Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the world's most brilliant military commander and leader. His career as military commander was marked by supreme triumphs and bloody defeats. However, Napoleon did more than just win or lose battles. He came to power when all France was in a state of near anarchy, and it was he who established the council of state, the public accounts office, a new system of courts, and the Bank of France to overcome the chaos that had been brought about earlier by the leaders of the Revolution.

Napoleon was born on August 15 in Ajaccio, Corsica. He was the second son and fourth child in the family of five boys and three girls. When Napoleon was 10 years old, his father sent him to a military school at Brienne. Because he spoke little French and that with an Italian accent, Napoleon was discontented and lonely. His classmates...