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Napoleon's spectacular career, which took him from the ranks of the impoverished nobility on the island of Corsica to ruler of territories that at their height stretched from the Elbe River to the Iberian Peninsula, had profound repercussions for the whole of Europe, including those states such as Britain which never came under direct Napoleonic rule. Like a number of other able military men such as Louis-Lazare Hoche, a former stable-boy, and Michel Ney, the son of a cooper, his rise was inconceivable without the collapse of the old regime and the French Revolution, which opened up careers to talent. Alongside his military abilities, it was his intelligence, ruthlessness, and charisma, as well as a sense of destiny, that were the personal qualities underpinning his rise to power. Born in 1769 at Ajaccio in Corsica, an island that had only been transferred from Genoese to French sovereignty the previous year, he was always something of an outsider with a concomitant willingness to…
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Full text Article BONAPARTE, NAPOLEON 1769-1821

From Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850
Antoine Jean Gros, Bonaparte au Pont d'Arcole, le...
Politically, Napoleon Bonaparte's career and legacy are distinguished by paradox. A product, if not personification, of the French Revolution, Napoleon perverted and even reversed many of the Revolution's principles. While his own regime was marked by increasing repression at home and the extension…
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Full text Article Napoleon Bonaparte

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
Napoleon Bonaparte
A French general, political leader, and emperor of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Bonaparte rose swiftly through the ranks of army and government during and after the French Revolution and crowned himself emperor in 1804. He conquered much of Europe but lost two-thirds of his…
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Full text Article Napoleon Bonaparte

From Chambers Classic Speeches
Napoleon Bonaparte later Napoleon I (1769-1821) was born in Corsica, the son of a lawyer. In 1785 he was commissioned as an artillery officer. He organized a revolution in Corsica (1792), but was given command of the artillery at the Siege of Toulon (1793) and promoted to brigadier general. In 1796…
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Napoleon I , also called Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 to 1821)
French general and Emperor (1804/15). He entered the military schools at Brienne (1779) and Paris (1784), commanded the artillery at the siege of Toulon (1793) and was promoted Brigadier-General. In 1796 he married Josephine , widow of the Viscount of Beauharnais , and soon after left for Italy, …
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Full text Article Napoleon I

From Philip's Encyclopedia
(Napoleon Bonaparte) Emperor of the French (1804-15), b. Corsica. One of the greatest military leaders of modern times, he became a brigadier (1793) after driving the British out of Toulon. In 1796 he married Joséphine de Beauharnais and gained command in Italy, where he defeated the Austrians and…
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Full text Article Napoleon I (1769–1821)

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Emperor of the French 1804–14 and 1814–15. A general from 1795 in the Revolutionary Wars , in 1799 he overthrew the ruling Directory (see French Revolution ) and made himself dictator. From 1803 he conquered most of Europe (the Napoleonic Wars ) and installed his brothers as puppet kings (see…
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Full text Article Napoleon I

From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
also called Napoleon Bonaparte 1769-1821 Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio in Corsica, the second son of Charles Bonaparte , a Corsican lawyer. He entered the military schools at Brienne (1779) and Paris (1784), and in 1785 he was commissioned in the regiment of la Fère as…
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Full text Article Napoleon, I

From Gale Biographies: Popular People
Napoleon I (1769-1821), emperor of the French, ranks as one of the greatest military conquerors in history. Through his conquests he remade the map of Europe, and through his valuable administrative and legal reforms he promoted the growth of liberalism. Napoleon Bonaparte was born Napoleon…
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Full text Article Napoleon I

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
Napoleon I portrait by Anne-Louis Girodet de...
Emperor of the French and King of Italy (1804–1814). A brilliant military strategist, he overthrew the French Directory (1799) and proclaimed himself first consul and, later, emperor (1804). His military and political might gripped Continental Europe, but after a disastrous winter campaign in Russia…
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Napoleon on the Battlefield at Eylau, February...
(born August 15, 1769, Ajaccio, Corsica—died May 5, 1821, St. Helena Island) Napoleon I, also known as Napoléon Bonaparte and Napoleone Buonaparte, was called the Little Corporal because of his short stature. He was a French general, first consul (1799–1804), and emperor of the French…
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