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How Tall Was Napoleon?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Napoleon\u2019s death certificate offers the most important clue about his real height. There are varying descriptions of his possible height from other sources during his lifetime, but many of them can be considered suspect due to their origins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No one without an axe to grind during Napoleon\u2019s lifetime<\/a> would have been likely to comment on his height, and the topic was so sensitive to him that anyone who was in his good graces would have wanted to stay there. This meant that those within his inner circle stayed mum about this stature for their own well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The death certificate indicates Napoleon\u2019s height in French inches, which is not the same as the current concept of an inch measured in cm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The French inch was 2.71 cm at the time, but the current \u201cinch\u201d measurement would come out to 2.54 cm. The certificate has led historians to interpret Napoleon\u2019s height as between 5\u20192\u201d and 5\u20197\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The average height that most scholars agree upon is 5\u20196\u201d or 5\u20197\u201d. However, the male average during this period was 5\u20198\u201d, which means that Napoleon would not have been short in his day by any available measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many well-known men during this period were slightly taller than this, but not many people loomed as large as George Washington, who was six feet tall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our modern-day assessment of height is skewed by how tall people with adequate nutrition can be. For example, most Frenchmen during the time that Napoleon was alive would have been about 5\u20192\u201d to 5\u20196\u201d, so Napoleon would have been an entirely normal height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the reason that Napoleon might have been ridiculed for his stature was due to a nickname he had collected when his affectionate troops began calling him \u201cLe Petit Caporal.\u201d This translated to \u201cThe Little Corporal,\u201d but it was not a comment on his stature or ability to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is some truth to the fact that the hired troops, which made up a large portion of the French army, were not Frenchmen and thusly were often quite tall compared to French soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This could have led to the fond nickname that the troops did not know would become the foundation for so much critique of Napoleon\u2019s height throughout his lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, while the nickname could indeed have been the reason for the initial critiques of Napoleon\u2019s height, which became so closely linked with his memory throughout history, other social and political forces were also involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is more likely to blame for the constant discussion about Napoleon\u2019s height is that he was a naturally boastful braggart, and he clearly offended many other leaders with whom he came into contact during his lifetime.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was incredibly offensive to the English, who were more than happy to craft a legacy for Bonaparte that was based largely upon the work of cartoonists like\u00a0James Gillray<\/a>, who created the character of \u201cLittle Boney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Jean_Auguste_Dominique_Ingres_Portrait_de_Napoleon_Bonaparte_en_premier_consul.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSo Why Was Everyone So Concerned With Napoleon\u2019s Height?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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