Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

Early years

;1769

  • August 15: Napoleon was born in Ajaccio, Corsica

;1785

  • October 28: Napoleon graduates from Ecole Militaire with the rank of second lieutenant in the artillery.
  • November 3: Stationed in Valence

;1793

  • December 22: For his brilliant tactical command (although a subordinate officer, he was widely credited for the victory) at an internal French Siege of Toulon, Napoleon receives the new rank of brigadier general

;1794

  • August 9–20: Napoleon is imprisoned under suspicion of being a Jacobin and a supporter of Robespierre.

;1795

  • October: Royalist 13 Vendémiaire rising put down by Napoleon. Barras helps Napoleon win promotion to Commander of the Interior
  • October 15: At the home of Paul Barras, a Directory member, Napoleon meets Rose de Beauharnais (Joséphine)
  • 2 November: The French Directory (in French: "le Directoire") was established

;1796

  • March 2: Napoleon is given command of the French army in Italy
  • March 11: Italian campaign against Austria begins
  • May 10: Napoleon wins the Battle of Lodi
  • November 17: Napoleon wins the Battle of Arcole

;1797

  • January 14: Napoleon wins the Battle of Rivoli
  • October 17: Treaty of Campo Formio with Austria
  • December 5: Napoleon returns to Paris as a hero

;1798

  • May 19: Napoleon begins his Egyptian campaign with an army of 38,000
  • July 21: Wins Battle of the Pyramids against Mamelukes in Egypt
  • July 24: Fall of Cairo
  • August 3: Under the command of Admiral Nelson, the British fleet destroys the French navy in the Battle of the Nile. Napoleon's army is cut off from supplies and communication

Napoleonic era

;1799

  • August 23: Receiving news of turmoil in France, Napoleon relinquishes command in Egypt to Kléber and returns to Paris, a so-called Coup d’état
  • November 9–10: Coup of 18 Brumaire Napoleon overthrows the Directory
  • December 12: Napoleon elected First Consul of the Consulate

;1800

  • June 14: Battle of Marengo
  • December 24: Napoleon escapes an assassination attempt

;1801

  • February 9: Treaty with Austria signed at Lunéville, Treaty of Lunéville
  • July 8: Battle of Algeciras
  • July 15: Concordat of 1801

;1802

  • March 25: Treaty of Amiens
  • May 1: Napoleon restructures the French educational system
  • May 19: Légion d'honneur established
  • August 2: New constitution adopted, plebiscite confirms Napoleon as First Consul for life

;1803

  • May 3: Napoleon sells the Louisiana Territory to the U.S.
  • May 18: Britain declares war on France
  • May 26: France invades Hanover

;1804

  • March 21: Introduction of the Civil Code (also known as Napoleon Code)
  • May 18: Napoleon proclaimed Emperor of the French by the Senate
  • December 2: Napoleon crowns himself emperor, in the company of the Pope

;1805

  • October 19: Battle of Ulm
  • October 21: Battle of Trafalgar; Admiral Lord Nelson killed
  • October 30: Battle of Caldiero
  • December 2: Battle of Austerlitz

;1806

  • March 30: Napoleon names his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples, and appoints other family members to various other posts
  • July 12: Confederation of the Rhine established with Napoleon as Protector. Initially had 16 member states, later others were added, including kingdoms of Saxony and Westphalia
  • August 6: Holy Roman Empire abolished
  • September 15: Prussia joins Britain and Russia against Napoleon
  • October 14: Battle of Jena and Battle of Auerstadt
  • November 21: The Berlin Decree (1806), which initiated the Continental System was issued

;1807

  • February 8: Battle of Eylau
  • June 14: Battle of Friedland
  • June 25: Treaty of Tilsit signed between Russia and France
  • October 27: Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807) secretly agreed between Napoleon and Spain to partition Portugal

;1808

  • March 17: Imperial University established
  • May 2: Spanish people rise up against France. Often referred to as Dos de Mayo Uprising
  • May 3: Napoleon's soldiers retaliate for uprising by brutally executing Spanish citizens (famously depicted in Goya's The Third of May 1808)
  • July 7: Joseph crowned King of Spain after Portugal revolts against the Continental System/blockade Napoleon had put in place. Napoleon collected five armies to advance into Portugal and 'bullied' the Spanish royal family into resigning
  • Peninsular War
  • July 16–19: Battle of Bailén

;1809

  • April 19: Battle of Raszyn
  • May 22: Battle of Aspern-Essling; first defeat of Napoleon in 10 years
  • July 5–6: Battle of Wagram; success for Napoleon, Austria loses territory and must enforce the Continental System
  • July 27-28: Battle of Talavera
  • October 14: Treaty of Schönbrunn signed
  • December 14: Public announcement of Napoleon's divorce from Joséphine

;1810

  • March 11: Napoleon marries Marie Louise of Austria by proxy in Vienna
  • April 1: Napoleon officially marries Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma in Paris

;1811

  • March 20: Napoleon II, Napoleon's son born, styled as the King of Rome

;1812

  • July 22: Battle of Salamanca
  • August 4–6: Battle of Smolensk
  • September 1: Moscow evacuated
  • September 7: Battle of Borodino
  • September 14: Napoleon arrives in Moscow to find the city abandoned and set alight by the inhabitants; retreating in the midst of a frigid winter, the army suffers great losses
  • October 19: Beginning of the Great Retreat from Moscow
  • October 24: Battle of Maloyaroslavets
  • November: Crossing of the River Berezina
  • December: Grande Armée expelled from Russia

;1813

  • August 31: Battle of San Marcial
  • September 6: Battle of Dennewitz
  • September 16: Battle of the Göhrde
  • September 28: Battle of Altenburg
  • October 3: Battle of Wartenburg
  • October 7: Battle of the Bidassoa
  • October 14: Battle of Liebertwolkwitz
  • October 16–19: Battle of Leipzig
  • October 30–31: Battle of Hanau
  • November 10: Battle of Nivelle
  • October 31: End of the Siege of Pamplona
  • December 7: Battle of Bornhöved
  • December 9–13: Battles of the Nive
  • December 10: Battle of Sehested

;1814

  • February 10–14: Six Days Campaign
  • February 15: Battle of Garris
  • February 27: Battle of Orthez
  • April 10: Battle of Toulouse
  • March 30–31: Battle of Paris
  • April 4: Napoleon abdicates his rule and Louis XVIII, a Bourbon, is restored to the French throne
  • April 11: Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814) Napoleon agrees to exile in Elba, the allies agree to pay his family a pension
  • April 14: Battle of Bayonne
  • May 4: Napoleon is exiled to Elba; his wife and son take refuge in Vienna

;1815

  • February 26: Napoleon escapes from Elba
  • March 20: Napoleon arrives in Paris

:Beginning of the Hundred Days

  • June 16: Battle of Ligny
  • June 18: Napoleon is defeated in the Battle of Waterloo
  • June 28: Second restoration of Louis XVIII
  • October 16: Napoleon is exiled to Saint Helena
  • November 20: Treaty of Paris (1815)

;1821

  • May 5: Napoleon dies

See also

  • Timeline of French history
  • Timeline of 19th century French history

References

  • Jack Allen Meyer (1987). An Annotated Bibliography of the Napoleonic Era: Recent Publications, 1945-1985

Further reading

  • William Leonard Langer & Peter N. Stearns. The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically, Edition: 6, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001 , Chapter "The Napoleonic Period, 1799-1815", pp. 435–441
  • Napoleon's itinerary day by day