Born in 1769 on Corsica in the family of a petty nobleman. Regardless of the fact that his family was poor, Napoleon entered the military academy at Brienne.
Soon after graduation, the future emperor was absorbed by the events of the French Revolution. At first, he tried to carry on the case of the Revolution in Corsica, but later he decided to return to France.
Napoleon started his rise to the peak of power in 1793, when a political lampoon in he wrote was noticed by important people in the Directory. The clever young captain was given the command of the artillery and the task to stifle the royalist rebellion in Toulon. Owing to Napoleon's decisive actions, the rebellion was crushed.
Over the following 20 years of his military career, Bonaparte won dozens of battles and became the head of state, first as Consul and later as Emperor. He extended French territory, at the price of ceaseless bloody battles and permanent economic crisis in Europe.
Years of fighting, the lack of experienced soldiers, and the increasing military efficiency of the enemy, helped to dethrone Napoleon. He was banished in 1814 to Elba. A year later Napoleon returned, reassembled his army, lost his bid for the throne and was banished again, this time to the island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821.