15 Incredible Details About Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte, one of history's most intriguing personalities, is the focus of an ambitious new film featuring Joaquin Phoenix and helmed by Ridley Scott. Refresh your knowledge with these 15 fascinating facts about the French leader before the movie premieres in November 2023.

1. Napoleon Bonaparte received structured military education.

Born into a modestly noble family on Corsica—an island near Italy—in 1769, just a year after it became part of France, Napoleon grew up in relative privilege. His parents could afford to send him to school in France, though he retained his Corsican accent and often spoke of being mocked for it. As a teenager, he enrolled at the prestigious École Militaire in Paris. However, his father's death during his first year forced him to graduate early to support his family. This abrupt end to his studies impacted his academic performance, and he graduated 42nd out of 58 students. Despite this, he made history as the first Corsican to graduate from the École Militaire. By 16, he had already become an officer in the French army.

2. Napoleon initially identified as a Corsican nationalist.

Napoleon was the defining figure behind the first French Empire, yet in his youth, he passionately desired Corsica's liberation from French control. His parents had resisted French dominance even before his birth, and as a young man, Napoleon penned several essays on Corsican history and governance, labeling the French as “monsters ... who are said to be the enemies of free men.” (His ambition to write a comprehensive book on Corsica never materialized.)

During the late 1780s and early 1790s, Napoleon spent significant time in Corsica, avoiding the initial turmoil of the French Revolution. However, these visits revealed to him the island's provincial nature and the vastness of the world beyond. His behavior and interests increasingly aligned with French culture. At the same time, Pasquale Paoli, the Corsican governor and Napoleon's former idol, grew more anglicized. A conflict between the Buonaparte family and Paoli ultimately drove Napoleon to leave Corsica permanently.

3. Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s first wife, narrowly avoided execution.

Joséphine, born into a wealthy plantation-owning family in Martinique, married into French nobility at 16 when she wed Alexandre de Beauharnais. Despite her husband's indifference, she captivated many high-society men. However, her charm couldn't shield her from imprisonment in Les Carmes as the Revolution engulfed Paris. Her estranged husband was executed by guillotine, but a day before her trial, the government fell, halting further executions.

After narrowly escaping death, Joséphine rose to prominence as a celebrated socialite. She met Napoleon at a party in 1795, when she was 32, widowed, and well-connected in French society. Napoleon, only 26 at the time, was shy and inexperienced. At their wedding six months later, she allegedly shaved four years off her age on the marriage certificate, while he added 18 months to his, making their ages appear nearly equal on paper.

4. The famous phrase “Not tonight, Joséphine” was likely never uttered by Napoleon.

While the private conversations between the couple remain a mystery, their letters reveal Napoleon's intense infatuation with Joséphine. His insecure and needy demeanor often pushed her away rather than drawing her closer. Shortly after their marriage, the young general left for his Italian campaign, frequently writing to her from the battlefield. Meanwhile, Joséphine appeared to engage in affairs back in France, and her lack of response prompted Napoleon to send increasingly desperate letters.

5. Contrary to popular belief, Napoleon wasn’t short.

The myth of Napoleon’s short stature originated during his lifetime, fueled by English propagandists who portrayed him as ridiculously small in wartime cartoons. This misconception became so ingrained that a psychological complex for short men was later named after him. In reality, he stood around 5 feet, 6 inches—an average height for his time. This measurement comes from records at his death, where a physician noted his height as 5 feet, 2 inches in French measurements, equivalent to 5 feet, 6 inches in English terms.

6. Napoleon authored a romantic novel.

Napoleon Bonaparte wasn’t just a general, revolutionary, and emperor—he also tried his hand at romance writing. Penned in 1795, shortly before he met and married Joséphine, Clisson et Eugénie fictionalizes his relationship with Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, whose sister married his brother Joseph. The novella remained unpublished during his lifetime, and after his death, the manuscript was split into pieces sold as souvenirs. While fragments were published over time, a complete English translation wasn’t assembled until 2009. For those curious about this tale of love torn apart by war and tragedy, Clisson et Eugénie is available on Amazon.

7. The idea that Napoleon feared cats is likely a myth.

Rumors abound that Napoleon, along with other famous military leaders-turned-dictators, suffered from ailurophobia, or a fear of cats. However, Katharine MacDonogh, author of Reigning Cats And Dogs: A History Of Pets At Court Since The Renaissance, states that “There is no evidence to suggest Napoleon had any particular fondness or aversion to cats.”

8. The Rosetta stone was unearthed by Napoleon’s troops.

While Napoleon is primarily celebrated for his military and political achievements, he also saw himself as a scientist in his younger years. In 1797, he was elected to the National Institute, France’s premier scientific society. During his campaign to conquer Egypt and disrupt British trade routes, Napoleon brought along 150 savants—experts in science, engineering, and academia—to study Egypt’s geography, culture, environment, and historical legacy, alongside his soldiers.

The 23-volume Description de l’Égypte unveiled Egypt to Europe, but the most remarkable discovery was the Rosetta stone. Captain Pierre François-Xavier Bouchard uncovered the inscribed slab while dismantling an old wall in Rosetta. Recognizing its importance, he sent it to Cairo. Featuring hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek scripts, the stone eventually enabled scholars to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

9. Beethoven initially intended to dedicate his third symphony to Napoleon.

Ludwig van Beethoven held Napoleon in high regard, especially during his early tenure as First Consul following the overthrow of the government. While composing Symphony No. 3, Beethoven claimed to draw inspiration from Napoleon’s heroic deeds and seemingly democratic principles. However, in 1804, when Napoleon declared himself First Consul for life and later crowned himself emperor, Beethoven’s admiration turned to disdain.

According to Ferdinand Ries, one of Beethoven’s pupils, the composer “became furious and exclaimed: ‘Is he, too, just an ordinary man? Now he will crush human rights and pursue only his own ambitions!’ Beethoven stormed to the table, grabbed the title page, ripped it in half, and threw it to the ground.”

Despite his anger, Beethoven appeared to wrestle with his feelings about his former hero. In a later letter, he acknowledged that “the symphony’s true title is ‘Bonaparte,’” and when it was published in 1806, the title page read, “Sinfonia Eroica ... composed to honor the memory of a great man.”

10. Napoleon’s empire sought to promote religious tolerance.

Napoleon was baptized Catholic as a child, but his writings reveal he began doubting Catholicism—and the existence of any deity—early on. Despite his personal skepticism, he recognized the strategic value of organized religion. After rising to power in France, he worked to restore the Catholic Church, which had been nearly destroyed during the Revolution. However, he acknowledged Catholicism merely as “the faith of most French citizens” and placed the church under state control.

As emperor, Napoleon liberated Jews in regions under his rule, granting them the right to own property and practice their faith freely—a move that led the Russian Orthodox Church to label him the “antichrist and enemy of God.” His motivations were pragmatic, aiming to attract Jewish populations to French territories. After his Egyptian campaign, some scholars suggest Napoleon developed a fascination with Muhammad and Islam. This interest, however, seemed opportunistic; he once wrote, “I am nothing. In Egypt, I was a Muslim; here, I will be a Catholic.” Whether he genuinely believed in Islam, he showed tolerance toward practices like polygamy, viewing it as a means to promote racial integration and equality.

11. Napoleon tried to take his own life before being exiled to Elba.

After a catastrophic Russian campaign and pressure from the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon was compelled to abdicate under the Treaty of Fontainebleau on April 11, 1814. Initially granted a comfortable life as ruler of Elba, Napoleon’s immediate response to his exile was an attempt to end his life while still at Fontainebleau. He had carried a poison pill since his Russian defeat and ingested it on April 12. However, the pill had likely degraded over time; while it left Napoleon severely ill, it failed to kill him.

12. Britain’s Prince Regent feared the English public might support Napoleon.

After escaping Elba and briefly reclaiming power, Napoleon faced defeat at Waterloo and surrendered to the British captain of the HMS Bellerophon. He wrote a letter to Britain’s Prince Regent (later King George IV), asking for asylum and “a small estate” near London—an audacious request given his history of attempting to conquer Britain. The letter was never sent, but it likely wouldn’t have changed anything. Parliament feared Napoleon’s charisma and influence, worrying he might gain public support, so they barred him from leaving the ship. He remained aboard the anchored Bellerophon, drawing crowds eager to see him, until he was exiled to St. Helena.

13. Plans to rescue Napoleon from St. Helena included intricate submarine designs.

The British went to great lengths to ensure Napoleon’s final exile was secure. St. Helena, a remote volcanic island in the South Atlantic, was surrounded by steep cliffs and guarded by approximately 2800 soldiers equipped with 500 cannons. The waters around the island were continuously monitored by a Royal Navy squadron of 11 ships. Additionally, another island—1200 miles further into the Atlantic—was fortified with extra troops to thwart any potential rescue missions from South America.

Their precautions were justified. During Napoleon’s six-year exile on St. Helena, various escape plans were devised, involving boats, balloons, and even rudimentary submarines. Infamous British smuggler Tom Johnson claimed he was offered £40,000 in 1820 to rescue the emperor. His plan included ships with collapsible masts to approach the island undetected and a boatswain’s chair to climb the cliffs. It’s uncertain how far this plan progressed or if Johnson ever took on the task, but had it succeeded, it would have been one of history’s most daring prison breaks.

14. Napoleon’s admirers constructed a house for him in New Orleans.

Nicholas Girod, the fifth mayor of New Orleans, was a devoted admirer of Napoleon. After Napoleon’s abdication at Waterloo, Girod assisted members of the emperor’s imperial guard in fleeing to the United States. He also envisioned Napoleon relocating to New Orleans. In 1821, after retiring as mayor, Girod began renovating a house at the intersection of Chartres and St. Louis streets, intending it to be Napoleon’s home following a planned rescue by Dominique You (or Youx). When Napoleon passed away later that year, Girod moved his family into the building, which is still referred to as Napoleon House.

15. Napoleon’s death was likely due to stomach cancer—not arsenic poisoning.

Napoleon died on May 5, 1821, at 51 years old, while still exiled on St. Helena. His personal physician listed stomach cancer as the cause of death on the death certificate, aligning with reports of his abdominal pain and nausea in his final weeks. However, his body’s unusual preservation, a common trait of arsenic poisoning, sparked two centuries of theories about possible foul play.

In 1961, high arsenic levels were found in Napoleon’s hair samples, intensifying speculation. Even if he wasn’t assassinated, some theories proposed he might have been unintentionally poisoned by arsenic fumes from his bedroom wallpaper, exacerbated by St. Helena’s damp climate.

A 2008 study by Italian scientists at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Milan-Bicocca and Pavia debunked the poisoning theory. Analyzing hair samples from four stages of Napoleon’s life—childhood in Corsica, exile on Elba, the day of his death on St. Helena at 51, and the day after—revealed consistently high arsenic levels, about 100 times modern norms, but no significant variation over time.

Additionally, hair samples from his son, Napoleon II, and his wife, Empress Joséphine, showed similarly elevated arsenic levels. Chronic exposure to arsenic in paints and medicines likely caused the 1961 findings. While not directly fatal, this exposure, along with other toxic substances in his environment, likely accelerated Napoleon’s death.