Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio, Corsica on August 15, 1769. He was the second child of Carlo and Letizia Bonaparte. Napoleon's family was of noble rank because his father was a lawyer and one of the greatest leaders of the pro-French party in Corsica. Napoleon had seven brothers and sisters - Joseph, Lucien, Elisa, Louis, Pauline, yeah they Caroline, and Jerome. Through his father's influence Napoleon received an education at military schools in Brienne and Paris, all paid for by King Louis XVI. Napoleon graduated at 16 and became a second lieutenant in the artillery. As a result of his short stature (he stood 5 foot 2 inches tall) Napoleon was known as the Little Corporal. .
Soon after Napoleon graduated the French Revolution started and Napoleon's family was condemned because they did not support Corsica's independence from France. For their stance, the family fled Corsica to France shortly after the start of civil war in April 1793. When Napoleon came to France he returned to military duty and became associated with the Jacobins, a political party in France. Napoleon became associated with them because he defeated the British in Toulon in 1793. Because of his role in that battle, Napoleon was promoted to brigadier general and sent to Italy. When Napoleon came back to France in 1794 he was arrested because of a political problem that included the Jacobins. Napoleon was released shortly after he was arrested but he was not very popular with the majority of the French people. In October 1795, Napoleon regained his popularity and opened the biggest opportunities for his career. When a mob started attacking the French Revolutionary Convention Napoleon was sent to command the troops. Napoleon ended the uprising by killing about 100 rioters. When Napoleon was asked how he stopped the mob he replied it was with "a whiff of grapeshot". After that incident, Napoleon was given control of the French army of the interior and also the army of Italy.