François Carlo Antommarchi
The Corsican doctor who stood at Napoleon Bonaparte's bedside on St. Helena, witnessing the final act of an emperor's life.
1780–1838 (age 58)·Italian physician·Birthday: July 5
Biography
François Carlo Antommarchi's name is forever tethered to one of history's most famous patients. A young anatomy lecturer from Corsica, he was a surprising and somewhat reluctant choice to join the small entourage caring for the exiled Napoleon on the remote island of St. Helena in 1819. He arrived to find a former emperor in physical decline, clashing with the other physicians and with Napoleon himself over treatments. Despite the tensions, Antommarchi was present for the long, drawn-out finale, attending Napoleon through his final illness in 1821. His posthumous role was as macabre as it was historic: he performed the autopsy, controversially concluding that Napoleon died of stomach cancer. While his medical skills were questioned, his position granted him an intimate, front-row seat to a monumental historical moment, and his memoirs and the death mask he made became key, if disputed, documents in the enduring mystery of Napoleon's death.
#1 When François Was Born
The biggest hits of 1780
François's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1780Born
1785Started school
1793Became a teenager
1796Could drive
1798Could vote
1801Turned 21
1810Turned 30
1820Turned 40
1830Turned 50
1838Died at 58
Key Achievements
- Served as Napoleon Bonaparte's personal physician from 1819 until the emperor's death in 1821 on St. Helena.
- Performed the official autopsy on Napoleon's body, identifying the cause of death as stomach cancer.
- Created a plaster death mask of Napoleon shortly after he died, one of several made at the time.
- Published memoirs of his time on St. Helena, providing a firsthand account of Napoleon's final years.
Did You Know?
He was not Napoleon's first choice; the emperor had requested another Corsican doctor who refused the post.
His autopsy report noted a 'granulated' and ulcerated stomach, supporting the cancer diagnosis.
After Napoleon's death, he traveled to Poland and then to Cuba, where he is believed to have died of yellow fever.
He was only in his late thirties when he served Napoleon, making him relatively inexperienced for such a high-profile role.
“The body is a text; I am but its reluctant translator.”
