Montpellier and Napoléon

Charles Bonaparte, the father:

Suffering from a stomach ulcer, Napoleon’s father came to Montpellier in 1784 to be treated by the prestigious College of Medicine but unfortunately it was already too late – He was buried in one of the Cordeliers’ vaults of the Observance convent: the current Rockstore concert hall which is located 20 rue de Verdun!

Chaptal, the builder :

Eminent scholar who studied in Montpellier and Minister of the Interior until 1804. Among his many achievements in France, he promoted the development of the new Faculty of Medicine and financed the orangery of the Jardin des Plantes.

Jean-Jacques de Cambaceres, right-hand man of the Emperor:

Son of a mayor of Montpellier, Cambaceres becomes second consul in 1800 then prince-archchancellor since 1804. He chairs the Senate, the Council of State and the imperial administration when the Emperor is in campaign.

Albine de Montholon, the mistress:

Albine is the daughter of the Marquis de Vassal, general controller of finances in Languedoc, who lives in the château de l’Engarran in Lavérune. After marrying a lieutenant-colonel in Napoleon’s army, Charles Tristan de Montholon, she accompanies the Emperor in exile to St-Helena, where she shares his intimacy for four years.

And others: Laura Junot d’Abrantès, Louis Lepic, Mathieu Dumas…