Talk:Napoleon

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 27 January 2020 and 12 May 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Uaryal141 (article contribs).

Removing the "of Italian descent" from the intro

This unecessary part that was added by an Italian sockpuppeteering user in early May should be removed. This has nothing to do in the introduction and is explained just as needed in the "Early life" section. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.119.68.246 (talk) 19:42, 25 August 2019 (UTC)

 Done MOS:ETHNICITY: 'Ethnicity, religion, or sexuality should generally not be in the lead unless it is relevant to the subject's notability.' Renamed user 2563edsdasdvas1d (talk) 17:40, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

Height

The text on his height is a bit confusing. This is probably due to paragraphing. In any case, it needs changing. "At 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m), he was the height of an average French male but short for an aristocrat or officer (part of why he was assigned to the artillery, since at the time the infantry and cavalry required more commanding figures).[254] It is possible he was taller at 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m){Huh Why write this HERE?] due to the difference in the French measurement of inches.[255][Shouldn't this be in the same paragraph as what follows]

"Some historians believe that the reason for the mistake about his size at death came from use of an obsolete old French yardstick (a French foot equals 33 cm, while an English foot equals 30.47 cm).[254] Napoleon was a champion of the metric system and had no use for the old yardsticks. It is more likely that he was 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m), the height he was measured at on St. Helena...." 37.99.48.115 (talk) 06:07, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

The flaw is that the British doctors at St Helena would not have an obsolete French yardstick ubn their moden medical toolkit. --nor would Napoleon himself use a pre-metric yardstick of the sort he made obsolete. Indeed, there is no evidence it was a French yardstick--and where did disappear to at a time when any item associated with N was a valuable collector's relic?. Rjensen (talk) 06:42, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

height ? Andrew Roberts [2014] says "small" (p 75), "short" (pp 177 and 717). Philip Dwyer [ 2007] says "little" (p166) "small" (p 198), "puny" (p 198); Patrice Gueniffey (2015)( " a small man" (p 791). Rjensen (talk) 22:05, 16 December 2019 (UTC)

5 foot 7 Joel-Loum (talk) 11:04, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 November 2019

He sold Louisiana to the United States, and he attempted to restore slavery to the French Caribbean colonies.

corrected to:

He sold the Louisiana_Territory to the United States, and he attempted to restore slavery to the French Caribbean colonies.

Reflects the fact that Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory, not the state of Louisiana. This fact is correctly reflected later in the text: "Seeing the failure of his colonial efforts, Napoleon decided in 1803 to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States, instantly doubling the size of the U.S." Tanayvparikh (talk) 16:52, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

 Done –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 19:10, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

Evaluation

In the Memory and Evaluation section it would be great to include an objective assessment of his military prowess. According to mathematical models, he was by far the best general ever, surpassing Julius Caesar and Hannibal. See https://towardsdatascience.com/napoleon-was-the-best-general-ever-and-the-math-proves-it-86efed303eeb — Preceding unsigned comment added by 8.25.32.44 (talk) 21:30, 8 December 2019 (UTC)

Medium (website) cannot be used as a reliable source as it is self published. See WP:SELFPUBLISH. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 22:58, 8 December 2019 (UTC)

Suggested Grammar Correction in Cause of Death

There is I believe, a minor grammatical correction to be made in the second sentence of the following passage: Arsenic was used as a poison during the era because it was undetectable when administered over a long period. Furthermore, in a 1978 book with Ben Weider, noted that Napoleon's body was found to be well preserved when moved in 1840. The preposition 'in' should be omitted from: Furthermore, in a 1978 book with Ben Weider, noted that Napoleon's body was found to be well preserved when moved in 1840. Suggested correction: Furthermore, a 1978 book with Ben Weider, noted that Napoleon's body was found to be well preserved when moved in 1840.

--HugeNed (talk) 13:38, 13 December 2019 (UTC)

Although you are correct that the previous version of the sentence was wrong, your proposed correction was also grammatically dubious. Based upon the sentences before and after the one you wanted to edit, it is apparent that the name of Weider's co-author was missing. I've remedied this omission. --R'n'B (call me Russ) 20:56, 13 December 2019 (UTC)

Napoleon's holograph will

Hello, National Archives propose to create a link to File:Testament de Napoléon Ier. Page 5 - Archives Nationales - AE-I-13-21a.jpg This document can illustrate this section : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon#Death Thanks --Archives nationales (France) (talk) 14:47, 12 February 2020 (UTC)

Requested move 17 February 2020

Napoleon → Napoleon I – The current title and lead introduction look strange.

Additional disambiguation is usually added to the title, just as we have "Clovis I" and "Justinian I" rather than plain "Clovis" or "Justinian"... ("Charlemagne", of course, is already a disambiguation in itself)

There's no doubt that the subject of the article is best known for having been emperor of the French (even the lead image shows him during the time he was emperor), yet the first sentence completely eludes this. Instead it starts with Napoléon Bonaparte (not mentioning the contradiction between "di Buonaparte" which is currently in the first note and "Buonaparte" in paragraph 2), only then another sentence mentions his becoming emperor, then there is another flashback to "Napoleone (di?) Buonaparte"...

It would be much simpler to present this way:

Napoleon I (/nəˈpoʊliən/; Template:Lang-fr [napɔleɔ̃ pʁəmje]; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a statesman and military leader who had risen to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars, becoming Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again briefly in 1815 during the Hundred Days. Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, building a large empire that ruled over much of continental Europe before its final collapse in 1815. He is considered one of the greatest commanders in history, and his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy has endured as one of the most celebrated and controversial leaders in human history.

He was born Napoleone di Buonaparte (Italian: [napoleˈoːne di ˌbwɔnaˈparte]), gallicised as Napoléon Bonaparte (/ˈboʊnəpɑːrt/; French: [napɔleɔ̃ bɔnapaʁt]), in Corsica, which had been newly acquired by France, to a relatively modest Italian family from minor nobility. He was serving...

References

PS: I've corrected above the French pronunciation of Bonaparte to [bɔnapaʁt]. 92.184.104.127 (talk) 23:42, 17 February 2020 (UTC)

• Support. Merriam-Webster says "Napoléon I" while American Heritage, Columbia Encyclopedia, Random House, Collins, Oxford Dictionaries, and Chambers Biographical Dictionary say "Napolean I." Add. WP:SPELLING uses Chambers to represent British spelling and Merriam-Webster to represent American spelling. Colin Gerhard (talk) 08:43, 18 February 2020 (UTC)
• Oppose specific title. If we were to move the page, Napoleon Bonaparte would be the more likely target. O.N.R. ^(talk) 03:32, 18 February 2020 (UTC)
  • I'm not sure, especially as the redirect Napoleon I has had more views during the past month than Napoleon Bonaparte 92.184.117.174 (talk) 08:37, 18 February 2020 (UTC)
• Oppose Napoleon I? Is "I" his surname? Or the first part of a movie series about Napoleon? Your title and introductory paragraph indicates nothing. If it is a title, then Napoleon I of what? Is his whole title going to be spelled out in the title? Most people in the English-speaking world have heard of Napoleon, but not many people would recognize "Napoleon I". Indeed, I would be hard pressed to find common usage books in English which would casually use "Napoleon I" rather than "Napoleon" to refer to him. Admittedly the current title is a little awkward, but I'd much prefer to move it to "Napoleon Bonaparte". Walrasiad (talk) 10:08, 18 February 2020 (UTC)

• Oppose. What a bizarre move request. Your edits to the article itself may be good, but why should we then move our article from its common name? Red Slash 02:28, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
  • For the reasons explained above if you would read. 92.184.107.136 (talk) 06:55, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
• Oppose Charlemagne is known and recognized by any encyclopedia reader in any language, anywhere in the world (and by the way, the Charlemagne page is not a disambiguation; it is a direct link that has also a disambiguation link at the top). So is Napoleon, and that is why his page is called precisely that: Napoleon. It could be called, if there was the need for an alternative, Napoleon Bonaparte, but I don't believe this alternative is needed. warshy ^(¥¥) 02:37, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
  • Charlemagne is in itself a disambiguation, as his real name was Carolus, or Charles. FYI, Charlemagne means "Charles the Great". 92.184.107.136 (talk) 06:50, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
    • The "I" is not disambiguation. The subject is listed as "Napoleon I" in every major encyclopedia and dictionary. Why they do this is really neither here nor there, but there was also a Napolean III who ruled in the 1860s. Colin Gerhard (talk) 08:27, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
• Oppose per above discussion and common name. Randy Kryn (talk) 07:58, 19 February 2020 (UTC)