Was Napoleon unusually short?
As you are finally happy you grew an inch over summer, you head to the first day of school. The air is fresh with the smell of perfume and sweat filling the halls. You get to meet with your close friends excited to have the best year. "I grew an inch over the summer!" you say happily. Your friends look down at you with a grin that shows they are trying to hold in their laugh. Then they all laugh out, apologizing for laughing as they scramble to their feet. This has happened many times so it doesn’t bother you too much. Normally you would compare yourself to Napoleon, since he is short. Although today was different. You wondered, was Napoleon unusually short? Let's pop this balloon to find out!
Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military commander who rose to power during the French revolution becoming the first Emperor of France and, for about a decade, the dominant power in Europe. He was born in Ajaccio, Corsica (a year after France acquired it) on August 15, 1769. Since he was a provincial outsider (some who is from a distant region, who doesn’t among others) he was made fun of at military school. Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power after he abolished the system of the command going to aristocrat by birth ( if father was a noble they would command the army else not). He opened his great talent and he was the clearest beneficiary. Between 1805-1812 is when he dominated most of Europe, calling Austerlitz (1805) his finest battle. Although, the invasion of Russia in 1812 destroyed his army. He died in Saint Helena, a remote South Atlantic island, on May 5, 1821. His death was said to be because of stomach cancer although poisoning theories have been persisted.
Was Napoleon unusually short?
This myth is false. Napoleon Bonaparte was slightly above average height. His autopsy performed by Dr. Francesco Antommarchi, and was recorded that he was 5 pieds 2 pouces, which is five French feet and two French inches. The pouce (French inch) is 2.7 cm, whereas the British inch is 2.54 cm. The French foot was bigger than the English foot, so five French feet was genuinely longer than five English feet. When the British read his recorded height of 5'2" as if it were their own units, they shrank him by roughly five inches without changing a single number. His height converted properly is somewhere around 5'6" to 5'7". The average solider height was 5’5” so he was just right above it. Since the British shrank his height by roughly five inches, British caricaturist James Gillray drew him as a tiny, childlike figure during the wars, and those prints circulated all over Europe. The measurement error and the propaganda agreed, so nothing ever corrected it.
Fun Facts
Napoleon got the nickname "The Little Corporal" from his own soldiers since he was a young general who kept coming forward to position the artillery himself. The nickname had nothing to do with his height. The "Napoleon complex" is a real term people still use about real people, and it rests on a units mistake. He looked short in person for a real reason — he stood next to the Imperial Guard, who were selected for being enormous.
Sources
Britannica – "Napoleon I | Biography, Achievements, & Facts"
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Napoleon-I
HISTORY – "Was Napoleon Short? Origins of the 'Napoleon Complex'"
https://www.history.com/articles/napoleon-complex-short
Britannica – "Napoleon I Facts"
https://www.britannica.com/facts/Napoleon-I
Wikipedia – "Napoleon complex"
