Born in 1769, Napoleon seized power in a coup in 1799 and became first consul

Derided by the English as nothing more than a tyrant, Napoleon Bonaparte remains a celebrated figure in France.



Born in 1769, the great leader seized power in a coup in 1799 and became first consul.



He defeated the Austrians at Marengo before negotiating peace on the continent in 1803 and establishing French dominance.



But it is the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 that he is remembered for in Britain.

The British - led by Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory - secured a decisive victory over a French and Spanish coalition.



Although the British officer secured a decisive victory he was shot dead while on deck.



Beaten by the Brits, Napoleon turned his attention back to the continent and secured arguably his, and France's, greatest military victory the same year.



In the Battle of Austerlitz the Russo-Austrian army were decisively defeated. The battle, fought in what is now the Czech Republic, saw the French gain a lot of new territory.



It was the Peninsular War, which began in 1808, with Portugal, Spain and the UK, which was ultimately to prove his undoing. After being defeated in a battle in Moscow in 1812, Paris fell in 1814 after a series of disastrous French defeats.



After going into exile, he regained power briefly in 1815 only to be defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Following the Duke of Wellington's victory, Napoleon abdicated.



He was imprisoned by the British and died in custody in 1821.