Joséphine

views updated Jun 11 2018

Joséphine (1763–1814) Consort of Napoleon I and empress of the French (1804–09). Her first marriage, to Vicomte Alexandre de Beauharnais, ended (1794) with his death in the Reign of Terror. She married Napoleon in 1796. Her inability to bear him a son caused Napoleon to seek and obtain annulment of their marriage in 1809.

Josephine

views updated May 23 2018

Josephine (1763–1814), Empress of France 1804–9. She married Napoleon in 1796. Their marriage proved childless and she was divorced by Napoleon in 1809. She is remembered in the (probably apocryphal) words attributed to Napoleon, ‘Not tonight, Josephine’ (the phrase, current by the early 20th century, does not appear in contemporary sources).

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Josephine

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