Biography

Napoleon Alcindor Beaulieu was born in Namur, Belgium. As a young man, he served various roles within the Belgian Army steadily rising through the ranks. In 1834, he was named First Secretary of the Belgian Legation at Berlin. He became the Charge d'Affairs in Lisbon in 1840. In 1845, Beaulieu became Resident Minister in Washington, D.C. He returned to Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1849 where he served various diplomatic roles. In 1855, he was promoted to the rank of Envoy Extra-Ordinary and Full Minister and represented Belgium to the German Confederation in 1858. In 1866, Beaulieu was tasked with informing the Court of Mecklenburg and American dignitaries of the death of Leopold I and the ascent of Leopold II. Frances "Fanny" Seward recounts their visit to Washington in her 1866 diary.