7 interesting facts about Napoleon Bonaparte

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Not so short for his day

An 1812 portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France, as seen in his study. | Public Domain

While his height would put him at below-average height today, back in the 18th century and early 19th century, Napoleon was tall compared to the average European male.

Tristan Hopper of The National Post points out that "at about 5'7", he was taller than the average Frenchman of the time, adding that modern people consider him short due to "one of the most successful trolling campaigns of all time."

"Napoleon hated being depicted as short, and that's exactly why 19th century Brits set out to do it as much as humanly possible," wrote Hooper, noting that "the 'tiny Napoleon' trope did not start until 1803, according to Tim Clayton, a British expert on Napoleonic-era propaganda."

In that year, cartoonist James Gillray drew a cartoon known as "Maniac ravings or Little Boney in a strong fit," which portrayed Napoleon as short and acting childish.

"It is not known whether Gillray invented the 'short Napoleon' trope, or whether he borrowed it from anti-Napoleon pamphlets," continued Hopper. "Regardless, a short-tempered, child-sized Napoleon soon became the accepted standard for caricatures of the Frenchman."