Napoleone Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte (Ajaccio 1769–Saint Helena 1821), educated at military schools in Brienne and Paris, participated in various military operations during the Revolutionary period; in 1796, after his marriage to Josephine Beauharnais, he was appointed commander of the army destined to face the Austrian troops in Italy. Thanks to the victories achieved in Italy and his campaign in Egypt, undertaken to weaken Britain's position, the general's political ascent became unstoppable; on 18 Brumaire of the Year VIII (November 9 1799) a triumvirate led by him assumed full power with a coup d'etat; shortly after Napoleon was named First Consul and effectively established a personal regime with the Constitution of the Year VIII; in 1802 he was declared First Consul for life. In December 1804 Napoleon was crowned Emperor; the year after he was also crowned King of Italy. In the meantime, France's area of influence spread beyond Italy to the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland; Napoleon was able to govern or control a large part of continental Europe with the victory of Austerlitz. In 1810 he repudiated his first wife and married Marie Louise, the daughter of Francis I, Emperor of Austria and Hungary. The disastrous Russian campaign (1812), which concluded with the French troops' tragic retreat, marked the end his domination in Europe. Defeated by a coalition of great powers at Leipzig in October 1813, he abdicated in April 1814 and was sent into exile on the island of Elba. In March 1815 he managed to escape from the island and return to Paris, regaining power for the famous "Hundred Days", which concluded with his final defeat at Waterloo, Belgium on June 18 1815 by the seventh coalition of top European powers that had united against him. Confined to the island of Saint Helena under the control of the British, he died in 1821.