Bonaparte, Joseph

Bonaparte, Joseph

(born Jan. 7, 1768, Corte, Corsica—died July 28, 1844, Florence, Tuscany, Italy) French lawyer, diplomat, and soldier. Elder brother of Napoleon, he served during Napoleon's reign as king of Naples (1806–08), where he abolished feudalism, reformed the monastic orders, and reorganized the judicial, financial, and educational systems. He was named king of Spain in 1808, but his attempts at reform there were less successful. In 1813 he abdicated and returned to France. After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, Joseph lived in the U.S. (1815–32) and later settled in Italy.