Happy Birthday Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte
Born: 15 August 1769
Birthplace: Ajaccio, Corsica
Died: 5 May 1821 (aged 51)

The Post Revolution Calendar - Napoleon Axed It

I am amazed that a bunch of politicians (all men) sat or stood about while they rearranged the entire concept of the calendar for France. Days were added, work weeks extended and everything had a new name. I can't imagine how the average citizen could figure out what day it was...without some sort of a calculator.

"Eager to overthrow the oppression of church and king, post-revolutionary France adopted descriptive calendar names reflecting reason, science and nature. Important! The twelve months of the French Republican calendar were based on the seasons of the year, and do not correspond to the standard months of January through December. "

The beginning of the year was the fall. Everything stemmed from the date of the revolution making the first calendar Year 1. Here's how the months broke out:

Vendémiaire (vintage) - Sept. 22 - Oct. 21
Brumaire (fog) - Oct. 22 - Nov. 20
Frimaire (frost) - Nov. 21 - Dec. 20
Nivôse (snowy) - Dec. 21 - Jan. 19
Pluviôse (rainy) - Jan 20 - Feb. 18
Ventôse (windy) - Feb. 19 - March 20
Germinal (sprouting bud) - March 21 - April 19
Floréal (flowery) - April 20 - May 19
Prairial (meadow) - May 20 - June 18
Messidor (harvest) - June 19 - July 18
Thermidor (heat) - July 19 - Aug. 17
Fructidor (fruit) - Aug. 18 - Sept. 16

So if I would have been born in 1793 on this day, my birth date would have been Thermidor Year One.

Or HEAT Month-Year One. Oh...and every single day had a name too...but I don't have the space to add all that data!

The Republican calendar was in use from 1793 through 1805,
affecting civil registration and other government records in France and areas
under French rule including including modern Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

France returned to the Gregorian calendar on January 1, 1806, under Napoléon Bonaparte.

Just one more sensible thing he did.

Marie Antoinette and Josephine Bonaparte

I sometimes wonder if Josephine spent time wandering the halls of Fontainebleau or Versailles thinking about Marie Antoinette.

How bizarre it must have seemed to walk in the same places, sleep in the same rooms and use the same dishes etc.
It would seem even more strange given that Josephine's first husband was one of the major instigators behind Marie's death. He was in power when the royal family was arrested and was part of the "interrogation team." He voted to have them killed.

Who knew his wife would eventually remarry, become Empress and live in the Queen's castles.
Creepy. I would have felt very haunted.

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