Napoleon Bonaparte was a French general, first consul (1799–1804), and emperor of the French (1804–1814/15) . He revolutionized military organization and training, sponsored the Napoleonic Code, the prototype of later civil-law codes, and reorganized the education system, central bank, and government administration. Napoleon’s many reforms left a lasting mark on the institutions of France and much of western Europe. However, his driving passion was the military expansion of French dominion, and he was almost unanimously revered during his lifetime and until the end of the Second Empire under his nephew Napoleon III as one of history’s great heroes.
Napoleon’s military tactics are still studied, and many of his ideas concerning laws and government remain with us today. He was the ultimate self-made man, and not one European nation could defeat him alone. Although second only in importance to the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, Napoleon’s meteoric career spawned a host of important changes on the world stage. He implemented many liberal policies in France and Western Europe, and he sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803, instantly doubling the size of the United States.
Napoleon was known for his habits and idiosyncrasies, such as always insisting on having a fire lit and loving extremely hot baths, which provided him relief from his painful hemorrhoids. He was said to have had an intense dislike of cats but adopted one during his exile on Saint Helena. Napoleon took nearly 154 scientists to investigate Egypt’s history, geography, and natural phenomena, and their work yielded many interesting findings, including the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, which later proved the key in decoding the hieroglyphic writings of ancient Egypt.
Finally, Napoleon planned to re-establish Versailles as one of the residences of the newly restored crown, but he abandoned the idea due to the high predicted costs and turned his attention instead to the renovation of the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon in order to stay there with his family.
