Historical Name: Napoleon
Common Name: Weeping Willow
Latin Name: Salix babylonica
Napoleon Bonaparte, born on August 15, 1769 in Corsica, was a military genius. He was crowned Emperor of France in 1804. Napoleon conquered a large part of Europe and did much to modernize the nations he ruled. His devotion to the principles of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity was admired by many of the people he conquered. To this day, the impact of the Code Napoleon is evident in the laws of almost all European nations. After his disastrous Russian Campaign, Napoleon was exiled to the Island of Elba, but he soon made a dramatic comeback. In 1815, after he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled to the Island of St. Helena where he died on May 5, 1821. He was first buried on St. Helena in the shade of the Napoleon Weeping Willow. The Emperor’s remains now rest in Paris at Les Invalides. This tree was grown from a cutting of the Napoleon Weeping Willow.
(text adapted from American Forests)