Napoleon Bonaparte's height has been one of history's most persistent myths, with many people believing he was very short, but modern historical research shows he was average height for his time. The confusion comes from different measurement systems. At his autopsy after death on Saint Helena, his height was recorded as 5 feet 2 inches in French pieds du roi, which are French royal feet that are longer than English feet. In French measurements, 5 foot 2 inches equals about 5 foot 6 inches or 5 foot 7 inches in English or modern international measurements, which is approximately 169 centimeters. This was average or slightly above average for a Frenchman in the late 18th and early 19th century, when average male height was about 5 foot 5 inches due to nutrition. British propaganda during the Napoleonic Wars deliberately portrayed him as a tiny, angry little man to mock him, with cartoonists like James Gillray drawing him as comically small to diminish his threat, and this caricature stuck. Also, he was often surrounded by his Imperial Guard grenadiers who were specifically selected for being tall, over 5 foot 10 inches, making him look shorter by comparison. His nickname Le Petit Caporal or The Little Corporal did not refer to his physical height but was an affectionate term from his soldiers referring to his youth and low rank when he first commanded them in Italy.
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