Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte (Born Napoleone di Buonaparte) (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from 11 November 1799 to 18 May 1804, Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français) under the name Napoleon I (Napoléon 1^er) from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814, and was briefly restored as Emperor from 20 March to 22 June 1815. At various times he also held the titles of King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine.

Over the course of little more than a decade, the armies of France under his command fought almost every European power, often simultaneously, and acquired control of most of continental Europe by conquest or alliance. The disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point. Following the Russian campaign and the defeat at Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies invaded France, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. He was exiled to the island of Elba. He staged a comeback known as the Hundred Days (les Cent Jours), but was defeated at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. He spent the remaining six years of his life on the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean under British supervision.

Although Napoleon himself developed few military innovations, apart from the divisional squares employed in Egypt and the placement of artillery into batteries, he used the best tactics from a variety of sources, as well as the French army, modernized and reformed, to score several major victories. His campaigns are studied at military academies all over the world and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest commanders ever to have lived. Aside from his military achievements, Napoleon is also remembered for the establishment of the Napoleonic Code (Code Napoléon).

He also appointed several members of his family and close friends as monarchs of countries he conquered and as important government figures (his brother Lucien was Minister of the Interior of France during the Consulate). Although their reigns did not survive his downfall, a nephew, Napoleon III, ruled France later in the nineteenth century..