Jérôme Bonaparte

Born Girolamo Buonaparte in November 1784, Jérôme was Napoleon's youngest sibling and the one who tested familial patience hardest. A botched naval career nearly sparked war with Britain over a West Indies incident. In 1807 his brother made him King of Westphalia anyway; he reigned as Hieronymus Napoleon until 1813, leaving the state coffers empty and his personal debts for others to cover. During the 1812 invasion of Russia, his failure to provide expected military support contributed to tens of thousands of deaths. After the family's forced exile in 1815, he alone managed to return to France. When his nephew Louis Napoleon became president in 1848, Jérôme collected titles again: Marshal of France in 1850, President of the Senate in 1852. He died in June 1860, widely considered the least successful of Napoleon's brothers.