So if Napoleon was of average height, where does the legend of his small stature come from? It was, in fact, largely the work of one man: the British cartoonist James Gillray (1756-1815). British Cartoonist James Gillray's Famous Depictions Applying the French measurements of the time, that equals around 1.67 meters, or just under 5’6”, which is a little above average for a French man in the early 1800s. Three French sources-his valet Constant, General Gourgaud, and his personal physician Francesco Antommarchi-said that Napoleon's height was just over ‘ 5 pieds 2 pouces’ (5’2”). According to pre–metric system French measures, he was a diminutive 5′2.” But the French inch ( pouce) of the time was 2.7 cm, while the Imperial inch was shorter, at 2.54 cm. In fact, he was probably of average height. His supposedly small stature and fiery temper has inspired the term the Napoleon Complex, a popular belief that short men tend to compensate for their lack of height through domineering behavior and aggression. One of the world’s most instantly recognizable cultural icons, Napoleon Bonaparte is usually depicted with one hand in his waistcoat-and short and aggressive.
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