In 1962, Freyre was awarded the Prêmio Machado de Assis of the Academia Brasileira de Letras (Brazilian Academy of Letters), one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Brazilian literature. Over the course of his long career, Freyre received numerous other awards, honorary degrees, and other honors both in Brazil and internationally. Examples include admission to L'ordre des Arts et Lettres (France), investiture as Grand Officier de La Légion d'Honneur (France), investiture as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Great Britain), the Gran-Cruz of the Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique (Portugal), and honorary doctorates at Columbia University and the Sorbonne.