Emperor/Military Leader

Napoleon Bonaparte

Born: 15 August 1769Birthplace: Ajaccio, CorsicaDied: 5 May 1821 (Stomach Cancer(?))Best Known as: The French military genius

and Emperor of the 1800s Name at Birth: Napoleon Bonaparte

Biography

Is the most charismatic general in French history

Famed for his military successes and (at the same time) for not quite conquering Europe

Starting as a second lieutenant in the French artillery

He rose quickly through the ranks until he staged a 1799 coup that made him First Consul of FranceIn 1804 he went further, proclaiming himself

emperorHe led his armies to victory after victory, and

by 1807 France ruled territory that stretched from Portugal to Italy and north to the river Elbe.

Napoleon

Napoleon’s attempts to conquer the rest of Europe failedA defeat in Moscow in 1812 nearly destroyed the

empireIn 1814 he was deposed and exiled to the island of

Elba The next year he returned to Paris and again seized

powerThis success was short-lived: the French army’s 1815

loss to the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo finished Napoleon for good

He was sent into exile on the island of St. Helena, where he died in 1812

Napoleon

His body was returned to Paris in 1840His tomb there still remains a popular

attraction

Napoleon

Napoleon was short enough that early in his military career he was nicknamed “The Little Corporal.”

According to Napoleon.org, at his death he was 1.68 meters tall, or about 5’6”

Napoleon died of an unidentified ailment, possibly stomach cancerTraces of arsenic were later found in his

remainsSome have suggested he my have been fatally

poisoned

The famous portrait of Napoleon with his hand stuck in his vest was painted by Jacques-Louis David

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