Ask any guy what he knows about Napoleon and he’s bound to mention the French general’s short stature. In fact, many regard his as the originator of “Short Man Syndrome”, a pseudo-science term relating to the idea that shorter men have a bigger need to be aggressive. This goes for men who are simply short in stature as well as those who are believed to have a small penis. Poor Napoleon, as it turns out, had both.
Poor Little Napoleon
There’s no doubt that Napoleon was more aggressive than your average guy. In fact, many biographers have discussed and covered his zeal for power time and time again. In many ways, this is normal for men and women who take an active political role and has little – if anything – to do with his height or anything else. But for Napoleon there was an extra edge. He was sensitive about his height and, behind closed doors, penis size seems to have been an issue as well.
Rumours about Napoleon’s penis size have circulated for years – and whispers about it even made the gossip circuits while he was alive. But, for the most part, many people thought nothing of the rumours and assumed they were just stories. But then another story emerged – one that claimed a doctor had removed Napoleon’s penis during autopsy and had kept the grim souvenir which proved, once and for all, that Napoleon’s Short Man Syndrome was legit.
The Strange Life of Napoleon’s Penis
Long after Napoleon was in his final resting place, his penis was on a journey which would take it across the globe. Originally, the penis was kept by the doctor who had initially removed it, Francesco Autommarchi. Later it was acquired by a priest and stayed in his family for generations before being bought by a rare book dealer named A.S.W. Rosenbach in 1924 and displayed at the Museum of French Art in New York City by 1927. Eventually, it went up for auction again and was bought by a urologist in the United States.
His son still owns the penis and, in 2014, he allowed the item to be professionally examined as part of a British television series aimed at tracking down and discerning the authenticity of many celebrity items, including Napoleon’s penis. Ultimately, the penis was determined to be authentic … and small, measuring a meagre one and a half inches.
Penis Enlargement and Politics
With rumours about Napoleon’s size laid bare, plenty of armchair historians are now wondering if a device as simple as a penis extender could have changed the course of Napoleon’s life and, perhaps even the course of human history. The fact of the matter is that penis size is important to men – even if only on a subconscious level. Most men grapple with concerns about size at one point or another and many simply grow out of the phase. But for men with a very small penis, those initial concerns grow into a chronic worry and stress over size, performance and their overall level of masculinity. This is why so many men buy a penis extender – not because they have problems performing, but because concerns about their penis size begins to become a serious problem. The stress and anxiety they develop about size begins to manifest as anger, aggression and trouble keeping up with routine, day to day activities.
Unfortunately, Napoleon never detailed his concerns about penis so we can never know for sure how much his concerns about size motivated his aggressive behaviours. However, any man who has struggled with the same issue knows what a difference a high-quality and effective penis extender can make in terms of a man’s self-esteem, confidence and stress levels. At the same time, a better understanding of the personal life of this infamous military figure also gives us a new view of history and how easily it can be changed.