Napoleon married Joséphine de Beauharnais on this day in 1796. The bride was kept waiting for over three hours because the groom was preoccupied with arrangements for the First Coalition’s ongoing Italy campaign, which was ultimately successful.

The marriage was tumultuous and eventually annulled in 1810, although the two remained cordial, with Napoleon later creating her Duchess of Navarre. In fact Joséphine was the last word Napoleon spoke when he died in 1821.

Art: Napoleon and Josephine by Harold H. Piffard (1867-1938)