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 The mausoleum of Pierre Bonaparte at the Cimetière des Gonards, Versailles. Picture by Androom (26 Aug 2001) |
Bonaparte, Pierre Napoleon |
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BORN 19 May 1815, Roma, Lazio - DIED 7 Apr 1881, Versailles, Yvelines GRAVE LOCATION Versailles, Yvelines: Cimetière des Gonards (G - B - 1D - 1) |
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Pierre Bonaparte was the son of Lucien Bonaparte, who 2was the brother of Napoleon I, and his second wife Alexandrine de Bleschamp. When he was fifteen years old, he took part in insurrections in Italy, before he joined his uncle Joseph in the USA. He moved on to Columbia in 1832 before he returned to Rome. There he was imprisoned by Pope Gregory XVI from 1835 to 1836. After his release he lived in England and Ireland. The revolution of 1848 enabled him to return to France, and he became a deputy for Corsica in the Constituent Assembly. He was a republican and at first he disapproved of the coup d'état of his cousin Louis Napoleon. After he was reconciled with Louis, who had become emperor Napoleon III, he received the title of Prince. In 1853 he married Justine Eleanore Ruflin (1831-1905), the daughter of a working man. They had two children. Bonaparte turned his attention to literature, but his gifts as a poet were limited. In 1870 he became involved in a row about an article in a newspaper and he shot and killed the journalist Victor Noir. During the trial, it turned out that Noir had assisted left wing writers in beating up oppenents and supposedly had struck the prince a heavy blow before the latter fired his gun at him. But public opinion was against Pierre Bonaparte and his acquittal caused a public outrage. Napoleon III advised him to leave the country for a while and he lived in Brussels until 1877. At the time he died in 1881 in Versailles, he lived in poor circumstances and he was almost forgotten. Related persons • killed Noir, Victor Events |
| 12/6/1848 | The French government threatens to arrest Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. He was elected into the National Assembly, but the government threatened to arrest him if he would come from England to France. The government referred to the banning of the entire Bonaparte familiy, but Jules Favre wondered how this was possible since Prince Napoleon, Pierre Bonaparte and Lucien Murat had been elected before and were admitted. Louis Blanc and Pierre Joseph Proudhon supported Louis Napoleon as well. After a fake story by Lamartine that the Bonapartists had fired at the National Guard, the government received more support, but two days later it became clear that Lamartine had lied. [Favre, Jules][Murat, Lucien, 3e Prince Murat][Napoleon III Bonaparte] |
| 10/1/1870 | Pierre Bonaparte Napoleon kills Victor Noir. Newspaper writers Victor Noir and Ulrich Fonvielle visited Pierre at his country estate in Auteuil. They were angry about an article he had written about Pascal Grousset (who, as a notorious Communard, was sentenced to imprisonment in September 1871). During the ensuing argument, Noir punched Bonaparte, who then shot his attacker dead with a revolver. The High Court in Tours would acquit Bonaparte. [Noir, Victor] |
| 21/3/1870 | Start of the trial against Pierre Bonaparte in Tours. Bonaparte had killed the journalist Pierre Noir but he was acquitted. He was, however, ordered to pay damages to Noir's family. The trial lasted until March 27th. [Noir, Victor] |
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The mausoleum of Pierre Bonaparte at the Cimetière des Gonards, Versailles. Picture by Androom (26 Aug 2001) |
Sources • Vincent, Benjamin, Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, and Universal Information, Ward, Lock & Co, London, 1906 • Ridley, Jasper, Napoleon III and Eugénie, Constable, London, 1979 • Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909 • Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte - Wikipédia (FR) |
