A Note From Bob
The lieutenant nobody noticed
Tuesday. On this date in 1789, a Paris crowd stormed a royal fortress and set France on a path no one could have predicted. That same summer, a nearly broke 19-year-old artillery officer from Corsica was serving in a quiet provincial garrison, unknown to almost everyone. Within a decade he would rule France. Within two, most of Europe. Today's featured quiz takes on Napoleon Bonaparte himself, and today's date is exactly why we chose him. Pour the coffee.
Trivia Question of the Day
At his coronation in 1804, Napoleon broke with a thousand years of tradition. What did he do?
The answer is at the bottom of this email.
Today's Featured Quiz
Napoleon Bonaparte
He rose from minor Corsican nobility to command armies, rewrite the laws of France, and place a crown on his own head, before ending his days in exile on a remote island in the South Atlantic. Test how well you know the man: the battles, the exiles, the code of laws that outlived him, and the empire that rose and fell in under two decades. 15 questions.
The Answer
He crowned himself
At Notre-Dame Cathedral in December 1804, with Pope Pius VII seated just steps away, Napoleon lifted the golden laurel crown and placed it on his own head, then crowned his wife Josephine as empress. For a thousand years, popes and archbishops had crowned Europe's monarchs. The gesture looked like an act of defiance, but it was carefully arranged in advance; even the Pope knew his part. Napoleon wanted no suggestion that his power came from the Church, or from anyone but himself. Jacques-Louis David captured the moment in a painting so vast it fills an entire wall of the Louvre.
On This Day
On this day in 1789, a crowd of Parisians stormed the Bastille, the royal fortress that loomed over the east end of the city. They came for the gunpowder stored inside and found only seven prisoners to free, but the symbol mattered far more than the count. Within weeks, feudal privileges collapsed and the Declaration of the Rights of Man was drafted. France still celebrates July 14 as its national day. Today's second quiz covers the whole upheaval, from the Estates-General to the guillotine to the young general waiting at the end of it. 30 questions.
Stay
Curious.
Bob
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