13. Napoleon Bonaparte conquered much of Europe, and had Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Despite being born in Corsica to parents of Italian descent, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) came to view himself as a Frenchman whilst being educated in France. Having finished his education at a military academy and joined the army, Napoleon became a prominent figure in the French Revolution, convinced that the country was in dire need of political change. In the aftermath of the Revolution, Napoleon served as a military commander aggressively expanding French territories in Europe, and eventually became ruler of France in 1799, a post he held under the titles Consul and then Emperor until 1814 and again, briefly, in 1815.
Napoleon revolutionized the French military, reorganized education, and passed the egalitarian Napoleonic Code, voluntarily adopted by other countries. However, he has long been the subject of psychological evaluation. As well as giving his name to the Napoleon Complex, Napoleon is widely-considered to have suffered from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. This gave him the ruthless self-determination and sense of grandeur which made him a successful leader, but without the existing revolutionary fervor in France, his life could have been very different. As the man himself reflected, ‘revolutions are ideal times for soldiers with a lot of wits—and the courage to act’.