dumont d'Urville | 1790 – 1842 | French explorer and naval officer. Recognised for the recovery of the Venus de Milo for France's Louvre. Note: Known for exploring the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. | Knight |
| Marie-Julien Dunand | 1841 – 1915 | French priest and missionary, apostolic vicar of North-Western Sichuan | Knight (25 May 1898) |
| Richard Saunders Dundas | 1802 – 1861 | Royal Navy officer | Grand Officer (2 August 1856) |
| John Dunmore | 1923 – Present | New Zealand historianacademic, historian, author, playwright, and publisher. Note: Only the tenth New Zealander to be award a Knight and the third New Zealander to be promoted to Officer. | Knight (1976) Officer (2007) |
| Anny Duperey | 1947 – Present | French actress and best-selling author | Knight (1997) |
| Andrée Dupeyron | 1902 - 1988 | Civil and military aviator who broke distance records in the 1930s and flew for the Free French Air Force. She was a member of the Premier corps de pilotes militaires féminins. | 1949. |
| Charles-Edmond Duponchel | 1804 - 1864 | Paris Opera Director and Businessman (Maison Duponchel silverware company founder). Recognised for his military service to France. | TBA |
| Andrée Dupont-Thiersault | 1927 – Present | Former member of the French Resistance, Ravensbrück concentration camp survivor | Commander (2017) |
| Julien Dupré | 1851 – 1910 | French painter | TBA (1892) |
| Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré | 1886 – 1971 | French composer, organist, and pedagogue. Recognised for his service to the arts and music of France, organist of Saint-Sulpice from 1934 til his death, Director and former professor of the Conservatoire de Paris (1954-1956), member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, winner of the Prix de Rome, 1914 | Knight (27 August 1923) Officer (22 January 1935) Commander (30 August 1948) |
| Charles François Dupuis | 1794 – 1868 | French savant and professor of rhetoric at the Collège de Lisieux, Paris. Known for the Christ myth theory, that Christianity was an amalgamation of various ancient mythologies and that Jesus was a mythical character. | Knight |
| Maurice Gustave Duruflé | 1902 – 1986 | French composer, organist, and musicologist. Recognised for his services to the arts and music of France. | Knight (1954) Officer (1966) |
| Durga Charan Rakshit | | South African anti-apartheid campaigner and Nelson Mandela confidante. Recognised for his lifelong service to the community. | Knight |
| Charles Durning | 1923 – 2012 | American actor | Knight (April 2008) |
| Gaëtan Duval | 1930 – 1996 | Mauritian Barrister, statesman and politician (Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate). | Commander (1973) |
| Bob Dylan | 1941 – Present | American singer-songwriter, author and visual artist. | TBA (13 November 2013) |