Biographies : 187
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BiographyNORVINS, Jacques de
Jacques de Norvins was born in Paris on 18 June, 1769 (the same year as the emperor, he used to say proudly). He was the son of a wealthy tax administrator (receveur général des finances). After studying law, he became a magistrate and councillor-auditeur at the Châtelet de Paris.In 1792 he emigrated, serving in the […]
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BiographyOSTEN-SACKEN, Prince Fabian Gottlieb von
Fabian Gottlieb von Osten-Sacken, a Baltic German notable for his performance in the campaigns of 1812 and 1813, was born on 31 October 1752. He took part in the Russo-Turkish War in 1769-1770, where he participated in the Blockade of Khotin and other engagements, while being promoted to the rank of ensign in 1769 in […]
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BiographyOudinot, Nicolas-Charles
Nicolas-Charles Oudinot was born in Bar-le-Duc on 25 April, 1767, into a family from the petite-bourgeoisie. At the age of seventeen, after completing his studies in his hometown as well as in Toul and unwilling to follow in his father's professional footsteps, he signed up for the Médoc Infantry regiment, in 1784. Returning to the […]
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BiographyPAOLI, Pascal, Philippe, Antoine (also known as Pasquale Paoli)
Paoli was born on 6 April, 1725, in Stretta in the parish of Rostino, a smaller part of Morosaglia in central-northern Corsica. He was the son of Giacinto Paoli, who in 1729 led Corsican rebels against the Genoese rulers of island. His early years were spent in rejection of foreign rule of Corsica. In 1739 […]
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BiographyPASHA, Ismail
Viceroy of Egypt, son of Ibrahim Pasha, born in Cairo in 1830. Sent to France to complete his education, he followed a course of study at the École d’état-major, at the same time as his elder brother, Ahmet Rifaat, and returned to Egypt in 1849. Some years later, Ismail travelled to Constantinople, where he received […]
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BiographyPASHA, Saïd, Mohammed
Viceroy of Egypt, born in Cairo in 1822 (by a woman from the Caucasus) the fourth son of Mohammed-Ali. He died, also in Cairo, in 1863. Mohammed-Ali devoted himself wholeheartedly to educating Saïd Pasha in the European style, by employing tutors, most of whom were French, and one of whom was Koenig-Bey, who later became […]
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BiographyPASQUIER, Etienne Denis, Baron
Etienne Pasquier was born into a noble family, one of whose illustrious ancestors (Estienne Pasquier) had written Recherches sur la France. His father was president of the Chambre des enquêtes at the Paris parlement, his mother a jansenist. He was sent to school at the austere Collège de Juilly. Brilliant, he was given a dispensation […]
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BiographyPFÜHL, Karl Ludwig August
Karl Ludwig August Pfühl was born in 1757 into Württemberg nobility and entered the Württemberg army in 1774 before subsequently joining the Prussian army in 1777. By 1781, he was a member of the general staff under Frederick the Great and in 1793, he participated in the Rhine campaign as part of the First Coalition […]
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BiographyPirch I, Generalmajor Georg Dubislav Ludwig von (1763-1838)Generalmajor Georg Dubislav Ludwig von Pirch I (1763-1838)
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BiographyPITT, William, ‘the Younger’‘Chez Fox le coeur échauffait le génie, au lieu que chez Pitt le génie desséchait le coeur', Napoleon to Gougaud, Saint Helena, 1817.