Louis-Étienne Saint-Denis

Louis-Étienne Saint-Denis (22 September 1788 – 3 May 1856) was a member of the Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard, leading him to be known in his lifetime as "Mamelouk Ali".

His father knew Armand de Caulaincourt, who recommended Louis-Étienne for a post at the imperial court and thus on 1 May 1806 he became a stableman in Napoleon's household.

On Saint Helena he did everything he could to ameliorate the emperor's conditions, such as preparing an eau de Cologne for him from local ingredients and acting as his copyist and librarian.

Two years later his devotion was rewarded in Napoleon's will by a substantial sum and the task of taking part of the emperor's library to his son, the former King of Rome.

Napoleon III made him a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1854 and he died two years later in Sens in northern France, where he was also buried.