Which French order gave Pasteur its Grand Cross in 1881?

Which French order gave Pasteur its Grand Cross in 1881? The answer is the Legion of Honour.

Pasteur entered the order as a chevalier in 1853, after his early chemical work had begun attracting national attention. He was promoted through its ranks: officer in 1863, commander in 1868, and grand officer in 1878. In 1881, France awarded him the highest grade, Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.

The distinction recognized more than one discovery. Pasteur had transformed chemistry through his work on molecular asymmetry and tartrates, then made major contributions to fermentation, brewing, silkworm disease, and industrial food preservation. By 1881, his investigations into infectious disease and vaccination were also bringing him broad public fame.

A common mix-up is the Order of the Rose, which Pasteur received from Brazil in 1873. That was a foreign decoration, whereas the 1881 Grand Cross was France’s Legion of Honour.