Napoleon complex

The term Napoleon complex was coined by psychologist Alfred Adler and referred the conduct to compensate for a smaller body size by externally visible successes and status symbols.

Background

The term refers to the French Emperor, Napoleon, who conquered large parts of Europe, but alleged to have been very small.

The fallacy of the " little emperors " however, is based on a conversion error of measurement units. Napoleon was more of a big man for his time. According to the memoirs of his valet Constant he measured " five feet, two inches and three lines " ( 1.685 m ) and General Gourgaud, who had measured him on September 8, 1815 on board the Northumberland, wrote in his " Journal de Saint -Hélène " a body size of " five foot two and a half inches " ( 1.692 m). The death certificate Napoleon is supposed to set a height of 1.66 m.

According to a study by Quetelet, the average size (median) French recruits was in 1835 at about 1.62 m. This means that only 50% of men were at least 1,62 m tall. The measured average size was even lower. But it is unreliable as a measuring value, because many men apparently tried to cheat under the minimum size of 1.57 m, to be scrapped.