BERTHOLLET, CLAUDE LOUIS (1748–1822). Berthollet was born in Savoy on 9 December 1748. He moved to Paris in 1772 and worked as a chemist. During the French Revolution Berthollet served on many technical committees. In 1795 he was active in the remodeling of the Academy into the Institut de France. Berthollet was one of the scientists sent to Egypt on Bonaparte’s 1799 expedition. Upon the fall of the Directory, he was made a senator and grand officer of the Legion of Honor. Napoleon made him a count and under the Restoration he resumed his seat as a peer. Berthollet died on 6 November 1822.
BESSIÈRES, JEAN-BAPTISTE, DUC D’ISTRIE (1768–1813). Bessières was born in Prayssac (Lot) on 6 August 1768. He became a captain of grenadiers in the Prayssac National Guard in 1789. When that force was disbanded Bessières joined the Battalion of Jacobins Saint-Dominique de la Garde Nationale Parisienne, apparently as a common soldier. Bessières was again a commissioned officer when, on 16 February 1793, he was appointed a sous-lieutenant. On 8 May 1794 Bessières was appointed a captain in the 22nd Chasseurs à cheval. On 5 June 1796 he was selected by Napoleon to serve as commander of the Guides du général en chef.
Bessières served with Bonaparte during the 1796 campaign in Italy, distinguishing himself at Rivoli. On 9 March 1797 he was promoted to chef de brigade. Bessières joined Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt as commander of the Guides du général en chef de l’Armée de l’Orient. On 2 December 1799 he commanded the Grenadiers à cheval de la Garde consulaire and fought under Napoleon at Marengo on 14 June 1800.
Bessières was promoted to général de brigade and commanded the 2e Garde des consuls. On 13 September 1802 he became a général de division, on 14 May 1804 he became a maréchal d’Empire, and on 20 July 1804 he became colonel général commanding the Imperial Guard Cavalry. Bessières accompanied Napoleon during the 1805, 1806 and 1807 campaigns, riding with the guard cavalry in its many attacks. At Austerlitz he personally captured part of the allied artillery, charging again at Jena, Eylau and Friedland.
In 1807 Bessières was appointed ambassador to Württemberg. Bessières had an independent command during the 1808 invasion of Spain, defeating the Spanish general Cuesta at Medina del Rio Seco. After serving as commander of the northern provinces of Spain, he was recalled to Paris on 9 March 1809. Bessières marched with the Grande Armée in the 1809 campaign, fighting at Landshut, Neumarkt, and Ebersberg. He led a famous charge at Aspern-Essling and became the Duc d’Istrie on 28 May 1809. Bessières was wounded lightly at Wagram. In 1811 he served briefly as the commanding general of the Army of the North in Spain. Bessières marched with Napoleon into Russia, charging the Cossacks at Gorodina. Bessières continued to serve with the Grande Armée until his death in combat by Rippach, near Wissenfels, on 1 May 1813. Bessières was surely one of Napoleon’s greatest friends and upon receiving news of his death, Napoleon was greatly shaken. At his funeral, Napoleon said, “Bessières lived like Bayard; he died like Turenne.”
BEYLE, HENRI (1783–1842). Beyle was born on 23 January 1783 in Grenoble. He attended the École central in Grenoble and he proved a brilliant student with a special talent for mathematics. He arrived in Paris in 1799 to study for the École polytechnique, but soon abandoned the effort. Instead, he took a post in the war office under the patronage of Pierre Daru, a relative. Later in the year he was sent to Italy, arriving with a commission as a sous-lieutenant in the autumn of 1800. He resigned this post in 1802 and returned to Paris where he frequented the salons and theaters. After a failed romance in 1806 he became a deputy to the commissaire des guerres. In this capacity he was sent to Brunswick, instead of to Spain, where he sought a posting. In 1810 he was appointed an auditor to the Conseil d’État and in that capacity participated in the Russian invasion, seeing combat during the withdrawal. In 1813 he became an intendant at Sagan. When the Empire collapsed he abandoned a career in the French government and went to Italy, living there from 1814 to 1821. During his six years in Milan he became acquainted with Byron, Madame de Staël, Silvio Pellico, Manzoni and Monti.
In 1814 he published Les Lettres écrites de Vienne en Autriche sur le célèbre compositeur, Joseph Hayden, suivies d’une vie de Mozart et de considérations sur Métastase et l’état présent de la musique en France et en Italie, par L.C.A. Bombet. In this work he plagiarized Carpani, Schlichtegroll, Winckler and Cramer. The laws on plagiarism were, however, feeble to nonexistent and plagiarism was quite common. Beyle continued publishing under various nom de plumes and was soon well into a literary career.
In 1821 Beyle was suspected of carbonarisme and espionage, which forced him to return to Paris, living in poverty from 1821 to 1826. He made a limited living publishing hack work under the nom de plume “Stendhal.” His first novel was published in 1827, followed by a romance, Le Rouge et le Noir, in 1830.
After the July 1830 revolution Beyle was appointed consul at Trieste, but he was refused his exequatur by Metternich and was sent in Paris 1831 to Civita-Vecchia, in the Kingdom of Naples. He died of apoplexy while promenading on 22 March 1842.
BEZBORODKOV, ALEKSANDER ANDREYEVICH, PRINCE (1747–1799). Bezborodkov was born in Gluchova on 14 March 1747 and educated at home. He attended a clerical academy in Kiev. After working for Count Rumyantsev, governor-general of Little Russia, he was recommended to Catherine II, who appointed him to the post of her petition-secretary in 1775. Bezborodkov soon became inseparable from Catherine and the conduct of her international affairs. In 1786 he was promoted to the Senate and by 1787 he was minister of foreign affairs. Bezborodkov negotiated the Peace of Jassy (1792), but on his return found his post as secretary of petitions occupied by the Empress’s last favorite, P. A. Zubov. Bezborodkov was shortly restored to his position.
Upon Catherine’s death Emperor Paul made Bezborodkov a prince of the Russian empire. When Osterman retired he was promoted to the post of imperial chancellor. In this post Bezborodkov struggled with Paul to keep Russia at peace, including with revolutionary France. When Bezborodkov attempted to resign, Paul refused his resignation. Bezborodkov was typical of the men in Catherine’s court—corrupt, licentious and self seeking, but he could also be generous and affectionate. Bezborodkov died in St. Petersburg on 6 April 1799.
BICHAT, MARIE FRANÇOISE XAVIER (1771–1802). Bichat was born in Thoirette, France, on 14 November 1771, the son of a physician. Bichat studied anatomy and surgery and became chief surgeon at the Hôtel-Dieu in Lyon. Bichat was noted for his many written works on surgery and medicine. He was particularly noted for his study of the effects of disease on the internal organs. Bichat fell in a staircase at the Hôtel-Dieu, developed a fever and died on 22 July 1802. His bust was placed in the Hôtel-Dieu by order of Napoleon.
BICKERSTETH, EDWARD (1786–1850). An English hymn writer and one of the secretaries of the Church Missionary Society. His “Christian Psalmody” of over 800 hymns went through 59 editions in seven years.
BILDERDIJK, WILLEM (1756–1831). Bilderdijk was a Dutch poet. He was born in Amsterdam and grew into a monarchist with Calvinistic convictions. Bilderdijk studied at Leyden University and practiced law. In 1795 he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the new administration and left Holland, going to Hamburg and then London. Bilderdijk studied poetry under Katherina Wilhelmina Schweickhardt (1776–1830) and married her in 1802. In 1806 he returned to Holland and was well received by Louis Bonaparte, who made him his librarian and a member of the Royal Institute, where he would eventually become president. Bilderdijk was noted for both his poetry and historical criticism.
BIOT, JEAN-BAPTISTE (1774–1862). Biot was born in Paris on 21 April 1774. By 1800 he had become a professor of physics at the Collège of Paris. In 1804 Biot accompanied Gay Lussac on the first balloon ascent undertaken for scientific purposes. By 1806 he had performed extensive studies of the refractive properties of different gasses, and would become involved in various geodetic surveys. His observations on the polarization of light gained him the Rumford Medal of the Royal Society in 1840. Biot died in Paris on 3 February
1862.
BLANE, SIR GILBERT (1749–1834). Blane was born in Blanefield, Ayrshire, on 29 August 1749. He was educated at Edinburgh University and after moving to London became the private physician to British Admiral Lord Rodney, whom he accompanied, in 1779, to the West Indies. Blane turned his medical training to the service of the fleet and improved the diet of the sailors, established and enforced sanitary standards and in 1795 made the use of lime juice mandatory throughout the fleet to prevent scurvy. In 1812 Blane was made a baronet for his services during the disastrous British expedition to Walcheren in 1809. Blane died in London on 26 June 1834.
BLÜCHER, GEBHARD LEBRECHT VON, FELDMARSCHAL, PRINZ VON WAHLSTÄDT (1742–1819). Blücher was born at Groß-Renzow, in Mecklenburg, near the city of Rostock, to the family of a retired infantry captain. In 1757, aged 14, he enlisted in the Swedish Mörner Cavalry Regiment and served in three campaigns against the Prussians in the Seven Years’ War. Blücher was captured at Friedland in 1760 and entered Prussian service. Blücher was quickly commissioned a cornet in the 8th “Belling” Hussar Regiment. Being somewhat wild, he was nearly cashiered in 1773 as a result of complaints regarding his behavior. Blücher retired as a captain, turned to farming, and married in 1773. Blücher was recalled to duty in 1786 at his own request and given the rank of major backdated to 1778. Blücher served with distinction in the wars of the French Revolution and in March 1794 assumed command of the 8th “Black” Hussars. On 28 May his victory over the French near Landau launched his career and in mid-June he rose to the rank of general major.
In 1806 Blücher fought at Auerstädt, leading a major cavalry attack that failed to break Davout’s army. When the Prussian army collapsed and left the battlefield, Blücher withdrew along the Baltic coast, eventually being forced to surrender to Bernadotte at Rackau, near Lübeck, on 6 November 1806.
From 1806 to 1813 his military career ceased, but he served as governor-general of Pomerania for a short while. When Prussia defected from its nominal alliance with France, Blücher, then a generalleutnant, was appointed to command the first Prussian forces to take to the field against Napoleon. Blücher was quickly promoted to full general. Though aggressive in battle, he did not always win. In 1813 Blücher lost at Lützen and Bautzen, but was victorious at Katzbach, and at Leipzig. Shortly after the battle of Leipzig he was promoted to Feldmarschal. His aggressiveness earned him the nickname Alte vorwärts (Old Forward).
Blücher led the Army of Silesia into France in 1814, suffering terrible defeats at Napoleon’s hands at Champaubert, Montmirail, Château-Thierry and Vauchamps. His army lost over half its strength in this series of battles and he was nearly captured at Vauchamps. Blücher lost again at Craonne, but won a major victory at Laon and was again victorious during the battle of Paris.
Blücher’s health began to deteriorate in the summer of 1814 and he retired to Berlin and then to his Silesian estates. In March 1815, when he learned of Napoleon’s return, he was recalled to command the Prussian army in Belgium. Blücher suffered a tremendous hammering by Napoleon at the battle of Ligny, fell under his horse and was nearly captured. He barely escaped and withdrew toward Wavre. Reinforced with heavy doses of gin and rhubarb, he turned his army westward in time to arrive on the battlefield at Waterloo just as Wellington’s army was at a crisis. The arrival of the Prussians turned the battle into an allied victory. Blücher led the Prussian army south in pursuit of the beaten French armies.
After Napoleon abdicated for a second time Blücher was made Prinz von Wahlstädt. The wars over, Blücher returned to Silesia and died at Kribolwitz on 12 September 1819.
BONAPARTE, CAROLINE MARIE-ANNONCIADE, QUEEN OF NAPLES (1782–1839). The youngest of Napoleon’s three sisters, Caroline was born on 26 March 1782 in Ajaccio. A beautiful and moral, but incredibly ambitious woman, on 20 January 1800 Caroline married Joachim Murat. As Murat was promoted by his brother-in-law, Napoleon, Caroline rose with him and was soon made Grand Duchess of Clèves-Berg. When Joseph became King of Spain and Murat became King of Naples, she became Queen of Naples. Caroline was noted for her conniving and treachery. In 1814 she and Murat conspired to betray Napoleon and joined the Allies in their war against Napoleon. When Murat’s 1815 effort to unify Italy under his rule failed and he was executed, she was sent to live in Bohemia. During her life with Joachim she bore four children. After his death she married Francesco Macdonald. Caroline died in Florence.
BONAPARTE, ÉLISA MARIA-ANNA, DUCHESS OF TUSCANY (1777–1820). The second oldest of Napoleon’s sisters, Élisa was born 8 January 1777 in Ajaccio. In 1797 Élisa married on 1 May 1797 in Marseille for love and escaped the cycle of dynastic marriages that caught the rest of her family. Her husband, Félice Pasquale Bacciochi, was a Corsican of a noble family, but without fortune or prospects. Initially Napoleon refused the marriage, but Madame Bonaparte did not share her son’s written objections, saying that nothing had been heard from him and that the wedding should proceed. Napoleon, making the best of a bad situation, promoted his brother-in-law, then a captain of artillery, to colonel and then, purportedly to general. There is no General Bacciochi listed in the Georges Six dictionary.
In 1805 Élisa was given the investiture of Lucca, a small principality, later that of Piombino. Napoleon later presented her with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1814 her states were occupied by the Austrians and she was forced to flee. She wished to set up housekeeping in Bologna, but was sent to join Caroline in Bohemia. Élisa was later given permission to move to Trieste where she died in August 1820. Her morality is rumored to have been as flexible as that of Pauline, but her marital relations do not seem to have suffered the same fate. It is unknown when she left Bacciochi, but at a later date she married Gardiner Henry Guion, an English naval officer. During her life Élisa bore five children and died at Sant’Andrea near Trieste.
BONAPARTE, JÉRÔME, PRINCE, MARÉCHAL DE FRANCE (1784–1860). Jérôme was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on 9 November 1784, the fourth of Napoleon’s brothers. On 29 November 1800 he joined the Navy as a cadet 2nd Class. Jérôme rose to the rank of naval captain (capitaine de vaisseau) on 1 November 1805, serving on numerous vessels. During a trip to the New World he arrived in the United States and on 24 December 1803 married Miss Elisa Paterson. In 1805 this marriage would be annulled by order of Napoleon in the midst of a substantial family scandal.
In 1806 Jérôme joined Napoleon in the campaign against Prussia and was awarded the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor on 24 September 1806. Jérôme commanded the 2nd Bavarian Division in October 1806 and served with the Grande Armée throughout the 1806 and 1807 campaigns. On 16 August he became King of Westphalia. On 22 August 1807 Jérôme married Princess Catherine of Württemberg and on 7 December 1807 moved to his new kingdom. In 1809 Jérôme commanded the X Corps and in 1812 he commanded the Westphalian Army (VIII Corps of the Grande Armée) until his mishandling of operations allowed the Russians to escape. Marshal Davout had executed a letter authorizing him to seize command from Jérôme in such an event. Irrationally offended by having to serve under a mere prince, Jérôme quit the Grande Armée and returned to Westphalia on 14 July 1812.
Jérôme remained uninvolved in the rest of the 1812 and 1813 campaigns, being forced to abandon his kingdom on 26 October 1813 when it was about to be overrun by the Allies. Jérôme did not participate in the 1814 campaign, but in 1815 he was given command of the 6th Division of the II Corps. Jérôme was lightly wounded at Quatre-Bras on 16 June and received another shot in the head at Waterloo on 18 June 1814.
When the wars ended, being unwelcome in France, Jérôme retired to Württemberg and then to Trieste under the name Prince de Montfort. In 1840 his daughter, Princess Mathilde, married Count Demidoff. Jérôme returned to France on 22 September 1847 and served in various capacities. Jérôme was promoted to maréchal de France on 1 January 1850 and served as president of the Senate on 28 January 1852.
BONAPARTE, JOSEPH, KING OF NAPLES, KING OF SPAIN (1768–1844). Napoleon’s oldest brother, Joseph
, was born in Corte, Corsica, on 7 January 1768 and died in Florence, Tuscany, on 28 July 1844. Joseph was a student at Autun when he returned to Corsica with his family because of Paoli’s revolt in 1793. Joseph then moved to Marseille where he married Julie Clary, sister of Désirée Clary, later wife of Marshal Bernadotte, King of Sweden. Joseph was appointed, provisionally, to the Commissioners of War in 1793 and confirmed in those functions in service of the Army of the Alps in October 1793.
Joseph followed Napoleon into Italy in 1796 and was named ambassador to Parma, then to Rome in 1797. In 1798 he was appointed deputy for Golo to the Council of Five Hundred, became secretary on 21 January 1799, minister on 4 March 1800, and took part in the negotiations with the United States and in the treaties of Lunéville and Amiens. On 18 May 1804 Joseph became Grand Elector of the Empire and Senator of Law on 10 August 1804. Napoleon appointed him général de division and commander of the Army of Naples as a lieutenant to the Emperor on 3 January 1806. Joseph was made King of Naples and the Two Sicilies on 31 March 1806, despite the fact that the Island of Sicily remained in the hands of the former Bourbon King of Naples.
Joseph abdicated that crown on 8 July 1808 and was made King of Spain. Joseph was driven from Spain by the victorious armies of Wellington and defeated at the battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813. Napoleon named him lieutenant général d’Empire on 28 January 1814 and placed him in charge of the Paris National Guard. Joseph commanded during the battle of Paris on 30 March 1814 and was defeated, allowing the Allies to occupy Paris. Joseph was invited to leave France during the first Restoration and returned to France during the Hundred Days. Joseph became a peer of France on 2 June 1815 and presided over the Ministerial Council in Napoleon’s absence. After Waterloo he left for the United States under the name of the Count de Survilliers. Joseph moved to Britain in 1832, back to America from 1837–1839, and finally was allowed to retire to Florence in 1841 where he died.
Historical Dictionary of the Napoleonic Era Page 8
