How Short Was Napoleon Bonaparte?

One doesn’t need to be French to know who Napoleon Bonaparte was. Not only was he a military leader, but he was also France’s leader and King of the Italian Republic. Today, his military conquests are the basis for poems and films. And why not? He fought around 60 battles, only losing seven.

One repeated tale is that Napoleon was short. After all, 5′ 2″ isn’t tall by any standard. However, the problem with that assumption is the two inches mentioned were in France’s ‘pounce.’ By today’s standards, he was 5′ 5″. Who knows? The rumors of his diminutive stature could have been propaganda to spur his enemies to battle.