Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a French military leader and emperor who dominated European affairs for over a decade. As First Consul of France from 1799 to 1804, he orchestrated the Napoleonic Code, a comprehensive reform of the French legal system that influenced civil law codes worldwide. In 1804, he crowned himself Emperor of the French and expanded his empire through a series of military campaigns known as the Napoleonic Wars. His strategic brilliance was evident in battles such as Austerlitz (1805) and Jena-Auerstedt (1806). However, his invasion of Russia in 1812 marked the beginning of his downfall. In 1815, he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo and subsequently exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he died.