In recognition for his contributions to the field of Napoleonic studies, particularly on the Emperor's exile and possible poisoning on St. Helena, and for his generous support of international Napoleonic scholarship, the French government awarded France's highest award, the Legion of Honor, to Ben Weider, President of the International Napoleonic Society. This award was created by Napoleon in 1802 to recognize both civilian and military accomplishments. The presentation to Weider was made in Montreal on 12 October 2000, attended by numerous dignitaries, including the French ambassador and Prince Charles Napoleon (see photo). Weider, 77, also holds the Order of Canada and was recently inducted as a knight of the National Order of Quebec. Prince Yves Brehant, a direct descendant of Count Montholon, the man Weider accuses of poisoning Napoleon during his exile on St. Helena, was one of the 175 guests at the event. Ben Weider is known as the Canadian father of bodybuilding and sports nutrition, and he has accumulated one of the largest private collections of Napoleonic artifacts in the world. In his continuing efforts to prove that the exiled French Emperor was poisoned and did not die of stomach cancer, Weider obtained additional samples of Napoleon's hair (which cost $10,000 to $30,000 per strand) and these are now being analyzed by French laboratories for evidence of arsenic. Weider's book promoting the murder theory has been published in 42 countries and has sold more than a million copies. Back to Table of Contents -- Napoleon #17 Back to Napoleon List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Napoleon LLC. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. The full text and graphics from other military history magazines and gaming magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com Order Napoleon magazine direct