The Short Man Who Wasn't Short
Everyone "knows" Napoleon was tiny. It is one of history's most famous facts, and it is wrong. At about 168 centimetres, or 5 feet 6 inches, he was of average height for his time.
The myth came largely from his enemies. During the wars, the British press mocked him as a short-tempered little man, nicknamed "Little Boney". A nursery rhyme even warned children that he ate naughty people, turning him into a bogeyman.
His famous look adds to the legend. He is often shown in a large two-cornered hat worn sideways, with one hand tucked into his waistcoat. That pose comes from a painting made in 1812 by Jacques-Louis David.
The Bullied Boy From Corsica
Napoleon was born on 15 August 1769 on the island of Corsica, just a year after it became French. His family was of Italian origin, and his first languages were Corsican and Italian, not French.
At age 9, he was sent to school in mainland France. At military school, other students bullied him for his accent, his birthplace, his small build and his poor French. He became quiet and threw himself into books.
He was brilliant at maths. One examiner wrote that he "would make an excellent sailor". Instead, he trained as an artillery officer in Paris. When his father died, he had to finish a two-year course in one year, and he became the first Corsican to graduate from that school.
From Soldier to Emperor
Napoleon rose fast during the French Revolution. After winning key battles in the 1790s, he became a national hero. In 1799, he helped overthrow the government and made himself First Consul, the most powerful man in France.
In 1804, France declared him Emperor. At his grand ceremony in Paris on 2 December, he did something bold: he took the crown and placed it on his own head. Then he crowned his wife, Joséphine.
He won famous victories, including the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, and came to dominate much of Europe. His expedition to Egypt even brought along 167 scientists, whose discoveries included the Rosetta Stone, the key that later unlocked ancient Egyptian writing.
The Great Escape From Elba
Napoleon's fall began with a disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. In 1814, his enemies captured Paris and forced him to give up the throne. They sent him into exile on Elba, a small Mediterranean island, and even made him its ruler.
He did not stay long. On 26 February 1815, he slipped away with about 1,000 men. When a regiment was sent to stop him, he walked up to the soldiers alone and called out, "Here I am. Kill your Emperor, if you wish!" They cheered and joined him instead.
He marched into Paris and took back power. But his return, known as the Hundred Days, ended at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. He was sent to the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821, aged 51.
The Laws That Outlived Him
Napoleon's battles are famous, but his most lasting mark may be a book of laws. The Napoleonic Code, brought in in 1804, replaced a messy mix of local rules with one clear set of national laws.
It stood for equality before the law, secure property rights, and equal inheritance among children. It also had flaws, reducing the rights of women and children.
His armies carried the code across Europe, and it went on to shape the law in many parts of the world. Even his enemies admired his mind. The Duke of Wellington, who beat him at Waterloo, said his presence on a battlefield was worth 40,000 soldiers.
