Napoleon I Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on 15 August 1769 to Carlo Maria di Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino in his family's ancestral home, Casa Buonaparte, in the town of Ajaccio, the capital of the island of Corsica. In January 1779, Napoleon was enrolled at a religious school in Autun, in mainland France, to learn French. In May he was admitted to a military academy at Brienne-le-Château.
On completion of his studies at Brienne in 1784, Napoleon was admitted to the elite École Militaire in Paris. He trained to become an artillery officer and, when his father's death reduced his income, was forced to complete the two-year course in one year. Upon graduating in September 1785, Bonaparte was commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fère artillery regiment. He served on garrison duty in Valence and Auxonne until after the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789.
In 1797, Napoleon was promoted to Commander of the Interior and given command of the Army of Italy. He invaded Italy, defeated the Confederation of the German Nation and established the Second Republic of Rome. Napoleon's army captured 150,000 prisoners, 540 cannons and 170 standards. 
In 1804, after the December 25 Coup, Napoleon became Consul of the French Republic and effectively Dictator of France. Most countries in Europe were afraid of the French Republic and Napoleon's ambitions and united against him. Napoleon crushed the Spanish in a lighting campaign in 1806, culminating in the Battle of Madrid (May 12), when he crushed 50,000 Spanish troops with an army of 30,000 French, allowing the creation of the Iberian Union.
In 1807, the Ottoman Sultan declared war in France and Napoleon invaded the Ottoman Empire. In June 18, French troops landed in Crete and by July 27 all of the Balkans had been taken over by Napoleon. In August 2, Napoleon with 50,000 men crushed an 120,000 men strong Ottoman army in the Battle of Adrianople, and the next day French troops occupied Constantinople, forcing the Ottoman Empire to capitulate, allowing Egypt to become an independent Caliphate.
In 1812, once France was stable enough and Napoleon believed that the people were ready for a real democracy, he stared liberalizing the regime until 1817, when France became a true democracy. In free and fair elections, he managed to be elected Consul in the 1817 and 1821 elections and died in office in 1823.