-
Early Life
Napoleon was born in Corsica, a French-ruled island in the Mediterranean. -
Early Life
At the age of nine, he was sent to France to be trained for a military career. -
Early Life
Upon graduating in September 1785, Napoleon was commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fere artillery regiment -
Military Life
He spent the early years of the Revolution in Corsica, fighting in a complex three-way struggle between royalists, revolutionaries, and Corsican nationalists. -
Military Life
He returned to Corsica once again and came into conflict with Paoli, who had decided to split with France and sabotage a French assault on the Sardinian island of La Maddalena, where Bonaparte was one of the expedition leaders. -
Military Life
He supported the revolutionary Jacobin faction, gained the rank of lieutenant colonel and command over a battalion of volunteers. -
MIlitary Life
After he had exceeded his leave of absence and led a riot against a French army in Corsica, he was somehow able to convince military authorities in Paris to promote him to captain in July 1792. -
The Exile
Napoleon was imprisoned and then exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, 1,870 km from the west coast of Africa. -
The Exile
In February 1821, his health began to fail rapidly, and on 3 May two British physicians, who had recently arrived, attended on him but could only recommend palliatives. -
The Exile
Napoleon's physician, François Carlo Antommarchi, led the autopsy, which found the cause of death to be stomach cancer.