Trivia of the Month:
Did you know?
Napoleon Bonaparte wasn't actually short? The rumor about Napoleon's height of -or lack thereof- started during his lifetime. English propagandists depicted the general as comically diminutive in critical cartoons during the Napoleonic Wars. The belief became so deeply established that in the 20th century, a psychological complex specific to short men was named after him. But how tall was he really? Probably around five-foot-six—which was actually just about average for the era. That height comes from what was written at the time of his death. A physician’s note that accompanied Napoleon’s coffin says that he was five-foot-two “from the top of the head to the heels”—but an additional note specifies that this is French measurements and that it is equal to five-foot-six in English terms. Not to mention he likes to surround himself by very tall soldiers from the Old Guard.
