Achille-Claude Debussy was a French composer. He was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music. In France, he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. Debussy was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed. The French literary style of his period was known as Symbolism, and this movement directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.