Fact 91: How tall was Napoleon?

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Fact 91: How tall was Napoleon?


Napoleon Bonaparte (1759-1821) is known for being very short however this is to do with British propaganda. His autopsy in 1821 by Francesco Autommarchi (Napoleon personal physician\Doctor for non-surgical treatment) recorded Napoleon  height as '5/2' (in British measuring system this is 5 feet 6 and a 1/2 inches).  The average height for a Frenchmen between 1800 and 1820 was 5 feet 4 1/2 inche so Napoleon was taller than most people in France at the time.
Napoleon was also taller than most men in England at the same time, Napoleon was 1/2 an inch taller than the average height of an Englishmen in 1800 to 1820 which was 5 foot 6 inches. 
He was also only 2 1/2 inches shorter than the Duke of Wellington (5 foot 9 inches) and also only 2 1/2 inches shorter than Horatio Nelson (Horatio Nelson fact)(a different Horatio Nelson fact) (5 foot 4 inches). So Napoleon wasn't actually short for his time however today he would be considered as slightly short.




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