NAPOLEON III

born April 20, 1808, Paris died Jan. 9, 1873, Chislehurst, Kent, Eng. also called (until 1852) Louis-Napolon, in full Charles-Louis-Napolon Bonaparte nephew of Napoleon I, president of the Second Republic of France (185052), and then emperor of the French (185270). He gave his country two decades of prosperity under a stable, authoritarian government but finally led it to defeat in the Franco-German War (187071). Additional reading Oeuvres de Napolon III, 5 vol. (185469). A.L. Gurard, Napoleon III (1943; Eng. trans. 1955), emphasizes economic and social aspects; F.A. Simpson, The Rise of Louis Napoleon, 3rd ed. (1950, reprinted 1968); Louis Napoleon and the Recovery of France, 18481856, 3rd ed. (1951), a useful survey; J.M. Thompson, Louis Napoleon and the Second Empire (1954), an able account; H. Euler, Napoleon III in seiner Zeit, vol. 1, Der Aufstieg (1961), first volume of a projected three-part biography. See also C.W. Hallberg, Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, 18521864: A Study of Austro-French Relations (1955), a fairly good survey; D.I. Kulstein, Napoleon III and the Working Class: A Study of Government Propaganda Under the Second Empire (1969), an informative study; H.C. Payne, The Police State of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, 18511860 (1966), an impressively documented work; H. Pinkney, Napoleon III and the Rebuilding of Paris (1958), a useful general account; E.A. Pottinger, Napoleon III and the German Crisis 18651866 (1966), a brilliant study; T. Zeldin, The Political System of Napoleon III (1958), a very interesting analysis; and R.L. Williams, The Mortal Napoleon III (1971), a study of the effects of the emperor's health and marriage on his personality and policy.