Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 April 1

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April 1 edit

Napoleon Bonaparte edit

 
The Indonesian Napoleon Bonaparte.
 
The original French-Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte.

How did this Napoleon Bonaparte (police officer) get his last name, assuming it's neither a native Indonesian surname nor a pseudonym? Legally changed for consistency with his given name? 212.180.235.46 (talk) 07:53, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

There are several guys with that surname. See Bonaparte. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 09:13, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
And there are several notable people with the same name Napoleon Bonaparte (disambiguation), but most of them are French. I think you're suggesting that "Bonaparte" is not a typical Indonesian surname? I really have no idea on that. Martinevans123 (talk) 09:52, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Even today many Indonesians don't have surnames, so perhaps he bestowed it upon himself. Often you have to choose a surname upon joining the military or attending college or similar situations. Or maybe his father was a fan of Napoleon. Abductive (reasoning) 10:18, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Seems his uniform bore just the name NAPOLEON: [1]. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:49, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Confirming User:Abductive's comments:
It is common for Indonesians (especially the Javanese) to only have one name by which they are both formally and casually addressed. The use of surnames can be uncommon... Sometimes people will invent a family name in order to mitigate issues when moving to or often visiting other countries. [2]
Another possibility is that his family had roots in French Indochina, now Vietnam, which is not a million miles away.
Alansplodge (talk) 11:30, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I guess it sounds better than Our Leader, Comrade Napoleon. Martinevans123 (talk) 11:36, 1 April 2021 (UTC) [reply]

Based on the pictures of the two Napoleons on the right, it truly is amazing to see there being a striking physical resemblance between the two of them! Futurist110 (talk) 21:13, 2 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, sometimes people are named after bad and/or strange historical figures. Just take a look at these two people: M. K. Stalin and Osama Vinladen, named after Joseph Stalin and Osama bin Laden, respectively. Futurist110 (talk) 21:17, 2 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Napoleon is still a hero in France. Alansplodge (talk) 23:14, 2 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I know. My point here is that even much worse historical figures still sometimes have people name their kids after them. Futurist110 (talk) 01:35, 3 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Frode Haltli wasn't exactly named after Hitler, but his name is an anagram of "Adolf Hitler". -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 14:39, 3 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Any truth to the rumor that Hitler played accordion in his spare time? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:04, 3 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Irmgard Hörl (1927-1973) edit

Please, can you find other information about the life of Irmgard Hörl, the female professor who discovered the tomb of Robespierre's father in Munich? Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.31.23.139 (talk) 09:27, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Maximilien de Robespierre edit

The act of burial for Robespierre's father was published in "Annales historiques de la Révolution française, 1958, 2". Can you find and edit it in "Notes"? Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.31.23.139 (talk) 09:32, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The text of the article in the Annales can be found here. This might be added as a reference to cite the statement in the current note d. Anyone can edit Wikipedia, so you can add this yourself. (The German text of the burial record as produced in the article has some copying errors; "eintaufend siebenhundertsiebenzig" should clearly be "eintausend siebenhundertsiebenundsiebzig".)  --Lambiam 10:23, 2 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Also, the author incorrectly assigned the masculine article le to Dr Irmgard Hörl.  --Lambiam 10:35, 2 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
The generic masculine article is correct, see for example le docteur Marie Curie. By the way, the burial record of 6 Nov 1777 is now online. In case the link does not work, here my extract: Munich, Liebfrauenkirche, record book #CB301, M9328 - Sterbefälle Erwachsene - 1733 - 1780, digital view 234, fol. 229 verso): 6 Nov 1777 ″Maximilianus de Robespierre de Aras, Sprachmaister, [burial] ad S[anctum] Salv[atorem].″ This refers to Salvatorkirche cemetery in Munich, shown here. --Pp.paul.4 (talk) 08:20, 6 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]