Bonaparte Family

(Italian, Buonaparte), French imperial dynasty founded in 1804 by Napoleon I Bonaparte.

The Bonaparte dynasty ruled from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815; it was restored to power by Napoleon III in 1852. Napoleon I put his brothers, with the exception of Lucien Bonaparte (1775–1840), at the head of states conquered by the French army or created as a result of French conquests. Joseph Bonaparte (1768–1844) was king of Naples from 1806 to 1808 and king of Spain from 1808 to 1813; Louis Bonaparte (1778–1846) was king of Holland from 1806 to 1810; Jerome Bonaparte (1784–1860) was king of Westphalia from 1807 to 1813. The sisters of Napoleon I also received positions. Elisa (1777–1820) was princess of Lucca and Piombino from 1805 to 1814 and grand duchess of Tuscany from 1809 to 1814; Pauline (1780–1825) was duchess of Guastalla (in Italy) beginning in 1806; Caroline (1782–1839) was the wife of Marshal J. Murat, king of Naples from 1808 to 1815. Napoleon I’s son from his marriage with Marie Louise, Francois Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1811–32), the duke of Reichstadt, was called Napoleon II by his supporters. Beginning in 1814 he lived at the palace of his grandfather, the Austrian emperor Franz I, and he played no political role. Napoleon I’s nephew Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (1808–73), son of Louis Bonaparte, became president of the French Republic in December 1848, and in December 1852, emperor of France under the name Napoleon III (ruled between 1852 and 1870). The Bonaparte dynasty ceased to rule after Napoleon III was deposed as a result of the revolution of Sept. 4, 1870.