Napoleon Bonaparte Having become the French ruler and leader, Napoleon Bonaparte used the French Revolution to help improve the lives of the French, inducing French citizens around the world to worship the ground on which he walked. Over time, Napoleon's political and military successes became irrelevant due to his uncontrollable greed and relentless pursuit of power. Although his name now has a negative connotation, Bonaparte influenced the world in positive ways such as education, art, and literature, but he was "anti-progressive" when it came to the rights of his people. Napoleon, born August 15, Born in 1769 on the small island of Corsica, was the second of eight children of a poor lawyer who had little connection to the royal family (Dugdale). Napoleon's family was considered by many to be radical, and as a boy Napoleon fully embraced his Corsican heritage. Due to his mother's adulterous affair with the French military governor Comte de Marbeuf, he began his education at the Brienne Military Academy. In 1784 Napoleon worked vigorously to finish his studies in just over a year instead of the required three years (Dugdale). This was a simple task for the young Napoleon as he excelled in science and mathematics. Such skills were necessary for any artillery officer of the time (Dugdale). After school Napoleon spent much of the next 8 years in Corsica supporting a Corsican rebel named Pasquale Paulo. Paulo had previously been a benefactor of Napoleon's father. Revolution finally broke out and forced the Bonaparte family to evacuate France, giving Napoleon a bitter taste for his previous associate Pasquale Paulo. Without exceptional credentials, Napoleon exploited the characteristics of the revolution to quickly rise through the ranks. Napoleon showed for the first time... half of the paper... a cruel dictator and heartless greed, Napoleon's effect on the spread of knowledge and how he opened the eyes of so many people to different worlds not they should go unnoticed. Although few, Bonaparte's positive effects, such as the spread of art and architecture, the Napoleonic Code, and the encouragement of education, changed the world, both for better and for worse. Works Cited Dugdale, Pointon. "Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)." Napoleon Bonaparte. Np, nd Web. 06 April 2014.Perry, Marvin., et. al., The Modern Era (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994), p.447.Beck, Roger. and Black, Linda, World History: Patterns of Interaction (Boston: McDougal Little), p.205-209.Napoleon: Revolution to Empire." Napoleon Art of Revolution & Empire. National Gallery of Victoria, nd Web. 6 April 2014. Harvey, A.D., "Napoleon the Myth", History Today, 1998, volume 16, p.29