Bernadotte, Jean Baptiste Jules

ber-na-dot', Jean Baptiste Jules (1764-1844), a distinguished French soldier. He was the son of a lawyer and entered the French army as a private in the royal marines. He rose to distinction in the army of the French Revolution, and became minister of war. He was one of Napoleon's most able commanders, distinguishing himself especially at the battle of Austerlitz. In 1810 the prospective heir of the Swedish throne died, leaving the reigning monarch without an heir. The Swedish legislators, so runs the chronicle, wisely chose Bernadotte, not only for his nobility of character, but for his military talents. They thought he would be an admirable man to manage their government and to lead their armies in case of war. They accordingly made him crown prince, or a sort of adopted son to their aged monarch, Charles XIII. As a matter of fact Napoleon imposed Bernadotte on the Swedes. He proved a wise prince,-by no means a puppet of France. In 1813 Bernadotte led the Swedish forces to join the troops of Germany in the great battle of Leipsic in which Napoleon was so signally defeated. In 1818 he ascended the throne of Sweden as Charles XIV. He died at Stockholm and was buried there, leaving an only son Oscar to inherit his throne. It is not often that one of untitled ancestry is called to sit on a European throne. Oscar II, the present monarch, is a grandson of Bernadotte. See Napoleon; Sweden