The following includes facts salient to The Eagle and the Viper:
1769
August 15: Birth, Ajaccio, Corsica.
1784
September 15: Enters École Militaire in Paris, France.
1785
September: Graduates military school at 16, commissioned Second Lieutenant, Royal Artillery.
1793
September–December: Commanding artillery, retakes Toulon from the Royalists, is promoted to general.
1795
October 5 (13 Vendémiaire): Fires cannon into a mob intending to storm the Tuileries Palace and oust the corrupt Directorate from power.
1796
March 2: Marries Josephine de Beauharnais.
1797
January 14: Wins the Battle of Rivoli, completing a series of stunning victories, seizing Italy from Austria and annexing the country to France.
1798
July 1: Captures Alexandria, Egypt, from England.
August 1: English Admiral Nelson wins the Battle of the Nile, stranding French troops in Egypt.
1799
November 9–10: Leaving the French Army in Egypt, returns to France, overthrows the Directory, and is appointed head of the nation as First Consul.
1800
December 24: An explosive “infernal machine” aimed at his assassination (the “Christmas Eve Plot”) destroys most of a Paris street, killing and maiming innocents, but failing in its intention.
1804: Crowned Emperor of the French.