Quick answer

Napoleon was probably around average height for a Frenchman of his period, not exceptionally short. The myth grew from a mix of old French measurements, British caricature, the nickname “Little Corporal,” and the fact that he was often seen near tall Imperial Guard soldiers. The image survived because it was funnier and simpler than the correction.

Napoleon Bonaparte stood approximately 5 feet 6 or 7 inches tall (about 169 cm). This was average for a French man of his era. He was not unusually short. The idea that he was is one of the most persistent historical myths, and it has a traceable origin that makes it genuinely interesting.

The measurement confusion

The myth has a specific source: a misunderstanding between French and English units of measurement.

Napoleon's height was recorded as 5 pieds 2 pouces in French units. French inches (pouces) were slightly larger than English inches. Converting correctly gives approximately 5 feet 6.5 inches in English imperial measurement — unremarkable for the time.

English observers and caricaturists, seeing or hearing the measurement "5 foot 2," assumed French units matched English ones and concluded Napoleon was unusually short. The British press, particularly cartoonist James Gillray, had strong political incentives to mock and diminish Napoleon. "Little Boney" became a fixture of wartime propaganda.

Gillray's contribution

James Gillray's caricatures of Napoleon as a tiny, tantrum-throwing tyrant were widely circulated and enormously influential. They were not accurate reporting — they were propaganda cartoons. But they established a visual template for Napoleon that proved extraordinarily durable.

The caricatures worked precisely because they were funny and repeatable. A short, furious Napoleon was a more satisfying figure than a normal-height general of considerable military ability. The image stuck in a way that accurate portraiture didn't.

The guard confusion

Napoleon was frequently surrounded by his Imperial Guard, who had a minimum height requirement of 5 feet 7 inches (French). Visitors who saw Napoleon standing among his Guard would have observed him as shorter than the men around him — not because he was short, but because his guards were selected for height.

This context, stripped away in retelling, likely contributed to eyewitness impressions that reinforced the myth.

The "Napoleon complex" problem

Psychology's "Napoleon complex" — the hypothesis that short men overcompensate through aggression and domination — borrowed a name from a myth about a historical figure. Research on whether shorter men are actually more aggressive or dominant than taller men is mixed. Some studies find modest effects in specific competitive contexts; others find none.

Using Napoleon as the archetype for this pattern built the myth into the language. Every reference to the Napoleon complex implies Napoleon was short, which reinforces the underlying false premise.

Why this example is useful

The Napoleon height myth is valuable precisely because it's so well documented. We can trace the unit confusion, the propaganda motivation, the specific cartoonist, and the mechanism of spread. Most myths don't leave such clear trails.

The pattern is common: a specific measurement is misinterpreted, a motivated party amplifies the misinterpretation for propaganda purposes, the image becomes more memorable than the correction, and the myth enters common knowledge as established fact.

Napoleon was not short. He was unremarkable in height, remarkable in everything else.

Sources

For another myth shaped by a vivid image, see The Great Wall Visible From Space Myth.