Napoleon Bonaparte is remembered today as the emperor of the French who consolidated
and institutionalized many reforms of the French Revolution. He is also well remembered as one
of the greatest military commanders of all time. In his military career, he made one of the
fastest ascents to power in world military history. He was promoted from captain to general in
within four very short months - a very rapid pace! Napoleon was also a very good liar. The rules
said that to become a general, the applicant had to be 25 years of age, since Napoleon was only
24, he lied on the commision forms. Bonaparte was also known for his messy appearance. If you
could have looked at him, you would never have expected that he would soon become the emperor of
France. Despite his appearance, Napoleon was brilliant and ambitious and could change plans
quickly to fit any new problems. Napoleon Bonaparte is perhaps most well known for being the
self proclaimed emperor of France. In his military career and reign over France, he conquered the
larger part of Europe and did much to modernize the nations he ruled. As I have said, Napoleon
Bonaparte is remembered in many ways. He is remembered for being the conqueror of most of Europe.
He is remembered for making a quick ride up on the military scales. And he is also remembered
for being one of the most brilliant and ambi
tious fellows the world has ever known
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica, and was given the name
Napoleone (in French his name became Napoleon Bonaparte). He was the second of eight children of
Carlo (Charles) Buonaparte and Letizia Ramo-
lina Buonaparte, both of the Corsican-Italian gentry. No Buonaparte had ever been a professional
soldier. Carlo was a lawyer who had fought for Corsican independence, but after the French
occupied the island in 1768, he served as a prosecutor and judge and entered the French
aristocracy as a count. Through his father's influence, Napoleon was educated at the expense of
King Louis XVI, at Brienne and the Ecole Militaire, in Paris. Napoleon graduated in 1785, at
the age of 16, and joined the artillery as a second lieutenant.
After the Revolution began, he became a lietenant colonel in the Corsican National Guard in
1791. In 1793, however, Corsica declared independence, and Bonaparte, a French patriot and a
Republican, fled to France with his family. He was assigned, as a captain, to an army besieging
Toulon, a naval base that, aided by a British, was in revolt against the republic. Replacing a
wounded artillery general, he seized ground where his guns could drive the British fleet from
the harbor, and Toulon fell. As a result Bonaparte was promoted to brigadier general at the age
of 24. In 1796 he married Josephine de Beauharnais, the widow of an aristocrat guillotined in
the Revolution and the mother of two children.
Napoleon Bonaparte is remembered today as the emperor of the French who consolidated
and institutionalized many reforms of the French Revolution. He is also well remembered as one
of the greatest military commanders of all time. In his military career, he made one of the
fastest ascents to power in world military history. He was promoted from captain to general in
within four very short months - a very rapid pace! Napoleon was also a very good liar. The rules
said that to become a general, the applicant had to be 25 years of age, since Napoleon was only
24, he lied on the commision forms. Bonaparte was also known for his messy appearance. If you
could have looked at him, you would never have expected that he would soon become the emperor of
France. Despite his appearance, Napoleon was brilliant and ambitious and could change plans
quickly to fit any new problems. Napoleon Bonaparte is perhaps most well known for being the
self proclaimed emperor of France. In his military career and reign over France, he conquered the
larger part of Europe and did much to modernize the nations he ruled. As I have said, Napoleon
Bonaparte is remembered in many ways. He is remembered for being the conqueror of most of Europe.
He is remembered for making a quick ride up on the military scales. And he is also remembered
for being one of the most brilliant and ambi
tious fellows the world has ever known
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica, and was given the name
Napoleone (in French his name became Napoleon Bonaparte). He was the second of eight children of
Carlo (Charles) Buonaparte and Letizia Ramo-
lina Buonaparte, both of the Corsican-Italian gentry. No Buonaparte had ever been a professional
soldier. Carlo was a lawyer who had fought for Corsican independence, but after the French
occupied the island in 1768, he served as a prosecutor and judge and entered the French
aristocracy as a count. Through his father's influence, Napoleon was educated at the expense of
King Louis XVI, at Brienne and the Ecole Militaire, in Paris. Napoleon graduated in 1785, at
the age of 16, and joined the artillery as a second lieutenant.
After the Revolution began, he became a lietenant colonel in the Corsican National Guard in
1791. In 1793, however, Corsica declared independence, and Bonaparte, a French patriot and a
Republican, fled to France with his family. He was assigned, as a captain, to an army besieging
Toulon, a naval base that, aided by a British, was in revolt against the republic. Replacing a
wounded artillery general, he seized ground where his guns could drive the British fleet from
the harbor, and Toulon fell. As a result Bonaparte was promoted to brigadier general at the age
of 24. In 1796 he married Josephine de Beauharnais, the widow of an aristocrat guillotined in
the Revolution and the mother of two children.
