Jerome Bonaparte

King of Westphalia

BONAPARTE, Jerome, king of Westphalia, b. in Ajaccio, Corsica, 15 Nov., 1784; d. in Villegenis, near Paris, 24 June, 1860. He entered the navy in 1800, and in 1803, during a visit to the United States, married Miss Patterson, of Baltimore, without the consent of his family. This marriage was declared null by Napoleon in 1806. He was promoted to rearadmiral by Napoleon in 1806, and in the same year was transferred to the army, becoming a general of brigade. His corps gained some successes in Silesia in 1807, and in July of that year his brother placed him on the throne of the new kingdom of Westphalia. He married the princess Catherine of Würtemberg, in August, 1807, and reigned till the expulsion of the French from Germany in October, 1818. After Napoleon's return from Elba, Jerome joined him, and commanded a division at Waterloo, winning the special praise of Napoleon for his gallantry there. After living in exile at Trieste, Rome, and Lausanne, he returned to France in 1847, and became a field-marshal in 1850s.