Napoleon was short.
FALSE: If you ask anyone what he or she knows about Napoleon, it is a sure bet that his height (or lack thereof) will be mentioned. In fact, he was so upset by being short; he developed a chip on his shoulder that resulted in his conquering most of Europe. While this makes for great personal drama, it isn’t true. Napoleon was actually around 5′ 7″ tall, which was taller than the average of 5′ 5″ at the time. So where does this myth come from? Well, you can thank the English, the staunchest opponent of Napoleonic France. You see, Napoleon was 5′ 2″ in French measurement, which differed from the Imperial measurements that the English used. So when the English heard that Napoleon was 5’2″, they just kind of ran with the propaganda aspect. It also didn’t help that the French had a nickname for their beloved leader as “le petit caporal” or The Little Corporal.