Lecture Date: April 17, 2018
The Gemini 3 Group Lecture
Napoleon Bonaparte was unquestionably one of the most prominent, and most controversial, leaders in world history. Born in Corsica in 1769, he rose to power as a French military and political leader during the French Revolution, becoming Emperor of the French from 1804-1814, (and again, briefly, in 1815). For more than a decade he dominated European and global affairs. Generally regarded as one of the greatest commanders in history, his military campaigns are still studied in military schools around the world, while much of his political and cultural legacy has also endured in various forms. In this lecture, eminent European historian – and frequent Great Lives lecturer – Jeremy Black provides an analytic perspective on Napoleon’s extraordinary career.
Speaker: Jeremy Black
Jeremy Black is a popular and dynamic lecturer who has appeared multiple times in the Great Lives series. Having studied at Cambridge and Oxford, he began his teaching career at the University of Durham in 1980 before moving to Exeter University in 1996, where he is the current holder of the Established Chair in History. In addition to his teaching, Professor Black has held a number of important public roles, including that of editor of Archives, the journal of the British Records Association. His prodigious scholarly output encompasses more than 100 publications, mainly on, but not limited to, British and continental European history, with particular emphasis on international relations and military history. He has held numerous teaching positions outside of England, having lectured extensively in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Denmark—as well as in the US, where he has taught at the Universities of Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgetown, and Rutgers, among others.