Timeline
His life in order — from Corsica to St. Helena — with dates labeled for how certain they are.
Certainty labels used here: Documented (fixed by records), Reported (contemporary accounts agree), Conventional (the standard dating historians use, where minor variations exist). See Methodology for the full definitions. Revolutionary-calendar dates are given with their Gregorian equivalents.
The life, in order
15 August 1769 — Born in Ajaccio, Corsica Documented
Napoleone di Buonaparte, second surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. Corsica had been ceded to France only the year before. The birth is fixed by the baptismal record.
1779 — Sent to Brienne military school Documented
A charity scholarship takes the ten-year-old to mainland France. He will barely see Corsica again.
September 1785 — Commissioned sous-lieutenant of artillery Documented
Graduates the École Militaire in Paris, aged sixteen, and joins the La Fère artillery regiment.
December 1793 — Toulon falls; Bonaparte made brigadier general Documented
His artillery plan breaks the siege of Toulon. Promotion follows at age 24. See Campaigns.
5 October 1795 (13 Vendémiaire, Year IV) — The “whiff of grapeshot” Documented
Bonaparte’s guns save the Convention from a royalist rising in Paris. The Directory rewards him with the Army of Italy.
9 March 1796 — Marries Joséphine de Beauharnais Documented
Two days later he leaves for Italy. The Italian campaign (1796–97) makes him the most famous general in France.
21 July 1798 — Battle of the Pyramids Documented
Bonaparte’s army defeats the Mamelukes outside Cairo. Days later Nelson destroys the French fleet at the Nile (1–3 August), stranding the army in Egypt.
9 November 1799 (18 Brumaire, Year VIII) — Coup d’état Documented
The Directory is overthrown; Bonaparte becomes First Consul under the Constitution of Year VIII.
14 June 1800 — Marengo Documented
A near-defeat in Italy turned into victory by Desaix’s arrival. Austria makes peace; the Consulate is secure.
1801–1802 — Concordat and Amiens Documented
The Concordat with the Pope (signed 15 July 1801) ends the religious war at home; the Treaty of Amiens (25 March 1802) briefly ends the war with Britain.
1804 — The Civil Code; crowned Emperor Documented
The Code civil is promulgated (21 March 1804). On 18 May the Senate proclaims the Empire; on 2 December 1804 Napoleon crowns himself in Notre-Dame.
21 October 1805 — Trafalgar Documented
Nelson’s fleet destroys the Franco-Spanish fleet off Spain. Nelson is killed; Britain’s command of the sea is secured for the rest of the wars.
2 December 1805 — Austerlitz Documented
The Grande Armée shatters the Austro-Russian army in Moravia — the “Battle of the Three Emperors,” Napoleon’s tactical masterpiece. See Campaigns.
14 October 1806 — Jena-Auerstedt Documented
Prussia’s army is destroyed in a single day; Napoleon enters Berlin. The Continental System against Britain follows. See Campaigns.
7 July 1807 — Treaty of Tilsit Documented
After Friedland, Tsar Alexander I meets Napoleon on a raft in the Niemen and becomes his ally — the high-water mark of the Franco-Russian alliance.
1808 — The Peninsular War begins Documented
The seizure of Spain and Portugal ignites a six-year guerrilla war — the “Spanish ulcer” that bled the Empire white.
1810 — Divorce and remarriage Documented
The marriage to Joséphine is annulled (January 1810); on 1–2 April 1810 he marries Marie Louise of Austria. Their son, the King of Rome, is born 20 March 1811.
June–December 1812 — The Russian campaign Documented
The Grande Armée crosses the Niemen on 24 June; Borodino (7 September); Moscow entered 14 September and burned; the retreat begins 19 October. Of roughly 600,000 who marched in, commonly cited estimates say fewer than 100,000 came out. See Campaigns.
16–19 October 1813 — Leipzig, the “Battle of the Nations” Documented
The largest battle in Europe to that date; the coalition’s victory ends French domination of Germany.
6/11 April 1814 — Abdication; exile to Elba Documented
Napoleon abdicates at Fontainebleau (signed 6 April, announced 11 April) and is exiled to Elba. Louis XVIII returns to Paris.
1 March 1815 — Lands in France; the Hundred Days Documented
He escapes Elba, the army rallies to him, and he retakes Paris on 20 March. Europe declares him an outlaw.
18 June 1815 — Waterloo Documented
Wellington and Blücher destroy the Armée du Nord in Belgium. Napoleon abdicates a second time on 22 June. See Campaigns.
5 May 1821 — Dies on St. Helena Documented
After five and a half years of British captivity at Longwood. The autopsy concludes stomach cancer. His remains are returned to France in 1840 and entombed at Les Invalides.
Source notes
- Documented: all dates above rest on civil records, official acts, treaties, or the Correspondance de Napoléon Ier. Battlefield dates are the conventional Gregorian dates used in military histories.
- Revolutionary calendar: 13 Vendémiaire Year IV = 5 October 1795; 18 Brumaire Year VIII = 9 November 1799. Conversions per the standard calendar tables; see Methodology.
- Numbers: campaign strengths and losses are historians’ estimates and vary by source; the figures given (e.g., Russia 1812) are the commonly cited ranges, flagged as such — see Campaigns for detail.
- Conventional: the period labels (“the Consulate,” “the Hundred Days”) are historians’ conventions, not Napoleon’s terms.