December 2 in history marks as a successful day for war-monger and military genius Napoleon Bonaparte and his family as well. The enigmatic emperor, who have been symbolized throughout the decades and recognized with streets, ships and various movies and other forms of media named after him have been historically active on this given day, December 2. Born on 15 August 1769, Napoleon, then a young artillery officer, quickly rose through the ranks during the French First Republic to General and in 1799, executed a successful coup d’état, overthrowing the French Directory with the French Consulate, consisting of three consuls; one of them being himself.

On December 2 1804, at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, after failed attempts by several political groups to assassinate and kidnap him, Napoleon consolidated the French Consulate and crowned himself as Emperor of the French, the first emperor in France in a thousand years. Napoleon’s empire did not just end in France. His military might and genius proved to be too much for France’s neighbors as just a mere five months later, on 26 May 1805, he crowned himself the King of Italy, wearing the Iron Crown of Lombardy, signaling the formation of the Napoleonic Empire. His run as emperor did not come easy as Britain, Austria, and Russia along with Naples, Portugal and Sweden formed the Third Coalition against the French Napoleonic era.

Exactly a year after his coronation as the Emperor of France, on December 2 1805, Napoleon decisively defeated The Third Coalition in the huge Battle of Austerlitz, considered to be one of Napoleon’s greatest victories; the win effectively ended the Third Coalition and Napoleon continued his conquest to be one of the greatest generals in the history of the modern world.

December 2 was not only a successful day for Napoleon, but also for his family as almost fifty years after his coronation as Emperor of the French, Charles Louis Bonaparte, famously known as Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, was elected as the French President on December 2 1851 after a successful coup d’état, overthrowing the largely monarchist Second Republic . With the memory of national hero Napoleon I and the public’s dislike of monarchists who were running France prior to the election, Napoleon III scored a landslide victory during the elections and staged a coup d’état that was largely approved by the French people.

A year later, on the 48th anniversary of Napoleon I’s crowning as Emperor, a referendum was approved and Napoleon III became Emperor Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, on December 2 1852. Despite Napoleon III being Napoleon I’s nephew and sharing the same Bonaparte blood, Napoleon III’s reign as emperor was starkly different than that of his nephew’s. Although the empire was largely authoritarian and dismissed free debate or speech, Napoleon III focused mostly to improve economic situations in the country and stabilize the social policies of France after years of social instability caused by the past monarchs and republic. Napoleon III’s reign was also an empire of peace as throughout his reign, Napoleon III constantly assured foreign neighbors he would not attack their governments, proving to others that he was taking a different direction than that of his uncle’s.

As the reign of both Napoleons passed and became norm textbook reads for history classes throughout the globe, December 2 became the day two French leaders of the same family rose to power. One, a military genius, and the other a diplomacy leader, champion of the poor and working class. Both largely revered in France.