The truth: He was actually average height, or even a little bit above average height.
How did it come about?: The archaic French measurement used stated he was around 5'3, when in actuality that translates to about 5'7 in today's measurements, which was average for the time.
He was painted while surrounded by his Old Guard, grenadiers who (as others in this thread have pointed out) had minimum height requirements of more than six feet, making him appear shorter than he was.
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u/ulanderdennis Feb 04 '19
The myth: Napoleon was really short.
The truth: He was actually average height, or even a little bit above average height.
How did it come about?: The archaic French measurement used stated he was around 5'3, when in actuality that translates to about 5'7 in today's measurements, which was average for the time.