I believe it has to do with French history of 1852: Dec. 2 Pres. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte of France, the nephew of Napoleon I, was proclaimed Emperor Napoleon III. (The "II" was skipped in deference to the dead son of Napoleon I.) Earlier in the month, the French people had voted 7,800,000 to 250,000 for "the restoration of imperial dignity." Napoleon III became the first modern European dictator.
Source: http://www.trivia-library.com/b/world-history-1852.htm