Napoleon Bonaparte

Cultural  

1. A French general, political leader, and emperor of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Bonaparte rose swiftly through the ranks of army and government during and after the French Revolution and crowned himself emperor in 1804. He conquered much of Europe but lost two-thirds of his army in a disastrous invasion of Russia. After his final loss to Britain and Prussia at the Battle of Waterloo, he was exiled to the island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic Ocean.

---

Discover More

Because Napoleon was short, overly aggressive men of short stature are sometimes said to have a “Napoleon complex.”

Napoleon's name is often connected with overreaching military ambition and delusions of grandeur.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Napoleon Bonaparte

However, the award has been controversial since being established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The institution was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1800 to promote economic recovery after the French Revolution.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

If the conflicts ended with Robespierre’s death and the ensuing Thermidorian Reaction, characterized by a retreat from violent purges in 1794-95, fundamental instability persisted until Napoleon Bonaparte imposed order.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

Beneath that on the bedside table is a biography of military genius Napoleon Bonaparte.

From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2025

He’d made what Charles Krauthammer described in Time magazine, somewhat facetiously, as the greatest comeback since Napoleon Bonaparte sailed a single-masted fleet from the island of Elba in 1815.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady