Articles : 1400
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ArticleVictor Alaire’s carriage cooling and heating system, 1811
Introduction On 25 March, 1811, Victor Alaire, based in Paris, was awarded two five-year patents for his machine destined to cool and heat the interior of a carriage. The details of these two inventions appeared in the Description des Machines et Procédés spécifiés dans les brevets d'invention, de perfectionnement et d'importation, published by M. Christian […]
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ArticleRecent works in French on the Napoleonic period: a reviewOriginally presented at the 2011 Consortium on the Revolutionary Era, 1750-1850, this paper sees Peter Hicks offer a follow-up to his 2008 paper delivered in Huntsville and introduce a number of recent French works on Napoleonic history.
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ArticleHavana’s Museo Napoleonico reopens (30 March, 2011)
The (re)opening ceremony Closed to the public for a number of years, the semi-mythical Museo Napoleonico – in Havana, Cuba – reopened its doors on 30 March, 2011. This relaunch comes as part of the wider project to restore Havana's old town district, organised with a great deal of energy and patience by Eusebio Leal, […]
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ArticleNapoleon – Hitler, the improbable comparisonThierry Lentz, in a paper originally presented at the 2011 Consortium on the Revolutionary Era, 1750-1850, takes a look at a particular branch of historiography that grew out of the comparative biography trend of the 1980s: the anachronistic comparison of Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler.
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ArticleThe Maison des Enfants de France
The Maison des Enfants de France was created following a decree dated 25 November, 1810. Its purpose: the education of “all princes, sons and grandsons of France, up to the age of seven years, at such time they become the charges of men; and of all princesses, daughters and granddaughters of France, until such time […]
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ArticleBirth of the Roi de Rome: letter from Napoleon to Francis I, Austrian emperor
My brother and father-in-law, yesterday, the 19 [March], seven hours after midday, the empress requested that I come down to see her in her chambers. I found her on her chaise-longue, experiencing the first pains [of labour]. She lay down at eight o’clock, and from that moment until six in the morning, she continued to […]
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ArticleThe Roi de Rome’s birth is announced in the Moniteur, 21 March, 1811
Moniteur, 21 March, 1811 Today, 20 March, at twenty minutes past nine in the morning, the hopes of France were realised: H.M. the empress gave birth to a prince: the Roi de Rome and her august mother remain in perfect health. On 19 [March], between eight and nine o'clock at night, H.M. began to experience the first […]
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ArticleThe Roi de Rome’s birth hits the British press
Cobbett’s Political Register – Official Papers, March 30, 1811, col. 794-795 Birth of Young Napoleon Amsterdam, March 22, 1811. – His Serene Highness, Prince Arch Chancellor of the Empire, the Duke of Plaisance, Governor General of the departments of Holland, has just received the following dispatch:- Telegraphic Dispatch from Paris, March 20, 1811 “Her Majesty […]
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ArticleSwan Ways’ "The Eagle" scarf, inspired by Napoleon and Josephine
Swan Ways, a Virginia-based company, presents “The Eagle”, a silk scarf which pays tribute to Napoleon I and brings together a rich tapestry of imperial symbolism and the Napoleonic legend. The scarf's centrepiece is a golden eagle, adopted by Napoleon to represent the new French Empire. As in Ancient Roman iconography, the eagle is a […]
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ArticleThat was the Napoleonic year that was: the Fondation Napoléon in 2010
Though significantly darkened by the death of our much-loved honorary president, Baron Gourgaud, 2010 was nevertheless, to quote Frank Sinatra, “a very good year”. On 6 August, the founding father of the Fondation Napoléon in 1987 and president of the institution from that date until 2005, the Baron Gourgaud, died peacefully in his bed. He was […]