Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power in France by seizing control in a successful coup d'etat after the weak Directory government. He later crowned himself Emperor in 1804. However, his invasion of Russia in 1812 proved disastrous and marked the beginning of his fall from power. After being defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. Despite his eventual downfall, Napoleon made important contributions to France, including establishing the Napoleonic Code which standardized laws and reduced legal inequalities.