Napoleon I (born Napoleone di Buonaparte, later Napoleon Bonaparte) (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on modern European history. He was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul of the French Republic and Emperor of the French and King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine.

Born in Corsica and trained in mainland France as an artillery officer, he rose to prominence during the French Revolution as a general, leading successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. In 1799, Napoleon staged a coup d'etat and installed himself as First Consul; five years later he crowned himself Emperor of the French. In the first decade of the nineteenth century, he turned the armies of France against almost every major European power, dominating continental Europe through a lengthy streak of military victories—epitomized through battles such as Austerlitz and Friedland—and the formation of extensive alliance systems, appointing close friends and family members as monarchs and government figures of French-dominated states.

The disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point in Napoleon's fortunes. The campaign wrecked the Grande Armée, which never regained its previous strength. In 1813, the Sixth Coalition defeated his forces at Leipzig and invaded France, forcing him to abdicate in April 1814 and exiling him to the island of Elba. Less than a year later, he returned to France, regaining control of the government prior to his final defeat at Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life under British supervision on the island of Saint Helena.

Napoleon developed relatively few military innovations, drawing his tactics from a variety of sources and scoring major victories with a modernized French army. His campaigns are studied at military academies all over the world and he is widely regarded as one of history's greatest commanders. Whilst considered a tyrant by his opponents, he is also remembered for establishing the Napoleonic code, which laid the bureaucratic foundations for the modern French state.


Marriages and children
Napoleon married Josephine de Beauharnais in 1796, when he was 26. He formally adopted her son Eugene and cousin Stephanie after assuming the throne, and arranged dynastic marriages for them. Josephine had her daughter Hortense marry Napoleon's brother, Louis.

Napoleon's and Josephine's marriage was unconventional, and both were known to have affairs. Josephine agreed to divorce so he could remarry in the hopes of producing an heir. Therefore in March 1810, he married Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria by proxy; he had married into the family of German rulers.They remained married until his death, though she did not join him in exile. The couple had one child Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles (1811–32), known from birth as the King of Rome. He was later Napoleon II though he reigned for only two weeks. He was awarded the title of the Duke of Reichstadt in 1818 and had no children himself.

Napoleon acknowledged two illegitimate children:

* Charles, Count Leon, (1806–81) by Louise Catherine Eleonore Denuelle de la Plaigne
* Alexandre Joseph Colonna, Count Walewski, (1810-68) by Countess Walewski.

He may have had further illegitimate offspring:

* Emilie Pellapra, (1806-71) by Françoise-Marie LeRoy
* Karl Eugin von Mühlfeld, by Victoria Kraus
* Hélène Napoleone Bonaparte (1816-1910) by Countess Albine de Montholon
* Jules Barthélemy-Saint-Hilaire, whose mother remains unknown.


Cause of death

Francesco Antommarchi, the physician chosen by Napoleon's family, led the autopsy, and the cause of death was found to be stomach cancer.In the latter half of the twentieth century, Sten Forshufvud and Ben Weider claimed other causes for his death, including deliberate arsenic poisoning.

Arsenic poisoning theory

In 1955 the diaries of Napoleon's valet, Louis Marchand, appeared in print. His description of Napoleon in the months before his death led Sten Forshufvud and Ben Weider, to conclude he had been killed by arsenic poisoning. Arsenic was used as a poison during the era because it was then undetectable when administered over a long period. As Napoleon's body was found to be remarkably well-preserved when it was moved in 1840, this supported the arsenic theory because arsenic is a strong preservative. Forshufvud and Weider noted Napoleon was attempting to quench abnormal thirst by drinking high levels of orgeat which contained cyanide compounds in the almonds used for flavouring and which, Forshufvud and Weider maintained, the antimony potassium tartrate used in his treatment, were preventing his stomach from expelling.

They claimed the thirst was a possible symptom of arsenic poisoning, and the calomel given to Napoleon became a massive overdose, causing stomach bleeding, killing him and leaving behind extensive tissue damage. Forshufvud and Weider suggested the autopsy doctors could have mistaken this damage for cancer after effects. A 2008 article showed the type of arsenic in the hair shafts was not of the organic type but of a mineral type suggesting the death was murder. Different researchers in another 2008 study analysed samples of Napoleon's hair from throughout his life, and also samples from his family and other contemporaries. All samples had high levels of arsenic, approximately 100 times higher than the current average. According to researchers, Napoleon's body was already heavily contaminated with arsenic as a boy, the high arsenic concentration in his hair was not due to poisoning and he was constantly exposed to arsenic from materials such as glues and dyes.

Stomach cancer

The original autopsy concluded Napoleon died of stomach cancer without Antommarchi knowing Napoleon’s father had died of this form of cancer. In May 2005, a team of Swiss physicians claimed the reason for Napoleon's death was stomach cancer and in October a document was unearthed in Scotland presenting an account of the autopsy, which again seemed to confirm Antommarchi's conclusion. A 2007 study found no evidence of arsenic poisoning in the organs and concluded stomach cancer was the cause of death.

GBU

he was the greatest sailor as i know! many enemies die in his hand and giving france many victory in the sea war..