Biography:One of the most controversial, influential and celebrated figures in human history, Napoleon seized upon the opportunities created by the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 and became a general at age 29.
After the French Directory gave him control of the armed forces, his early military victories established him as a national hero, and he engineered a coup in 1799 that made him First Consul of the Republic. He went further and declared himself Emperor of the French in 1804.
Napoleon's stunning military victories over his European enemies - at Austerlitz in 1805, Friedland in 1807 and Wagram in 1809 - solidified his dominance of virtually the entire continent, and confirmed the rapid spread of his empire.
After launching the Peninsular War in Spain, Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, which ended in disaster and the collapse of his Grand Army. A Sixth Coalition defeated him at Leipzig, invaded France and forced him to abdicate in 1814. He was exiled to Elba, where he escaped and took control of France. He was finally defeated by a Seventh Coalition at Waterloo and exiled to St Helena in the South Atlantic where he died in 1821.
Napoleon's foreign and domestic achievements, particularly the Napoleonic Code, greatly influenced the foundations of most of the modern Western world.
Born:August 15, 1769 Birthplace:Ajaccio, Corsica, France Star Sign:Leo
Died:May 5, 1821 (aged 51) Cause of Death: Officially stomach cancer, but rumours of arsenic poisoning persist (possibly emitted by wallpaper)
1809-12-16 Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Joséphine by French Senate
1810-01-10 French church annuls marriage of Napoleon I and Empress Joséphine
1810-02-11 French leader Napoleon I marries 2nd wife Marie-Louise of Austria
Historical Events
1784-10-30 Napoléon Bonaparte admitted to the elite École Militaire in Paris, the start of his military career
1785-09-28 Napoléon Bonaparte, aged 16, graduates from the elite École Militaire in Paris (42nd in a class of 51)
1796-03-02 Napoléon Bonaparte is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in Italy
1796-04-13 Battle of Millesimo, Italy: Napoleon's forces defeat allied armies of Austria and of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont.
1796-04-21 Napoleon and the French defeat the Piedmontese at Battle of Mondovi
1796-04-28 Armistice of Cherasco between Sardinia and Napoleon Bonaparte at Cherasco, Piedmont gives France territories of Piedmont, Savoy and Nice
1796-05-10 Napoleon defeats Austria in Battle of Lodi Bridge
1796-05-15 First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph with French troops
1796-09-08 Battle of Bassano: Napoleon Bonaparte's French army defeat Austrian force during French Revolutionary Wars
1796-11-17 Battle of Arcole: French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte defeat an Austrian force led by József Alvinczi after a 3 day battle at Arcole, Republic of Venice
1797-05-12 First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice
1799-03-08 Napoleon Bonaparte's forces capture the city of Jaffa from the Ottoman Empire in Palestine, after a 5 day siege
1799-04-16 Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor - Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre
1799-05-21 Napoleon and his forces abandon their siege of Acre after two months - turning point in French invasion of Egypt and Syria
1799-05-22 Napoleon makes statement in support of re-establishing Jerusalem for Jews
1799-07-15 The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign
1799-07-25 French-Egyptian forces under Napoleon I beat Turks at Battle of Abukir
1799-08-23 Napoleon leaves Egypt for France en route to seize power.
1799-11-09 Napoleon Bonaparte pulls off a coup and becomes the dictator of France under the title of First Consul
1799-12-24 Jacobin plot against Napoleon uncovered
1800-06-14 Battle of Marengo (Alessandria): Napoleon Bonaparte's French army overcomes Austrian forces in Piedmont, Italy
1801-04-02 Napoleonic Wars: The British led by Horatio Nelson destroy the Danish fleet in the naval Battle of Copenhagen
1802-01-25 Napoleon Bonaparte elected president of Italian (Cisalpine) Republic
1802-08-02 Napoleon Bonaparte declared "Consul for Life" after winning national referendum
1802-08-07 Napoleon orders re-instatement of slavery on St Domingue (Haiti)
1804-05-18 Napoléon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate
1804-12-02 General Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Emperor of the French at the Notre Dame de Paris in a ceremony officiated by Pope Pius VII
1805-05-26 Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned King of Italy
1805-09-30 Napoleon Bonaparte's army draws into the Rhine
1805-11-11 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Dürenstein - 8000 French troops attempted to slow the retreat of a vastly superior Russian and Austrian force.
1806-01-01 Napoléon Bonaparte abolishes the French Republican calendar after 12 years of use
1806-11-21 The Continental System declared in the Decree of Berlin: Emperor Napoleon I bans all trade with Britain
1807-02-08 Battle of Eylau ends inconclusively between Napoleon's forces and the Russian Empire, first battle Napoleon isn't victorious
1807-02-09 Napoleon convenes "The Grand Sanhedrin", a Jewish high court, in Paris, gives legal sanction to the principles expressed by the Assembly of Notables
1807-06-14 Emperor Napoleon I's French Grande Armee defeats the Russian Army at the Battle of Friedland in Prussia (modern Russian Kaliningrad Oblast) ending War of the Fourth Coalition
1807-07-07 French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte and Russian Tsar Alexander I meet on a raft in the middle of the Neman River and sign the first Treaty of Tilsit
1807-07-09 Second Treaty of Tilsit signed by France, Russia and Prussia
1807-07-20 Napoleon Bonaparte grants a patent for a Pyréolophore, an early combustion engine for a boat, to brothers Nicéphore and Claude Niépce
1807-09-02 The Royal Navy bombards Copenhagen with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon.
1807-11-27 Portuguese Royal Family and its court of nearly 15,000 people leave Lisbon for their colony of Brazil to escape invading Napoleonic troops
1808-03-23 Napoleon's brother Joseph takes the throne of Spain
1808-04-17 Bayonne Decree by Napoleon I of France orders seizure of US ships
1808-05-30 Napoleon Bonaparte annexes Tuscany and gives it seats in the French Senate
1808-07-20 Napoleon decrees all French Jews must adopt a fixed family name
1808-08-17 French Emperor Napoleon asks his brother, the King of Holland Louis Bonaparte for a Dutch Brigade to fight on the French side against Spain in the Peninsular War
1809-01-06 Napoleonic Wars: Invasion of Cayenne, by combined British, Portuguese and colonial Brazilian forces, begins
1809-04-20 Napoleon I and French forces defeat Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria
1809-04-22 Battle of Eckmühl: Napoleon's French and Bavarian force defeats the Austrians under the Archduke Charles at Eggmühl, Bavaria. Gives Napoleon the strategic initiative for the rest of the War of the Fifth Coalition.
1809-05-21 Battle of Aspern-Essling: Austrian Archduke Charles beats Napoleon and his army. Napoleon's first defeat in 10 years.
1809-07-06 Battle of Wagram: After a two day battle, Napoleon's French and allied army decisively defeats the Austrian army under Archduke Charles, leads to the breakup of the Austrian and British-led Fifth Coalition against France
1810-02-20 Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean patriot and leader of rebellion against Napoleon's forces, executed.
1810-07-09 Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire
1810-08-09 Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire
1811-10-06 French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte visits Utrecht
1812-01-09 Swedish Pomerania (Germany) seized by Napoleon
1812-06-24 Napoleon Bonaparte's Grand Armée numbering half a million begin their invasion of Russia by crossing the Nieman River
1812-07-23 Battle of Mogilev: first significant fighting during Napoleon's invasion of Russia results in minor French victory
1812-09-07 Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Bonapartre wins a pyrrhic victory against Russian General Mikhail Kutuzov in the most ferocious battle of the Napoleonic era, 70,000 are killed
1812-09-14 Great Fire of Moscow begins as Napoleon approaches the city and retreating Russians burn it - fire continues to burn for five days
1812-09-15 Napoleon Bonaparte and his French army reach the Kremlin in Moscow, where they watch the flames of the Great Fire of Moscow spread and grow
1812-10-19 Napoleon Bonaparte and his Grande Armée begin their retreat from Moscow numbering just 100,000 (started campaign with 500,000)
1812-10-23 Failed coup against French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
1812-10-24 Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow, French army then forced to retreat through the snow towards Smolensk
1812-11-03 French Napoleonic armies defeated at Vyazma by a Russian force commanded by General Miloradovich
1812-11-17 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Krasnoi during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow
1812-11-29 Napoleon's Grand Army crosses Berezina River in retreat from Russia
1812-12-14 The French invasion of Russia, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, officially ends with the French having lost as many as 530,000 people
1813-08-27 Battle of Dresden; Napoleon defeats Austrians
1813-10-16 Battle of Leipzig, largest battle in Europe prior to WWI, Napoleon's forces defeated by Prussia, Austria and Russia
1814-02-10 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Champaubert, the French beat the Russians
1814-02-18 The Battle of Montereau; victory of French under Napoleon Bonaparte against Austrians and Württembergers under the King of Württemberg.
1814-03-07 Napoleon I of France wins the Battle of Craonne against combined Russian and Prussian force in northern France
1814-03-30 Napoleonic Wars: Sixth Coalition forces march into Paris after defeating Napoleon
1814-03-31 Forces allied against Napoleon capture Paris
1814-04-04 An officer mutiny forces French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte to abdicate for the first time in flavor of his son, who is not accepted by the Allies occupying Paris
1814-04-11 Napoléon Bonaparte abdicates unconditionally and is exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean
1814-05-30 Napoleonic Wars: War of the Sixth Coalition - the Treaty of Paris (1814) is signed returning French borders to their 1792 extent.
1814-10-01 Opening of the Congress of Vienna, redraws Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoléon Bonaparte
1814-11-01 Congress of Vienna opens to re-draw the European political map after the defeat of France, in the Napoleonic Wars
1815-02-26 Napoléon Bonaparte and his supporters leave Elba to start a 100 day re-conquest of France
1815-03-20 Napoléon Bonaparte enters Paris after his escape from Elba, begins 100-day rule
1815-06-01 Napoleon Bonaparte swears fidelity to the Constitution of France
1815-06-16 French army under Napoleon defeats Prussia in the Battle of Ligny, Napoleon's last military victory
1815-06-18 Battle of Waterloo; Napoleon Bonaparte and France defeated by British forces under Duke of Wellington and Prussian troops under Field Marshall von Blücher
1815-06-22 After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates for the second time, in favor of his son Napoleon II
1815-07-15 Napoleon surrenders to Captain Frederick Maitland of HMS Bellerophon at Rochefort after his earlier defeat at the Battle of Waterloo
1815-08-09 Napoleon Bonaparte sets sail for exile on St Helena on board British ship the Northumberland
1815-10-15 Napoleon Bonaparte arrives on island of St Helena to begin his exile
1815-11-20 Second Treaty of Paris: France and her allies agree France will pay indemnities after Battle of Waterloo, ending the Napoleonic Wars
1816-02-27 Dutch regain Suriname from the French after the defeat of Napoleon
1818-04-20 Napoleon Bonaparte bids emotional farewell to his old guard at Palace of Fontainebleau
1840-12-15 Napoleon Bonaparte receives a French state funeral in Paris 19 years after his death
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