Napoleon during a campaign in Italy By Nicolas-Antoine Taunay – Wikimedia

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Napoléon Bonaparte


 

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French national and a military leader. He became famous as an artillery commander during the French Revolution.

Napoleon led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. During his reign as an Emperor he was referred to as Napoleon I, he ruled from 1804-1814.

He conquered the European and global affairs for more than a decade as well as leading France against a series of coalitions.

As one of the greatest military commanders in French history, his war tactics are still being studied at military schools globally. This has made him one of the most celebrated and controversial leaders in history. He was respected by his army men for his tactics in the field.

Here are some interesting facts about Napoleon Bonaparte.

1. Napoleon won more battles

Napoleon during a campaign in Italy By Nicolas-Antoine Taunay – Wikimedia

In 1799, he became the first ambassador and worked to establish a European empire under his military autocracy.

Napoleon won many wars and the majority of his battles. He ended up building a large empire and ruled over much of continental Europe until 1815.

During his reign, Napoleon won more battles than Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.

Like the Emperor, he unified the government, restored Roman Catholicism as the state religion, established education reforms, and oversaw the creation of the Bank of France.

2. Napoleon was of average height

By Paul Delaroche – Wikimedia

There is a popular belief that Napoleon was of short stature and always surrounded himself with tall soldiers. Reports indicate that he might have been 5 feet 2 inches tall at the time if his death.

The truth is he was of average height, he was 5 feet 7 inches tall. The measurement scale used back then used French units which were smaller than what is presently being used.

His enemies tried to use his stature to try and attack him. Several comical cartoons were drawn by English propagandists during the Napoleonic wars.

3. Napoleon’s Army discovered the Rosetta stone

By Jean-Léon Gérôme – Wikimedia

The Rosetta Napoleon and his army found while on a campaign in Egypt in 1799, can now be seen in the British Museum in London. The Rosetta is a granite slab engraved in three scripts: hieroglyphic Egyptian, demotic Egyptian and ancient Greek.

The Rosetta played an important role in decoding ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and is one of the most treasured artefacts.

It was discovered by one of his captains after they demolished an ancient wall in the city known as Rosetta, hence the name.

Napoleon valued culture and science. He, therefore, assembled a team made up of 150 scientists, engineers, and scholars to examine the landscape, environment, culture, and history of Egypt.

The team published a 23-volume document on Egypt, titled Description de l’Égypte. The content in the document was about unknown knowledge of Egypt and its history.

4. Napoleon did not like to lose a game

Napoleon had so many victories on the battlefield that he could not accept losing in a card game. He was not fond of playing cards, what he loved to play was the Vingt-et-un. The reason was that it was a fast game and allowed him to cheat.

Napoleon would lay his cards down on the table if it was bad and wait for the dealer to draw his. He would then throw his hand without showing him and give up his stake. If he knew he exceeded 21 after seeing the dealer’s card, he’d throw his cards, without showing them, and ask for his stake.

5. Napoleon had a Corsican accent

Napoleon was born in Corsica, where they spoke an Italian dialect closely related to Tuscan. When he spoke French, one could easily tell that he was a foreigner. The accent got him teased while he was at a military school in France.

Although he had the accent, Napoleon considered French to be his first language. During his early career in the military, he fought for the independence of Corsica.

He made France his home after he fell out with a Corsican resistance leader, Pasquale Paoli. Napoleon established himself as the new rising star after winning several military wars. He even resisted a breaking siege of Toulon.

6. Napoleon was a talented author

By Tom Murphy VII – Wikimedia

Napoleon may have had a tough façade but behind it was a soft man who was romantic. He wrote sentimental love letters and a romantic novella too.

The novella titled Clisson et Eugénie was written in 1795 when he was 26 years old and has 17 pages. He had penned this right before he met and married Josephine that same year.

The novella was never published, the manuscript was however divided into segments and sold as souvenirs at auction houses in the centuries that followed.

A complete English translation was reconstructed in 2009. The book can be purchased as an e-book on Amazon.

He also published his memoirs and wrote a book about the life of Julius Caesar.

7. Napoleon was a bad singer

The Emperor was such a bad singer that those close to him considered him a nuisance, although they could not say it loud. He would break into a 15-minute long out of tune song that he would repeat over and over again.

On occasions that he did not want to listen to anyone around him or was agitated, he would pace the room while singing.

Those close to him stated that he also had a poor choice of music. No one could tell what song he was singing or humming; it was that bad.

8. Napoleon had beautiful hands

By Jacques-Louis David – Wikimedia

If there was one thing that Napoleon was proud of, it was his hands. He took great care of his fingernails. His hands were said to be the fattest and prettiest, his knuckles were dimpled like those of a baby, beautifully tapered fingers and had a perfect set of nails.

His valet was quoted saying that his hands were the most beautiful and resembled that of a woman. He never wore gloves except while he was on a horseback, but even then, the gloves would be in his pocket.

9. His wife Josephine Bonaparte escaped the guillotine

By Baron François Gérard – Wikimedia

Napoleon got married to Josephine, who was previously married to Alexandre de Beauharnais. Unfortunately, Alexandre was executed during the reign of terror.

Josephine was also captured and was set to go to the guillotine but was lucky. She was released after Robespierre, the one who engineered the reign of terror was executed.

Josephine soon became a popular socialite and met Napoleon ad a party in 1795. They got married six months later.

10. Napoleon did not get the burial he asked for

Napoleon died on May 5, 1821, at the age of 51, while in exile on St. Helena Island. He is reported to have died of stomach cancer, a report that was consistent with abdominal pains and nausea he suffered in his last days.

Other reports said he might have been assassinated by use of arsenic poison because his body was well preserved. Further examination of his hair in 1961 showed high levels of arsenic.

Napoleon had wished to be buried on the banks of river Seine, but he was laid to rest next to other French military leaders in Les Invalides in Paris.

Planning a trip to Paris ? Get ready !


These are Amazon’s best-selling travel products that you may need for coming to Paris.

Bookstore

  1. The best travel book : Rick Steves – Paris 2023 – Learn more here
  2. Fodor’s Paris 2024 – Learn more here

Travel Gear

  1. Venture Pal Lightweight Backpack – Learn more here
  2. Samsonite Winfield 2 28″ Luggage – Learn more here
  3. Swig Savvy’s Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle – Learn more here

Check Amazon’s best-seller list for the most popular travel accessories. We sometimes read this list just to find out what new travel products people are buying.