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Wilhelm I. deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen
(22.03.1797 - 09.03.1888)
place of birth: Berlin
Königreich
Preußen: Seine
Majestät der Kaiser und König,
Chef der Armee
Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig von Preußen,
King of Prussia from 1861 to
1888 and emperor (Kaiser) of Germany from 1871 to 1888; son of
Friedrich Wilhelm III. Essentially a conservative ruler who upon
assuming the crown set about reorganizing the Army. When he met with
opposition from parliament, he appointed Bismarck as Prime Minister
(1862); he was thereafter completely guided by Bismarck, who suppressed
all opposition to the king as well as to himself.
Prussia began its series of military triumphs:
the Danish War over Schleswig-Holstein (1864), the Austro-
Prussian War (1866), and the Franco-Prussian War
(1870-71). Upon the surrender of Napoleon III., Bismarck has Wilhelm I.
crowned as the initial Emperor of a unified Germany, an event which took place
in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace. Wilhelm
I.'s subsequent rule was crucial in modern history as it saw the rise of Germany as
a great European military power. Wilhelm I. died on 9 March
1888 in Berlin.
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