Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Early years

;1769 *August 15: Napoleon Bonaparte was born in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

;1785 *October 28: Napoleon graduates from Ecole Militaire with the rank of second lieutenant in the artillery. *November 3: Stationed in

Valence Valence or valency may refer to: Science * Valence (chemistry), a measure of an element's combining power with other atoms * Degree (graph theory), also called the valency of a vertex in graph theory * Valency (linguistics), aspect of verbs rel ...

;1793 *December 22: For his brilliant tactical command (although a subordinate officer, he was widely credited for the victory) at an internal French battle at Toulon, Napoleon receives the new rank of brigadier general ;1794 *August 9–20: Napoleon is imprisoned under suspicion of being a

Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...

and a supporter of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

. ;1795 *October: Royalist

13 Vendémiaire 13 Vendémiaire Year 4 in the French Republican Calendar (5 October 1795 in the Gregorian calendar) is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris. This battle was part of the ...

rising put down by Napoleon. Barras helps Napoleon win promotion to Commander of the Interior *October 15: At the home of Paul Barras, a Directory member, Napoleon meets Rose de Beauharnais (Joséphine) *2 November:

Directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...

(le Directoire) established ;1796 *March 2: Napoleon is given command of the French army in Italy *March 11: Italian campaign against Austria begins *May 10: Napoleon wins the Battle of Lodi *November 17: Napoleon wins the

Battle of Arcole The Battle of Arcole or Battle of Arcola (15–17 November 1796) was fought between French and Austrian forces southeast of Verona during the War of the First Coalition, a part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle saw a bold maneuver b ...

;1797 *January 14: Napoleon wins the Battle of Rivoli *October 17:

Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...

with Austria *December 5: Napoleon returns to Paris as a hero ;1798 *May 19: Napoleon begins his Egyptian campaign with an army of 38,000 *July 21: Wins Battle of the Pyramids against Mamelukes in Egypt *July 24: Fall of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

*August 3: Under the command of Admiral Nelson, the British fleet destroys the French navy in the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

. Napoleon's army is cut off from supplies and communication

Napoleonic era

;1799 *August 23: Receiving news of turmoil in France, Napoleon relinquishes command in Egypt to Kléber and returns to Paris, a so-called Coup d’état *November 9–10: Coup of 18 Brumaire Napoleon overthrows the Directory *December 12: Napoleon elected

First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...

of the Consulate ;1800 *June 14: Battle of Marengo *December 24: Napoleon escapes an

assassination attempt This is a list of survivors of assassination attempts, listed chronologically. It does ''not'' include those who were heads of state or government at the time of the assassination attempt. See List of heads of state and government who survived as ...

;1801 *February 9: Treaty with Austria signed at Lunéville,

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

*July 8: Battle of Algeciras *July 15: Concordat of 1801 ;1802 *March 25:

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...

*May 1: Napoleon restructures French educational system *May 19:

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

established *August 2: New constitution adopted, plebiscite confirms Napoleon as

for life ;1803 *May 3: Napoleon sells the Louisiana Territory to the U.S. *May 18: Britain declares war on France *May 26: France invades

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

;1804 *March 21: Introduction of the

Civil Code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...

(also known as Napoleon Code) *May 18: Napoleon proclaimed Emperor of the French by the Senate *December 2: Napoleon crowns himself emperor, in the company of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

;1805 *October 19:

Battle of Ulm The Battle of Ulm on 16–19 October 1805 was a series of skirmishes, at the end of the Ulm Campaign, which allowed Napoleon I to trap an entire Austrian army under the command of Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich with minimal losses and to fo ...

*October 21:

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

;

Admiral Lord Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

killed *October 30: Battle of Caldiero *December 2:

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...

;1806 *March 30: Napoleon names his brother,

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

, King of Naples, and appoints other family members to various other posts *July 12:

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

established with Napoleon as

Protector Protector(s) or The Protector(s) may refer to: Roles and titles * Protector (title), a title or part of various historical titles of heads of state and others in authority ** Lord Protector, a title that has been used in British constitutional la ...

. Initially had 16 member states, later others added, including kingdoms of Saxony and Westphalia *August 6:

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

abolished *September 15: Prussia joins Britain and Russia against Napoleon *October 14:

Battle of Jena A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and

Battle of Auerstadt A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

*November 21: The Berlin Decree (1806), which initiated the Continental System was issued ;1807 *February 8:

Battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau, or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoléon's ''Grande Armée'' and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of Levin August von Bennigs ...

*June 14: Battle of Friedland *June 25: Treaty of Tilsit signed between Russia and France *October 27:

Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807) The Treaty of Fontainebleau was a secret agreement signed on 27 October 1807 in Fontainebleau, France between King Charles IV of Spain and the French Emperor Napoleon. Under the treaty, the House of Braganza was to be driven from the Kingdom of ...

secretly agreed between Napoleon and Spain to partition Portugal ;1808 *March 17: Imperial University established *May 2: Spanish people rise up against France. Often referred to as '' Dos de Mayo Uprising'' *May 3: Napoleon's soldiers retaliate for uprising by brutally executing Spanish citizens (famously depicted in Goya's The Third of May 1808) *July 7: Joseph crowned King of Spain after Portugal revolts against the Continental System/blockade Napoleon had put in place. Napoleon collected five armies to advance into Portugal and 'bullied' the Spanish royal family into resigning *

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

*July 16–19:

Battle of Bailén The Battle of Bailén was fought in 1808 between the Spanish Army of Andalusia, led by Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding, and the Imperial French Army's II corps d'observation de la Gironde under General Pierre Dupont de l' ...

;1809 *April 19:

Battle of Raszyn The first Battle of Raszyn was fought on 19 April 1809 between armies of the Austrian Empire under Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este and the Duchy of Warsaw under Józef Antoni Poniatowski, as part of the War of the Fifth Coalitio ...

*May 22:

Battle of Aspern-Essling In the Battle of Aspern-Essling (21–22 May 1809), Napoleon crossed the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were attacked and forced back across the river by the Austrians under Archduke Charles. It was the first time Napoleon ...

; first defeat of Napoleon in 10 years *July 5–6:

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...

; success for Napoleon, Austria loses territory and must enforce the Continental System *October 14: Treaty of Schönbrunn signed *December 14: Public announcement of Napoleon's divorce from Joséphine ;1810 *March 11: Napoleon marries Marie Louise of Austria by proxy in Vienna *April 1: Napoleon officially marries

Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma french: Marie-Louise-Léopoldine-Françoise-Thérèse-Josèphe-Lucie it, Maria Luigia Leopoldina Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Lucia , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of ...

in Paris ;1811 *March 20:

Napoleon II , house = Bonaparte , father = Napoleon I, Emperor of the French , mother = Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma , birth_date = , birth_place = Tuileries Palace, Paris, French Empire ...

, Napoleon's son born, styled as the

King of Rome The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...

;1812 *July 22:

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, so ...

*August 4–6: Battle of Smolensk *September 1: Moscow evacuated *September 7:

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

*September 14: Napoleon arrives in Moscow to find the city abandoned and set alight by the inhabitants; retreating in the midst of a frigid winter, the army suffers great losses *October 19: Beginning of the Great Retreat from Moscow *October 24:

Battle of Maloyaroslavets The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on 24 October 1812 as part of the French invasion of Russia. It was Kutuzov's decisive battle to force Napoleon to retreat northwest over Mozhaisk to Smolensk on the devastated route of his advance with ...

*November: Crossing of the River Berezina *December:

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...

expelled from Russia ;1813 *April 2:

Battle of Lüneburg In the Battle of Lüneburg on 2 April 1813, Allied Russians and Prussians were victorious over a French and Saxon division. The battle was the first major combat action after the retreat of the defeated French in Russia behind the Elbe. Its ...

*May 2: Battle of Lützen *May 20–21: Battle of Bautzen *May 26:

Battle of Haynau The Battle of Haynau was fought on 26 May 1813, between Prussian cavalry under the command of General Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and a French infantry division under the command of General Nicolas Joseph Maison Nicolas Joseph Maison, ...

*June 4–26:

Armistice of Poischwitz An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

*June 21: Battle of Vitoria *August 15: Siege of Danzig *August 23:

Battle of Großbeeren The Battle of Großbeeren occurred on 23 August 1813 in neighboring Blankenfelde and Sputendorf between the Prussian III Corps under Friedrich von Bülow and the French-Saxon VII Corps under Jean Reynier. Napoleon had hoped to drive the P ...

*August 26–27:

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in t ...

*August 26:

Battle of Katzbach A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

*August 27:

Battle of Hagelberg The 'Battle of Hagelberg (also: ''Battle of Lübnitz'') took place on 27 August 1813, following the Battle of Grossbeeren and in the run-up to the Battle of Leipzig during the War of the Sixth Coalition. A Prussian force of mostly Landwehr mili ...

*August 29–30: Battle of Kulm *August 31: Battle of San Marcial *September 6:

Battle of Dennewitz The Battle of Dennewitz (german: Schlacht von Dennewitz (Battle near Jüterbog) took place on 6September 1813 between French forces commanded by Marshal Michel Ney and the Sixth Coalition's Allied Army of the North commanded by Crown Prince ...

*September 16:

Battle of the Göhrde The battle of the Göhrde was a battle of the War of the Sixth Coalition on 16 September 1813 between French and Coalition troops at Göhrde in Germany. The French troops were defeated and withdrew to Hamburg. Site It occurred near what is ...

*September 28: Battle of Altenburg *October 3: Battle of Wartenburg *October 7:

Battle of Bidassoa A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

*October 14:

Battle of Liebertwolkwitz A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

*October 16–19:

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

*October 30–31: Battle of Hanau *November 10: Battle of Nivelle *October 31: End of the Siege of Pamplona *December 7: Battle of Bornhöved *December 9–13:

Battles of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil in ...

*December 10: Battle of Sehestedt ;1814 *February 10–14:

Six Days Campaign The Six Days Campaign (10–15 February 1814) was a final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon I of France as the Sixth Coalition closed in on Paris. The Six Days Campaign was fought from 10 February to 15 February during which time ...

*February 15: Battle of Garris *February 27:

Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...

*April 10: Battle of Toulouse *March 30–31: Battle of Paris *April 4: Napoleon abdicates his rule and Louis XVIII, a Bourbon, is restored to the French throne *April 11:

Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814) The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement established in Fontainebleau, France, on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon and representatives of Austrian Empire, Austria, Russian Empire, Russia and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia. The treaty was signed in ...

Napoleon agrees to exile in Elba, the allies agree to pay his family a pension *April 14:

Battle of Bayonne The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814) saw the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launch a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops commanded by Lieutenant General John Hop ...

*May 4: Napoleon is exiled to Elba; his wife and son take refuge in Vienna ;1815 *February 26: Napoleon escapes from Elba *March 20: Napoleon arrives in Paris :Beginning of the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

*June 16: Battle of Ligny *June 18: Napoleon is defeated in the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

*June 28: Second restoration of

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

*October 16: Napoleon is exiled to

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

*November 20: Treaty of Paris (1815) ;1821 *May 5: Napoleon dies

References

*Jack Allen Meyer (1987). ''An Annotated Bibliography of the Napoleonic Era: Recent Publications, 1945-1985''

External links

Napoleon's itinerary day by day
* Napoleonic era

Early years

Napoleonic era

References

Further reading

External links