I heard this subject mentioned briefly in a podcast and began to do some research on it and found it quite interesting.

From 1803-1815, Napoleon was over the world news. He was the face of the First French Empire that was literally trying to take over Europe. He was like the Hitler of the second world war. Napoleon led forty-three battles and conquered/ won thirty-eight. Like Hitler, he was a little, short dictator who died in disgrace and was regulated to the annals of history. No one named their sons after Napoleon or Hitler.

1809 was a very special year during Napoleon’s reign, not because of Napoleon, but because of who was born that year. It was in that year babies were born that would change the face of the world. Names such as Charles Darwin, William Gladstone, Robert Winthrop, Alfred Tennyson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Edgar Allan Poe, and of course, Abraham Lincoln. No one remembers Napoleon and what he accomplished but you would be hard pressed to not acknowledge that your life today has not been touched or influenced in some way by the names listed above. That is why no one names their sons after dictators, they use names like Charles, William, Robert, Edgar, Abraham and of course, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. People name their sons after people that have meaning.  

What is my point you ask? Be very careful that you don’t ever think yourself more important than you really are. Very few are important beyond their life span and what really matters is what you do with the time you have. 30-40 years from now, someone could point out the leaders of that day that were born in 2023.

Except for a little section you learned in high school history, no one remembers Napoleon and he certainly failed at ruling the world as he envisioned himself doing. He was just short (no pun intended) of being a nobody, no body remembers. Do something good that your children and grandchildren will remember you for years after the lord calls you home. KT