Napoleon Bonaparte has achieved immortality as one of France’s greatest citizens. Had he been born just a wee bit sooner, he wouldn’t have been French at all.

Napoleon was born on in the island of Corsica on August 15, 1769. Just three months earlier, on May 9, the French took control of Corsica, bringing an end to Genoese control of the island. One of those who fought against the French conquerors was Carlo Buonaparte, the father of the future emperor. As a final act of defiance against the French, Carlo named his son Napoleon, in honor of an uncle who gave his life fighting to keep Corsica out of the hands of the French.

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