He wasn’t that short

Because of numerous paintings, movies and cartoons. We often imagine Napoleon Bonaparte as an unusually short man, even when compared to his contemporaries. However, the myth that Napoleon was short stems primarily from the fact that he was measured 5 feet 2 inches a few years before his death. However, this was his height in French feet and french inches, which were a little bit larger than imperial units.

In modern units, Napoleon was actually 5 feet 7 inches tall. When compared to the average height in today’s France. It really isn’t much, however, in the 19th century, the average male height was less than 5 feet 5 inches. That means Napoleon Bonaparte was actually quite tall for his time.

Although Napoleon was sometimes considered short even during his lifetime. This stems solely from the fact that he was always accompanied by bodyguards, who had to be taller than the average. When compared to his guards, he logically looked smaller, thus earning him the nickname ”The Little Corporal”.