Bernadotte, Jean Baptiste Jules, << BUR nuh daht, zhahn bah TEEST zhool >> (1763-1844), a French soldier who became one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s marshals, founded the present Swedish royal line. He was elected crown prince of Sweden in 1810. He commanded an allied army that helped defeat Napoleon at Leipzig in 1813. He ruled Sweden and Norway from 1818 to 1844 under the name Charles XIV John (Karl XIV Johan in Swedish). During his reign, he made many reforms and much economic progress.
Bernadotte was born on Jan. 26, 1763, in Pau, France. He died on March 8, 1844.
