Order of the Black Star explained

Ordre de l'Étoile Noire
Type:	Order with five degrees: Grand-Croix Commandeur avec Plaque Commandeur Officier Chevalier
Status:	Deprecated 3 December 1963 by the Ordre National du Mérite
Established:	1 December 1889
Higher:	Médaille militaire
Same:	Ordre national du Mérite

The Order of the Black Star (Ordre de l'Étoile Noire) was an order of knighthood established on 1 December 1889 at Porto-Novo by Toffa, future king of Dahomey (today the Republic of Benin). Approved and recognised by the French government on 30 July 1894, after the establishment of the new statutes of 30 August 1892, according this distinction to all those who worked to develop French influence on the west coast of Africa.

Classes

The order has five classes: Grand-Croix (Grand Cross), Commandeur avec Plaque (Commander with Plaque), Commandeur (Commander), Officier (Officer), and Chevalier (Knight).

The order was deprecated by decree on 3 December 1963, and superseded by the Ordre National du Mérite. Extant members of the order are permitted to wear their original decorations.

Recipients

• Grand Crosses
  • Amha Selassie
  • Hamengkubuwono VIII
  • Edgard de Larminat
  • Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
  • Charles Debbas
• Commanders with Plaque
  • Michel Arnaud
  • Pedro Correia de Barros
  • Gustaf Bonde (1911–1977)
  • Smedley Butler
  • Jacob Emil van Hoogstraten
  • Harry J. Malony
  • Jacques Massu
  • Ernest Dichmann Peek
  • Bengt Rabaeus
  • Howard Robertson (architect)
  • Sisavang Vong
• Commanders
  • Ewart Culpin
  • William H. Hay
  • John H. Hughes (general)
  • Palden Thondup Namgyal
  • Pakubuwono X
  • Wilhelm Winther
  • Arthur Young (police officer)
  • Smedley Butler
  • John H. Sherburne^[1]
  • Edward Vollrath^{[2] [3]}
• Officers
• Knights
  • Jacques Chirac
  • Philip Sassoon
  • George A. White
• Unknown Class
  • Willy Coppens
  • John F. Curry
  • Ernest J. Dawley
  • Pierre Pouyade
  • Michael Scott (golfer)
  • Emmet Harris^[4]

References

• Web site: Marc Champenois . Ordre de l'Étoile noire . Les décorations Francaises . fr . 9 August 2008 . 2009-02-06 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081201045843/http://www.france-phaleristique.com/etoilenoir.htm . 1 December 2008 .

Notes and References

1. "General Sherburne Receives Decoration," Boston Post, April 9, 1920, p. 22.
2. News: March 15, 1920 . Gen. Vollrath Gets French Honor . Bucyrus Telegraph . Bucyrus, OH . 5 . Newspapers.com.
3. Book: Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. . 1998 . Generals In Khaki . Raleigh, NC . Pentland Press . 368–369 . 978-1-5719-7088-6 . Google Books.
4. 2nd Lieutenant US Infantry (New York) d. 13 August 1919. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774 - 1985; Card Register of Burials of Deceased American Soldiers, 1917 - 1922 File Unit: Hanf - Harrisburg entry 1481 and 1482