- Despite being known for his diminutive stature (Many believing him to be around five feet tall), Napoleon was around 5'7, above average height for an 18th century Frenchman (5'5). It was propaganda from his sworn enemy, England, that created his reputation as a miniature, petty tyrant. A number of misconceptions have aided in perpetuating the image to this day. First, French feet of the time period were longer than modern feet, causing his height in French feet to be numerically smaller. Also, his nickname Le Petit Caporal, ("The Little Corporal"), actually referred to his humble background and modesty around his troops, rather than his physical size. Finally, he was often seen during war time on foot, surrounded by hulking bodyguards (who had a height requirement), making him look short by comparison.
- Ludwig van Beethoven dedicated his third symphony, the Eroica (Italian for "heroic"), to Napoléon in the belief he would sustain the ideals of the Revolution, but tore out the title page when Napoléon's true ambitions became clear.
- Has been portrayed by dozens of actors, more notably Rod Steiger, Armand Assante, Marlon Brando, and Charles Boyer.
- His second wife was Marie Louise of Austria, daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor. Married by proxy on March 11, 1810, they met for the first time 16 days later. Their son and only child, Napoléon François Joséph Charles (Napoléon II), was born on March 20, 1811. Marie Louise did not join Napoléon into his first or second exile. She married the father of her next three children three months after Napoléon died. In 1940, the body of Napoléon II (who died in 1832 without issue) was moved from Vienna to Paris, where he rests beside his father as a gift to France from Adolf Hitler. Rumored to have fathered at least 5 illegitimate children, Napoléon acknowledged only one, Charles Léon (1806-1881), whose birth was the all the incentive he needed to divorce his first wife Joséphine, as she had failed to give him an heir. Oddly, he refused to have anything to do with Charles and his mother, but provided for them.
- Sold the Louisiana Purchase to Thomas Jefferson for $11,250,000 ($0.05 per acre) plus the United States assumed claims of its citizens against France for up to $3,750,000.
- Created the Code Napoléon, a codifier of civil law, as opposed to English common law. Louisiana law is based on the Code Napoléon.
- Crowned himself Emperor on December 2, 1804. Claims that he seized the crown from Pope Pius VII during the ceremony are false; in fact, the procedure had been agreed upon in advance. After the Imperial regalia had been blessed by the Pope, Napoléon crowned himself, then his wife Joséphine. The ceremony was immortalized in Jacques Louis David's painting "The Coronation of Napoléon".
- Researchers have discovered genetic evidence that lice-borne disease played a key role in his retreat through Russia in 1812.
- Through her son, Joséphine is the great-grandmother of King Frederik VIII; 2nd great-grandmother of King Christian X and King Haakon VII; 3rd great-grandmother of Frederik IX Arveprins Knud, and King Olav V; 4th great-grandmother of King Harald V, H.M. Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Queen Anne-Marie, and Prinsesse Benedikte; 5th great-grandmother of Prins Gustav af Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Prinsesse Alexandra af Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Prince Nikolaos, Theodora Greece, Frederik X, Prins Joachim; and 6th great-grandmother of Kronprins Christian, H.E. Greve Nikolai, and H.E. Greve Felix.
- Followers of Michel de Nostredame believe he named Napoléon as the first of three anti-Christs, Adolf Hitler as the second, and the third not revealed.
- Mentioned in the songs "Waterloo" by ABBA and "Revol" by Manic Street Preachers.
- His father, Carlo Buonaparte, an attorney, was named Corsica's representative to the court of Louis XVI in 1778.
- Napoléon's nephew, Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoléon III), was the son of Joséphine's daughter and Napoléon's brother. Napoléon III was President of France from 1848-1852, and Emperor of the French from 1852-1870.
- Invaded Egypt at the end of the 18th Century.
- One of his generals was novelist Choderlos de Laclos.
- Through her son, Joséphine is the great-grandmother of King Oscar II; 2nd great-grandmother of King Gustaf V; 3rd great-grandmother of King Gustaf VI Adolf, Prince Vilhelm of Sweden, and Prins Erik; 4th great-grandmother of Dronning Ingrid, Prince Sigvard Bernadotte, Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén, Lennart Bernadotte, King Baudouin, and King Albert II; 5th great-grandmother of King Carl XVI Gustaf, H.M. Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Prinsesse Benedikte, and Queen Anne-Marie; 6th great-grandmother of Carl Prinz von Hohenzollern, Hubertus von Hohenzollern, Kronprinsessan Victoria, Prins Carl Philip, Grand Duke Henri de Luxembourg, King Philippe, and Prinsessan Madeleine.
- Despite his brilliance at military tactics and leadership, he was ironically a very poor chess player.
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