X-Nico

81 unusual facts about Napoleon


Aachen Rathaus

Since the end of the Imperial City era and the Napoleonic occupation of the area, the structural condition of the City Hall was greatly neglected, so that the building was seen to be falling apart by 1840.

A portrait of Napoleon from 1807 (produced by Louis-André-Gabriel Bouchet) and one of his wife Joséphine from 1805 (made by Robert Lefèvre) are viewable as part of the tour.

Abacus

The Russian abacus was brought to France around 1820 by the mathematician Jean-Victor Poncelet, who served in Napoleon's army and had been a prisoner of war in Russia.

Abu Qir Bay

The intent was to defeat the French expeditionary force that had remained in Egypt after Napoleon's return to France.

Alarm Forest

Napoleon's tomb is located in Sane Valley in the district.

Bellevue Plantation

It was purchased in 1854 after Catherine's husband Prince Achille Murat (son of Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law and King of Naples from 1808-1815) died in 1847.

Brigadier Gerard

Gerard is sent by Napoleon with an important message, via enemy territory, and only narrowly avoids capture by marauding Russian and Prussian troops.

Cabinet noir

Although declaimed against at the time of the French Revolution, it was used both by the revolutionary leaders and by Napoleon.

Capel Lofft

A strong supporter of Napoleon, he wrote numerous letters to the press (Morning Chronicle 31st of july and 10th of august 1815) opposing the Government's decision to send Napoleon to St Helena and himself attempted to serve a writ of habeas corpus while Napoleon was held on board a ship in Plymouth.

Chambertin

The Chambertin wines were one of Napoleon's favorites and it is said that he insisted that they be available to him even during his various military campaigns.

Charles Dugua

He was present during Napoleon's 1798 campaign in Egypt.

Classical cipher

Many classical ciphers were used by well-respected people, such as Julius Caesar and Napoleon, who created their own ciphers which were then popularly used.

Claude Auguste Court

He left France in 1818 for Baghdad and joined the Persian forces which were trained at Kermanshah by a handful of ex-officers of Napoleon's army including Jean-Baptiste Ventura.

Cornelis Felix van Maanen

He rose to prominence under the French-dominated Kingdom of Holland, being appointed Minister of Justice in 1806 by Louis Bonaparte, and to the Council of State and as head of the Court of Appeals in The Hague in 1810 by Napoleon.

Daniel Lessmann

His studies were put on hold in 1813 when he joined the volunteers against Napoleon.

David Nicolson

He sometimes told audiences during lectures that his hero was Napoleon.

Deutsches Turn- und Sportfest 1938

This highly nationalistic sports event was officially commemorating the 125th anniversary of the historical German Wars of Liberation against Napoleon and the first award of the Iron Cross in the city of Breslau itself in 1813.

Dr. Linus

Here he is teaching the class about Napoleon's exile and the loss of his power; the comparison ties into Ben's own exile from the island and demotion from leader on the original timeline.

Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord

He could not rise in France, since Napoleon had banned all French heiresses from marrying outside the French nobility and since Talleyrand had fallen from favour in 1807 after his resignation as Foreign Minister.

Ethirum Pudhirum

A female leader of a major political party is kidnapped by a terrorist Veeraiyan(Nassar) and he promises to return her back if his injured brother Arasappan (Napoleon) is treated well and brought back safely.

Francisco Espoz y Mina

When Napoleon endeavoured to seize Spain in that year he enlisted in the Doyle regiment, and then entered the guerrilla group commanded by his nephew Francisco Javier Mina.

George Alexander Pyke, Lord Tilbury

His similarity to Napoleon, both in physique and character, is often remarked upon.

George Davenport

In the fall of 1803, shortly after arriving with a cargo from Liverpool, Davenport was arrested with the rest of his crew while in port at St. Petersburg when the Czarist Russian government acceded to Napoleon's embargo on British vessels (the "Continental System").

George William Manby

In 1803, his pamphlet An Englishman's Reflexions on the Author of the Present Disturbances, on Napoleon's plans to invade England, came to the attention of the Secretary of War, Charles Yorke, who was impressed and recommended Manby to be appointed as Barrack-Master at Great Yarmouth.

Gmina Konopnica, Lublin Voivodeship

The rich history of the borough is also reflected by places such as the Swedish military cemetery in Motycz Leśny; "Castle Hill" in Motycz or the lime tree under which Napoleon rested during his march on Russia.

Heinrich Marx

Heinrich Marx qualified as a lawyer in 1814, but upon Napoleon's 1815 defeat at Waterloo, the Rhineland came into the conservative control of the Kingdom of Prussia, from its more detached French administration.

Henry Hill Hickman

Despite the support of Napoleon's field surgeon, Baron Dominique-Jean Larrey, who had noticed that wounded soldiers felt no pain when numbed by cold, Hickman met a similar response in France to that he had received in England.

Hispanicisms in English

Some words have special historical significance, such as "guerrilla" (the word used by Napoleon's forces to describe the way the Spanish fought in the Peninsular War), or the term "fifth column" which as quinta columna was used by a Spanish Civil War general to label his covert supporters in Madrid as he laid siege to it.

Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood

It was one of the first churches built from funds voted by Parliament to mark Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, and hence known as a "Waterloo Church".

Hotel Hell Vacation

After having mis-communications with the receptionist at the front desk (Robert Stephenson), Clark and Ellen finally get into their room the Napoleon suite, which turns out to be very small.

I'll Never Heil Again

The winner of that battle is a portrait of Napoleon who grabs the bird from the bewildered Stooges, before running out of his frame.

Icklesham

Strategically located on the River Brede, it was a prime target in the Norman invasion of 1066 (some 700 years later, evacuation plans were prepared in case of an invasion by Napoleon).

Ignacio Jordán Claudio de Asso y del Río

During the first and second sieges of Zaragoza, he served as legal advisor to José Rebolledo de Palafox, 1st Duke of Saragossa, and assisted the Spanish resistance against Napoleon by contributing journalistic pieces to the Gazeta extraordinaria de Zaragoza.

Jacques François Mouret

Mouret was one of many strong players who played hidden in the Turk (others being Johann Baptist Allgaier, who defeated Napoleon in 1809, Schlumberger, Boncourt and Lewis).

James Duff, 4th Earl Fife

Thereupon Duff sought distraction in 1808 by volunteering to join the Spaniards in their war against Napoleon.

Jameson Raid

In 1806 Great Britain took over the Cape to prevent the territory falling into Napoleon's hands and to secure control over the crucial Far Eastern trade routes.

Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki

At the Battle of Leipzig he greatly distinguished himself and at Arcis-sur-Aube, in 1814, saved Napoleon from the sudden onslaught of the enemy by sheltering him in the midst of his battalion.

Janko Ravnik

In 1929, Ravnik filmed a great national ceremony in Ljubljana on the 120th anniversary of the establishment of Illyrian Provinces, during which a monument was erected to Napoleon and Illyria at French Revolution Square.

Jogo do Pau

There are references to this martial art being used by the guerrilla against the troops of Napoleon that were occupying Lisbon during the Peninsular War.

Johannes van der Palm

In 1812 he was called to account for not paying tribute to emperor Napoleon in his speech at the start of the academic year.

Laurensberg

Being on the border between France and Germany, the area has seen numerous conflicts, such as during the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon.

Louis Didier Jousselin

Hamburg was only surrendered when orders came from the French King following the fall of Napoleon.

Magnolia × soulangeana

Magnolia × soulangeana was initially bred by French plantsman Étienne Soulange-Bodin (1774–1846), a retired cavalry officer in Napoleon's army, at his château de Fromont near Paris.

Mariano Álvarez de Castro

In December 1823 French troops, ironically invading Spain in order to restore the tottering throne of Ferdinand VII, passed through Figueres, and on the orders of Marshal Moncey, formerly Napoleon's Inspector-General of Police, destroyed the plaque.

Michigan Road

From Madison it went north through Ripley and Jefferson counties straight to Napoleon, Indiana, and from there straight through Shelby County, Indiana to Indianapolis.

Military of Austria-Hungary

Austria was prominent in the coalitions that tried to contain Napoleon but was defeated in 1800, again in 1805 when Napoleon occupied Vienna after the Battle of Austerlitz, and finally after the Battle of Wagram in 1809.

Mountstuart Elphinstone

In 1808 he was appointed the first British envoy to the court of Kabul, Afghanistan with the object of securing a friendly alliance with the Afghans against Napoleon's planned advance on India.

Municipal arrondissements of France

In 1805 Napoleon reunited all the large cities of France, but Paris was left divided.

Napoleon Community Schools

Napoleon Community Schools is a public school district located in Napoleon, Michigan, approximately 7 miles South East of Jackson, Michigan.

Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature

Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature:War Gamers' Guide to the Napoleonic Wars, 1796-1815 is a book written by Bruce Quarrie.

It is based upon war gaming in the Napoleonic era, and provides information on History, Weapons, Painting, and also its own set of rules.

Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom

He envisaged doing this by having the Brest and Toulon Franco-Spanish fleets break out from the British blockade (led at Brest by Collingwood and Toulon by Nelson), and then sail across the Atlantic to threaten the West Indies.

Napoleon's theorem

In mathematics, Napoleon's theorem states that if equilateral triangles are constructed on the sides of any triangle, either all outward, or all inward, the centres of those equilateral triangles themselves form an equilateral triangle.

Natalie D-Napoleon

In the live arena, D-Napoleon has shared billings with the likes of Morphine, Ken Stringfellow, Jack Frost (featuring Steve Kilbey and Grant McLennan), The Stems, John Butler, Ash Grunwald, Dan Kelly, Whitley, Nic Dalton, Todd Snider, John Doe, Mark Olson, Victoria Williams and Vic Chesnutt.

Negotin

However, these great days were short lived: In 1813, after Napoleon had successfully taken Russia and Austria out of the game and therefore helping Serbia, the Turks crushed the ill-fated state of the Serbs.

O Sodales

The tune of the hymn is reputed to have been composed by seminarians fleeing before the armies of Napoleon in the early 19th century.

Ödön Beöthy

At the age of sixteen he served in the war against Napoleon, and was present at the great battle of Leipzig.

Overcoat

Overcoats in various forms have been used by militaries since at least the late 18th century, and were especially associated with winter campaigns, such as Napoleon's Russian campaign.

Palafoxia

This genus is named after José de Palafox y Melzi, Duke of Saragossa (1776–1847), a Spanish captain-general, in the war against the invading armies of Napoleon.

Paragraph 175

In the course of his conquests, Napoleon exported the French Penal Code beyond France into a sequence of other states such as the Netherlands.

Peace treaty

Famous examples include the Treaty of Paris (1815), signed after Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, and the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the First World War conflict between Germany and Autro-Hungary and the Western Allies.

Prince Frederick of the Netherlands

When Napoleon returned from Elba, during the Hundred Days the prince was given command of a detachment of Wellington's army which was posted in a fall back position near Braine should the battle taking place at Waterloo be lost.

Princess Caraboo

On 13 September 1817 a letter was printed in the Bristol Journal, allegedly from Sir Hudson Lowe, the official in charge of the exiled Emperor Napoleon on St. Helena.

Sejm of the Duchy of Warsaw

It was created in 1807 by Napoleon, who granted a new constitution to the recently created Duchy.

Seničica

The bridge is occasionally referred to as "Napoleon's Bridge"; although Napoleon likely crossed it, its construction had nothing to do with the movement of French troops because it predates the Napoleonic campaign by a century and a half.

Seven Faces

Papa Chibou (Paul Muni), the elderly caretaker of Musée Pratouchy, a Parisian wax museum, feels a strong kinship with the figures, particularly with that of Napoleon.

Slab serif

Following Napoleon's Egyptian campaign and dissemination of images and descriptions via publications like Description de l'Égypte (1809) an intense cultural fascination with all things Egyptian followed.

Soufrière Quarter

The nearby plantation at Anse Mamin is reputed to be the birthplace of Napoleon's Empress Josephine de Beauharnais.

St. Gallen District

Under the influence of the French revolution of July 1830, people of the canton of St. Gallen forced a new, more liberal constitution, its third since its installation by Napoleon's (act of mediation) in 1803.

The Adventure of the Six Napoleons

Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard brings Holmes a seemingly trivial problem about a man who shatters plaster busts of Napoleon.

The Exploding Detective

An army of robots led by Napoleon commit a series of robberies in the industrial district, stealing chemicals and other raw materials.

The Last Encounter

In 1848, Hornblower, now an Admiral of the Fleet, is enjoying a well-earned retirement on his country estate in Kent when, late one stormy night, a seeming madman claiming to be Napoleon, arrives at his front door and requests his help.

Third Partition of Poland

These Polish nationalists participated in uprisings against Austria, Prussia, and Russia in former Polish lands, and many would serve France as part of Napoleon’s armies.

Thomas Metcalfe, 4th Baronet

He filled it with his collections of art, books and relics of Napoleon.

Tin pest

The story is often told of Napoleon's men freezing in the bitter Russian winter, their clothes falling apart as tin pest ate the buttons.

Turners

A German gymnastic movement was started by Turnvater (turners' father) Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in the early 19th century when Germany was occupied by Napoleon.

Viennese Waltz

It was called the Marseillaise of the heart (Eduard Hanslick, a critic from Vienna in the past century) and was supposed to have saved Vienna the revolution (sentence of a biographer of the composer Johann Strauss I), while Strauss I himself was called the Napoleon Autrichien (Heinrich Laube, poet from the north of Germany).

Wellington, Western Cape

In 1840 the town of Wellington was proclaimed after the Duke who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.

Wilson's Bird-of-paradise

The controversial scientific name of this species was given by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's nephew and a republican idealist, who described the bird from a badly damaged trade specimen purchased by British ornithologist Edward Wilson.

WTPS

WTPS-LP, a low-power radio station (94.1 FM) licensed to Napoleon, Ohio, United States

Zelienople, Pennsylvania

He was regarded as an intelligent man, and during the Napoleonic era represented Frankfurt as an ambassador to Paris.


Alberto della Marmora

After Napoleon's abdication Marmora gave his allegiance to the House of Savoy, the ruling house of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Allaman

The wealthy Genevan philanthropist Jean-Jacques de Sellon, who owned the property until 1839, gave accommodation at the castle to, amongst many others, such political refugees as Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte, Joséphine de Beauharnais, the Duke of Bassano, the Count Camille Cavour, Voltaire as well as to Franz Liszt and George Sand.

Allonsanfàn

Against the backdrop of the Bourbon Restoration, Lombard aristocrat Fulvio Imbriani, a former political extremist who once served under Napoleon, is finally released from an Austrian jail, after a lengthy sentence for his part in the secret Sublime Brotherhood.

Ankō Itosu

Remember the words attributed to the Duke of Wellington after he defeated Napoleon: "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton."

Anthony Napoleon

Anthony Napoleon, Ph.D., 1979 Graduate of International University's College of Arts and Sciences, School of Psychology, is a nationally recognized trial analyst and forensic psychologist.

Arthur Onslow, 3rd Earl of Onslow

He commissioned Delarouche to produce a more accurate version which featured Napoleon on a mule, entitled Bonaparte Crossing the Alps.

Barat Shakinskaya

The part of Kostya played by her at the Ganja Theatre and also Napoleon's part played in Baku, in 1934 were particularly noteworthy.

Barnenez

The cairn was first mapped in 1807, in the context of the Napoleonic cadaster.

Bernabé Aráoz

In this movement the local leaders rejected the authority of the Spanish government after Napoleon had installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king.

Black Powder War

Laurence, who has been out of touch for over a year, learns more details of Napoleon's crushing victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, which he had only received scant details of during the voyage to China.

Canino

Lucien Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, was lord of Canino and is buried in the town's collegiate church.

Chateaubriand steak

Chateaubriand steak, or just chateaubriand, is a recipe of a particular thick cut from the tenderloin (fillet), which, according to Larousse Gastronomique, was created by personal chef, Montmireil, for François-René de Chateaubriand and Sir Russell Retallick, the authors and diplomats who served Napoleon as an ambassador and Louis XVIII as Secretary of State for two years.

Dan D. Yang

In 1991, Yang began her career teaching Optics and Photonics at the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers in Paris, a historic school built by Napoleon that was mainly used for adult education programs.

Glengarriff

Offering a broad view of the surrounding area, the round Martello tower on the island was built to guard against a threatened Napoleonic invasion that never materialized.

Grigory Shyshatsky

On 25 July 1812, the Marshal of France Louis-Nicolas Davout ordered Archbishop Varlaam to induce the population to swear an allegiance oath to Napoleon.

Hoenheim

Following Napoleon's return and defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the General Jean Rapp, having wind of intentions to annex Alsace and under the orders of Louis XVIII continued to fight on the Souffel, just north of Hoenheim.

Hugh Alexander Kennedy

In the story "Some Reminiscences of the Life of Augustus Fitzsnob, Esq." (inspired by Thackeray's The Book of Snobs), Kennedy gave the score of a chess game said to be played by Napoleon and Count Bertrand.

Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot

He executed a travelling service (c. 1795–1809) for Napoleon and a large table service (1798–1809; Munich, Residenz) for Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (1756–1825).

Jean-Louis Michel

Jean-Louis served as a soldier in the French army under Napoleon.

Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte

As the eldest son of Jérôme Bonaparte, Jérôme Napoléon had stood to inherit his titles and claims; instead his younger brother Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte succeeded to the Westphalia claim, and his son Napoléon Victor Bonaparte eventually became head of the House of Bonaparte.

Jørgen von Cappelen Knudtzon

They travelled around together in Europe, meeting Napoleon, Lord Byron and the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.

Kerby, Oregon

An act of the territorial legislature of December 18, 1856 changed the name from "Kirbeyville" to "Napoleon", possibly because of the association of Napoleon with the name Josephine.

La Scala Theatre Ballet School

Following the defeat of Napoleon, the school's name was changed to Imperial Regia Accademia di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala (Royal Imperial Dance Academy of the Teatro alla Scala).

Liga Federal

On May 13, 1810, the arrival of a British frigate in Montevideo confirmed the rumors circulating in Buenos Aires: France, led by Emperor Napoleon, had invaded Spain, capturing and overthrowing Ferdinand VII Bourbon, the Spanish King.

Lobau

The Lobau was the site of the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809, the first major defeat suffered by Napoléon, which was inflicted on him by an Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, and of the Battle of Wagram, a victory for Napoleon that followed two months later.

Medea, the Musical

Before Medea, the Musical he wrote and directed Mary! (a musical take on Mary Stuart), Oresteia: The Musical, Cleopatra: the Musical, and Napoleon: The Camp-Drag-Disco-Musical Extravaganza (in which upon discovering that Joséphine de Beauharnais is actually a man, Napoeon decides he is gay and liberates Europe so that all gays can be free).

Paul Broca

Pierre Paul Broca was born on June 28, 1824, in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Bordeaux, France, the son of Benjamin Broca, a medical practitioner and former surgeon in Napoleon’s service.

Pierre Claude Pajol

In 1809 he served on the Danube, and in the Russian War of 1812 led a division, and afterwards a corps, of cavalry.

Pimmalione

Pimmalione was specially commissioned by the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to show off the talents of two of his favourite singers, the famous castrato Girolamo Crescentini and the contralto Giuseppina Grassini (who had been Napoleon's lover).

Pont Royal

During the First French Empire (1804-1814), Napoléon I renamed the bridge the Pont des Tuileries, a name that was kept until the Restoration in 1814 when Louis XVIII gave back to the bridge its royal name.

Raul Hilberg

Hilberg was amazed by this highly educated, German-Jewish emigrant passing over the genocide of European Jews in order to expound on Napoleon and the occupation of Spain.

Siege of Magdeburg

Siege of Magdeburg (1813–1814), a siege of the German city by forces of the First French Empire during the War of the Sixth Coalition, which ended with Napoleon's abdication

St Mark's Clocktower

There was originally a statue of the Doge Agostino Barbarigo (Doge 1486-1501) kneeling before the lion, but in 1797, after the city had surrendered to Napoleon, this was removed by the French, who were purging the city of all symbols of the old regime.

Sten Forshufvud

Sten Forshufvud (1903-1985) was a Swedish dentist and physician, Napoleonican, and amateur toxicologist (expert on poisons) who formulated and supported the controversial theory that Napoleon was assassinated by a member of his entourage while in exile.

Sydney Harbour defences

In 1790 the Dawes Point Battery was meant to be the first line of defence against an attack by the Spanish Empire, Napoleon’s French troops in 1810, and the Russian Pacific Fleet in the 1850s (during the Crimean War).

The Blizzard

He rejoined the army (it was now the fatal year of 1812, when Napoleon made his famous attack on Russia), was wounded at the battle of Borodino, and died.

The Skipper's Dream

When this was coupled with the threat of invasion by Napoleon and the Roman Catholic French it caused even more concern and led to a sudden and alarming increase in the number of Orange Lodges.

Titles of Nobility Amendment

There is speculation that the Congress proposed the amendment in response to the 1803 marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte's younger brother, Jerome, and Betsy Patterson of Baltimore, Maryland, who gave birth to a boy for whom she wanted aristocratic recognition from France.

Too Much, Too Soon

It was directed by Art Napoleon and produced by Henry Blanke from a screenplay by Art Napoleon and Jo Napoleon, based on the autobiography by Diana Barrymore and Gerold Frank.

Trajan's Column

In Napoleon's time, a similar column decorated with a spiral of relief sculpture was erected in the Place Vendôme in Paris to commemorate his victory at Austerlitz.

Vincent, Count Benedetti

In 1866 the Austro-Prussian War broke out, and during the critical weeks which followed the attempt of Napoleon to intervene between Prussia and Austria, he accompanied the Prussian headquarters in the advance on Vienna, and during a visit to Vienna he helped to arrange the preliminaries of the armistice signed at Nikolsburg.

Vistula delta Mennonites

In the liberation wars of 1813, some young Mennonites were prepared to join the forces against Napoleon.