His height was recorded as 5 feet 2 when he died, which doesn’t exactly make for the most intimidating of leaders. Sadly that was the truth for Napoleon Bonaparte. Giving your name to a psychological complex isn’t something most people would want to be remembered for, worsened by the characterisation of overly-aggressive or domineering social behaviour, and the implication that such behaviour is compensatory for the subject’s stature, and worsened still when in truth you aren’t even that small. Napoleon Bonaparte is famous (or infamous) for many things, but the one that seems to stick is that he was short, with a psychological condition – Napoleonic Complex – being named after him. Myths Debunked: The short Truth About Napoleon’s Height
