Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) was a French general and statesman who ruled France as First Consul from 1799 and as Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814 and again briefly in 1815. Born in Corsica and trained in the artillery, he rose through the wars of the Revolution, conquered most of continental Europe, reorganized French law and administration in the Code Napoléon, and was finally defeated at Waterloo and exiled to St. Helena, where he died. He wrote no treatise on war; the Maxims of War were compiled from his correspondence, orders and recorded sayings after his death and have been studied by soldiers ever since.