Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader and emperor who rose to power after the French Revolution and led France through a series of wars that reshaped the map of Europe.
Napoleon rose rapidly through the ranks of the French military during the revolutionary wars, seizing political power in a coup in 1799 and crowning himself Emperor of the French in 1804.
He led French forces to numerous victories across Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, at one point controlling or influencing much of the continent, before a disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 marked the beginning of his decline.
Defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. His legal reforms, known as the Napoleonic Code, continue to influence civil law systems around the world today.