William I, German Emperor - wikipedia William I, German Emperor This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 22 January 2018. `` Wilhelm I '' redirects here. For other uses, see William I. Wilhelm I Portrait of Wilhelm I in 1884 German Emperor Reign 18 January 1871 -- 9 March 1888 Coronation 18 January 1871, Versailles Predecessor Empire founded Successor Frederick III Chancellor Otto von Bismarck King of Prussia Reign 2 January 1861 -- 9 March 1888 Coronation 18 October 1861 Predecessor Frederick William IV Successor Frederick III Prime Ministers See list Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern Prince Adolf zu Hohenlohe - Ingelfingen Otto von Bismarck Albrecht von Roon Holder of the Bundespräsidium of the North German Confederation In office 1 July 1867 -- 31 December 1870 Chancellor Otto von Bismarck 22 March 1797 Berlin, Prussia, Holy Roman Empire 9 March 1888 ( 1888 - 03 - 09 ) ( aged 90 ) Berlin, German Empire Burial Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, German Empire Spouse Augusta of Saxe - Weimar Issue Frederick III, German Emperor Louise, Grand Duchess of Baden House Hohenzollern Father Frederick William III of Prussia Mother Louise of Mecklenburg - Strelitz Religion Lutheranism ( Prussian United ) Signature Prussian Royalty House of Hohenzollern William I Children Frederick III Louise, Grand Duchess of Baden William I, or in German Wilhelm I. ( full name : William Frederick Louis of Hohenzollern, German : Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig von Hohenzollern, 22 March 1797 -- 9 March 1888 ), of the House of Hohenzollern was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and the first German Emperor from 18 January 1871 to his death, the first Head of State of a united Germany. Under the leadership of William and his Minister President Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. Despite his long support of Bismarck as Minister President, William held strong reservations about some of Bismarck 's more reactionary policies, including his anti-Catholicism and tough handling of subordinates. In contrast to the domineering Bismarck, William was described as polite, gentlemanly and, while a staunch conservative, more open to certain classical liberal ideas than his grandson Wilhelm II. Contents 1 Early life and military career 2 King 3 German Emperor 3.1 Assassination attempts and Anti-Socialist laws 3.2 Later years and death 4 Issue 5 Religion 6 Titles, styles, honours and arms 6.1 Titles and styles 6.2 Full title as German Emperor 6.3 Honours 7 Ancestry 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Early life and military career Queen Louise of Prussia with her two eldest sons ( later King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and the first German Emperor Wilhelm I ), circa 1808 The future king and emperor was born William Frederick Louis of Prussia ( Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig von Preußen ) in the Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin on 22 March 1797. As the second son of Louise of Mecklenburg - Strelitz and Prince Frederick William, himself son of King Frederick William II, William was not expected to ascend to the throne. His grandfather died the year he was born, at age 53, in 1797, and his father Frederick William III became king. He was educated from 1801 to 1809 by Johann Friedrich Gottlieb Delbrück ( de ), who was also in charge of the education of William 's brother, the Crown Prince Frederick William. At age twelve, his father appointed him an officer in the Prussian army. William served in the army from 1814 onward. Like his father he fought against Napoleon I of France during the part of the Napoleonic Wars known in Germany as the Befreiungskriege ( `` Wars of Liberation '', otherwise known as the War of the Sixth Coalition ), and was reportedly a very brave soldier. He was made a captain ( Hauptmann ) and won the Iron Cross for his actions at Bar - sur - Aube. The war and the fight against France left a lifelong impression on him, and he had a long - standing antipathy towards the French. In 1815, William was promoted to major and commanded a battalion of the 1. Garderegiment. He fought under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battles of Ligny and Waterloo. He became a diplomat, engaging in diplomatic missions after 1815. In 1816, William became the commander of the Stettiner Gardelandwehrbataillon and in 1818 was promoted to Generalmajor. The next year, William was appointed inspector of the VII. and VIII. Army Corps. This made him a spokesman of the Prussian Army within the House of Hohenzollern. He argued in favour of a strong, well - trained and well - equipped army. In 1820, William became commander of the 1. Gardedivision and in 1825 was promoted to commanding general of the III. Army Corps. In 1829, William married Princess Augusta von Sachsen - Weimar - Eisenach after Princess Elisa Radziwill, his cousin whom he had been attracted to, was deemed an inappropriate match by his father. William had been forced to abandon the relationship with Elisa in 1826. Augusta was the daughter of Grand Duke Karl Friedrich von Sachsen - Weimar - Eisenach. Their marriage was outwardly stable, but not a very happy one. In 1840 his older brother became King of Prussia. Since he had no children, William was first in line to succeed him to the throne and thus was given the title Prinz von Preußen. Against his convictions but out of loyalty towards his brother, in 1847 William signed the bill setting up a Prussian parliament ( Vereinigter Landtag ) and took a seat in the upper chamber, the Herrenhaus. During the Revolutions of 1848, William successfully crushed a revolt in Berlin that was aimed at his elder brother, King Frederick William IV. The use of cannon made him unpopular at the time and earned him the nickname Kartätschenprinz ( Prince of Grapeshot ). Indeed, he had to flee to England for a while, disguised as a merchant. He returned and helped to put down an uprising in Baden, where he commanded the Prussian army. In October 1849, he became governor - general of Rhineland and Westfalia, with a seat at the Kurfürstliches Schloss in Koblenz. During their time at Koblenz, William and his wife entertained liberal scholars like the historian Maximilian Wolfgang Duncker or August von Bethmann - Hollweg and Clemens Theodor Perthes ( de ). William 's opposition to liberal ideas gradually softened. In 1854, the prince was raised to the rank of a field - marshal and made governor of the federal fortress of Mainz. In 1857 Frederick William IV suffered a stroke and became mentally disabled for the rest of his life. In January 1858, William became Prince Regent for his brother, initially only temporarily but after October on a permanent basis. Against the advice of his brother, William swore an oath of office on the Prussian constitution and promised to preserve it `` solid and inviolable ''. William appointed a liberal, Karl Anton von Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen as Minister President and thus initiated what became known as the `` New Era '' in Prussia, although there were conflicts between William and the liberal majority in the Landtag on matters of reforming the armed forces. King Coronation of William I as King of Prussia at Königsberg Castle in 1861 On 2 January 1861 Frederick William died and William ascended the throne as William I of Prussia. In July a student from Leipzig tried to assassinate William, but he was only lightly injured. Like Frederick I of Prussia, William travelled to Königsberg and there crowned himself at the Schlosskirche. William chose the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig, 18 October, for this event, which was the first Prussian crowning ceremony since 1701 and the only crowning of a German king in the 19th century. William refused to comply with his brother 's wish, expressed in Frederick William 's last will, that he should abrogate the constitution. William inherited a conflict between Frederick William and the liberal Landtag. He was considered to be politically neutral as he intervened less in politics than his brother. In 1862 the Landtag refused an increase in the military budget needed to pay for the already implemented reform of the army. This involved raising the peacetime army from 150,000 to 200,000 men and boost the annual number of new recruits from 40,000 to 63,000. However, the truly controversial part was the plan to keep the length of military service ( raised in 1856 from two years ) at three years. When his request, backed by his Minister of War Albrecht von Roon was refused, William first considered abdicating, but his son, the Crown Prince, advised strongly against it. Then, on the advice of Roon, William appointed Otto von Bismarck to the office of Minister President in order to force through the proposals. According to the Prussian constitution, the Minister President was responsible solely to the king, not to the Landtag. Bismarck, a conservative Prussian Junker and loyal friend of the king, liked to see his working relationship with William as that of a vassal to his feudal superior. Nonetheless, it was Bismarck who effectively directed the politics, domestic as well as foreign ; on several occasions he gained William 's assent by threatening to resign. During his reign William was the commander - in - chief of the Prussian forces in the Second Schleswig War against Denmark in 1864 and the Austro - Prussian War in 1866. After the latter was won by Prussia, William wanted to march on to Vienna and annex Austria but Bismarck and Crown Prince Frederick talked him out of it. Bismarck wanted to end the war quickly, so as to allow Prussia to ally with Austria if it needed to at a later date ; Frederick was also appalled by the casualties and wanted a speedy end to hostilities. During a heated discussion Bismarck threatened to resign if William continued to Vienna ; Bismarck got his way. In 1867, the North German Confederation was created, as a federation ( federally organised state ) of the North German and Central German states. William became the bearer of the Bundespräsidium, the federal presidium. Not expressis verbis, but in function he was the head of state. Bismarck intentionally avoided a title such as Präsident as sounding too republican. William became also the constitutional Bundesfeldherr, the commander of all federal armed forces. Via treaties with the South German states, he became commander also of their armies in case of war. In 1870, during the Franco - Prussian War, William was in command of all the German forces at the crucial Battle of Sedan. German Emperor William I is proclaimed German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, France ( painting by Anton von Werner ). William I in a hussar 's uniform, in a painting by Emil Hünten During the Franco - Prussian War, the South German states joined the North German Confederation. The country was renamed Deutsches Reich ( the German Empire ), and the title of Bundespräsidium was amended with the title Deutscher Kaiser ( German Emperor ). This was decided on by the legislative organs, the Reichstag and Bundesrat, and William agreed to this on 18 December in the presence of a Reichstag delegation. The new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871. William, however, hesitated to accept the constitutional title, as he feared that it would overshadow his own title of Prussian king. He also wanted it to be Kaiser von Deutschland ( `` Emperor of Germany '' ), but Bismarck warned him that the South German princes might protest. William eventually -- though grudgingly -- relented, and on 18 January, in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace, he was proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm. The date was chosen as the coronation date of the first Prussian king in 1701. In the national memory, 18 January became the day of the foundation of the Empire ( Reichsgründungstag ), although it did not have a constitutional significance. In 1872 he arbitrated a boundary dispute between Great Britain and the United States, deciding in favor of the U.S. and placing the San Juan Islands of Washington State within U.S. national territory, thus ending the 12 - year bloodless Pig War. In his memoirs, Bismarck describes William as an old - fashioned, courteous, infallibly polite gentleman and a genuine Prussian officer, whose good common sense was occasionally undermined by `` female influences ''. This was a reference to William 's wife, who had been educated by, among others Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and was intellectually superior to her husband. She was also at times very outspoken in her opposition to official policies as she was a liberal. William, however, had long been strongly opposed to liberal ideas. Despite possessing considerable power as Kaiser, William left the task of governing mostly to his chancellor and limited himself to representation, embodying the dignity of the state and approving Bismarck 's policies. Assassination attempts and Anti-Socialist laws Caricature of William I by Thomas Nast which appeared in The Fight at Dame Europa 's School by Henry William Pullen On 11 May 1878, a plumber named Emil Max Hödel failed in an assassination attempt on William in Berlin. Hödel used a revolver to shoot at the then 81 years old Emperor, while he and his daughter, Princess Louise of Prussia, paraded in their carriage on Unter den Linden. When the bullet missed, Hödel ran across the street and fired another round which also missed. In the commotion one of the individuals who tried to apprehend Hödel suffered severe internal injuries and died two days later. Hödel was seized immediately. He was tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and executed on 16 August 1878. A second attempt to assassinate William I was made on 2 June 1878 by Dr. Karl Nobiling. As the Emperor drove past in an open carriage, the assassin fired two shots from a shotgun at him from the window of a house off the Unter den Linden. William was severely wounded and was rushed back to the palace. Nobiling shot himself in an attempt to commit suicide. While William survived this attack, the assassin died from his self - inflicted wound three months later. Despite the fact that Hödel had been expelled from the Social Democratic Party, his actions were used as a pretext by Bismarck to ban the party through the `` Anti-Socialist Law '' in October 1878. To do this, Bismarck partnered with Ludwig Bamberger, a Liberal, who had written on the subject of Socialism, `` If I do n't want any chickens, then I must smash the eggs. '' No one in the Social - Democratic Party even knew of Karl Nobiling, but that is not to say that he was not politically motivated. These attempts on William 's life thus became the pretext for the institution of the Anti-Socialist Law, which was introduced by Bismarck 's government with the support of a majority in the Reichstag on 18 October 1878, for the purpose of fighting the socialist and working - class movement. These laws deprived the Social Democratic Party of Germany of its legal status ; prohibited all organizations, workers ' mass organizations and the socialist and workers ' press ; decreed confiscation of socialist literature ; and subjected Social - Democrats to reprisals. The laws were extended every 2 -- 3 years. Despite the reprisals the Social Democratic Party increased its influence among the masses. Under pressure of the mass working - class movement the laws were repealed on 1 October 1890. Later years and death Funeral procession of German Emperor William I, 1888 In August 1878, Russian Tsar Alexander II, William 's nephew, wrote a letter ( known as Ohrfeigenbrief ) to him complaining about the treatment Russian interests had received at the Congress of Berlin. In response, William, his son the crown prince and his wife Augusta travelled to Russia ( against the advice of Bismarck ) to mend fences in face - to - face talks. However, by once again threatening to resign, Bismarck overcame the opposition of William to a closer alliance with Austria. In October, William agreed to the Zweibund between Germany and Austria - Hungary which was directed against Russia. Another assassination attempt failed on 18 September 1883 when William unveiled the Niederwalddenkmal in Rüdesheim. A group of anarchists had prepared an attack using dynamite which failed due to the wet weather. Despite the assassination attempts and William 's unpopular role in the 1848 uprising, he and his wife were very popular, especially in their later years. Many people considered them the personification of `` the old Prussia '' and liked their austere and simple lifestyle. William died on 9 March 1888 in Berlin after a short illness. He was buried on 16 March at the Mausoleum at Park Charlottenburg. To honour him a large number of memorials / statues were erected all over the country over the following years. The best - known among them are the Kyffhäuser monument ( 1890 -- 96 ) in Thuringia, the monument at Porta Westfalica ( 1896 ) and the mounted statue of William at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz ( 1897 ). The statue next to the Stadtschloss, Berlin ( 1898 ) was melted down by the government of East Berlin in 1950. From 1867 to 1918 more than 1,000 memorials to William I were constructed. Issue William and Augusta of Saxe - Weimar had two children : Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia ( 18 October 1831 -- 15 June 1888 ) he married Victoria, Princess Royal on 25 January 1858. They had eight children. Princess Louise of Prussia ( 3 December 1838 -- 23 April 1923 ) she married Prince Frederick of Baden on 20 September 1856. They had three children. Religion Emperor William I was a Lutheran member of the Evangelical State Church of Prussia 's older Provinces. It was a United Protestant denomination, bringing together Reformed and Lutheran believers. Titles, styles, honours and arms William 's monogram Gold 10 Mark of William showing titles Titles and styles 22 March 1797 -- 2 January 1861 : His Royal Highness Prince William of Prussia 2 January 1861 -- 18 January 1871 : His Majesty The King of Prussia 18 January 1871 -- 9 March 1888 : His Imperial and Royal Majesty The German Emperor, King of Prussia Full title as German Emperor His Imperial and Royal Majesty William the First, by the Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia ; Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern ; Sovereign and Supreme Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz ; Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen ; Duke of Saxony, of Westphalia, of Angria, of Pomerania, Lüneburg, Holstein and Schleswig, of Magdeburg, of Bremen, of Guelders, Cleves, Jülich and Berg, Duke of the Wends and the Kassubes, of Crossen, Lauenburg and Mecklenburg ; Landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia ; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia ; Prince of Orange ; Prince of Rügen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and Pyrmont, of Halberstadt, Münster, Minden, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, of Verden, Cammin, Fulda, Nassau and Moers ; Princely Count of Henneberg ; Count of Mark, of Ravensberg, of Hohenstein, Tecklenburg and Lingen, of Mansfeld, Sigmaringen and Veringen ; Lord of Frankfurt. Honours Belgium : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold in 1851. Thailand Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri Ancestry This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2016 ) Ancestors of William I, German Emperor 16. Frederick William I of Prussia 8. Prince Augustus William of Prussia 17. Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover 4. Frederick William II of Prussia 18. Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel 9. Duchess Luise of Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel 19. Princess Antoinette of Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel 2. Frederick William III of Prussia 20. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse - Darmstadt 10. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse - Darmstadt 21. Countess Charlotte of Hanau - Lichtenberg 5. Princess Frederica Louise of Hesse - Darmstadt 22. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken 11. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken 23. Countess Caroline of Nassau - Saarbrücken 1. William I, German Emperor 24. Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg - Strelitz 12. Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg - Strelitz 25. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg - Sondershausen 6. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg - Strelitz 26. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe - Hildburghausen 13. Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe - Hildburghausen 27. Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach - Erbach 3. Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg - Strelitz 28. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse - Darmstadt ( = 20 ) 14. Prince George William of Hesse - Darmstadt 29. Countess Charlotte of Hanau - Lichtenberg ( = 21 ) 7. Princess Frederica of Hesse - Darmstadt 30. Count Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen - Dagsburg - Falkenburg 15. Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen - Dagsburg - Falkenburg 31. Countess Katharina Polyxena of Solms - Rödelheim See also Family tree of the German monarchs List of people from Berlin References Jump up ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber : Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789. Vol. III : Bismarck und das Reich. 3. Auflage, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1988, p. 657. Jump up ^ Fulbrook, Mary ( 2004 ). A Concise History of Germany, 2nd edition, 2004, Cambridge University Press, p. 128. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 54071 - 1. Jump up ^ Ybarra, Thomas R. Wilhelm II. ( 1921 ). The Kaiser 's Memoirs : Wilhelm II, Emperor Of Germany, 1888 -- 1918. Harper And Brothers Publisher. ISBN 0 - 548 - 32330 - 5 ^ Jump up to : `` Biografie Wilhelm I ( German ) ''. Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 12 June 2013. ^ Jump up to : Feldhahn, Ulrich ( 2011 ). Die preußischen Könige und Kaiser ( German ). Kunstverlag Josef Fink, Lindenberg. pp. 24 -- 26. ISBN 978 - 3 - 89870 - 615 - 5. Jump up ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. ( 1911 ). `` William I. of Germany ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. 28 ( 11th ed. ). Cambridge University Press. pp. 665 -- 667. ^ Jump up to : Oster, Uwe A. `` Friedrich III. - Der 99 - Tage - Kaiser ''. Damals ( in German ). Vol. 45 no. 3 / 2013. pp. 60 -- 65. ISSN 0011 - 5908. Jump up ^ Munroe Smith ( 1898 ). Bismarck and German Unity : A Historical Outline. Macmillan. pp. 80 -- 81. Jump up ^ Michael Kotulla : Deutsches Verfassungsrecht 1806 - 1918. Eine Dokumentensammlung nebst Einführungen. Vol. 1 : Gesamtdeutschland, Anhaltische Staaten und Baden, Berlin 2006, p. 211. Jump up ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber : Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789. Vol. III : Bismarck und das Reich. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1988, pp. 750 / 751. Jump up ^ William Dawson ( 14 July 2017 ). History of the German Empire. Merkaba Press. p. 355. Jump up ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber : Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789. Vol. III : Bismarck und das Reich. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1988, pp. 751 - 753. Jump up ^ Mike Vouri ( 2013 ). The Pig War : Standoff at Griffin Bay. pp. 248 -- 50. Jump up ^ Hödel, Max. article in : Meyers Konversations - Lexikon, 4. Aufl. 1888 -- 1890, Bd. 8, S. 603 f. ( in German ) Jump up ^ `` Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany ( 1859 - 1941 ) ''. Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved 2013 - 11 - 05. Jump up ^ Rudolf Graf v. Stillfried : Die Titel und Wappen des preußischen Königshauses. Berlin 1875. Jump up ^ Le livre d'or de l'ordre de Léopold et de la croix de fer, Volume 1 / Ferdinand Veldekens Further reading Röhl John C.G. Young Wilhelm : The Kaiser 's Early Life, 1859 - 1888 ( 1998 ) online Steinberg, Jonathan. Bismarck : A Life ( 2011 ) Wilhelm Treue ( Hrsg. ) : Drei deutsche Kaiser. Wilhelm I. - Friedrich III. - Wilhelm II. ; ihr Leben und ihre Zeit... Ploetz, Freiburg ( u. a. ) 1987, ISBN 3 - 87640 - 192 - 5. Dieter Leuthold ( Hrsg. ) : Ein Bremer `` rettet `` den Kaiser. Die Flucht des Prinzen Wilhelm im Jahre 1848 aus Berlin, nach den Erinnerungen von August Oelrichs. Hauschild Verlag, Bremen 1998. Guntram Schulze - Wegener : Wilhelm I. Deutscher Kaiser, König von Preußen, Nationaler Mythos. Mittler, Hamburg 2015, ISBN 978 - 3 - 8132 - 0964 - 8. Christian Schwochert : Kaiser Wilhelm I, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978 - 1 - 5118 - 8283 - 5 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilhelm I of Germany. Archontology.org -- William I Webpage of the House of Hohenzollern ( in German ) Works by or about William I, German Emperor in libraries ( WorldCat catalog ) Texts on Wikisource : Carl Schurz, Kaiser Wilhelm I, 1888 William I, German Emperor House of Hohenzollern Born : 22 March 1797 Died : 9 March 1888 German nobility Preceded by Frederick William IV King of Prussia 2 January 1861 -- 9 March 1888 Succeeded by Frederick III New creation Unification of Germany German Emperor 18 January 1871 -- 9 March 1888 Preceded by Christian IX of Denmark Duke of Saxe - Lauenburg 1864 -- 1876 Incorporated into the Prussian crown Vacant Treaty of Vienna Title last held by Frederick VII of Denmark Duke of Schleswig and Holstein 1864 -- 1888 Preceded by Adolphe of Luxembourg as Duke of Nassau Prince of Nassau 1866 -- 1888 Preceded by Frederick William of Hesse as Elector of Hesse Landgrave of Hesse Prince of Fulda 1866 -- 1888 Preceded by Karl Fellner as Elder Mayor of Frankfurt Lord of Frankfurt 1866 -- 1888 Preceded by George V of Hanover as King of Hanover Prince of East Friesland, Osnabrück, Hildesheim and Verden Count of Lingen and Tecklenburg 1866 -- 1888 Political offices Preceded by Francis Joseph I of Austria as President of the German Confederation President of the North German Confederation 1 July 1867 -- 18 January 1871 Confederation abolished German Empire proclaimed Monarchs of Prussia Duchy of Prussia ( 1525 -- 1701 ) Albert Albert Frederick John Sigismund George William Frederick William Frederick I Kingdom of Prussia ( 1701 -- 1918 ) Frederick I Frederick William I Frederick II Frederick William II Frederick William III Frederick William IV William I Frederick III William II also Elector of Brandenburg ; also German Emperor Monarchs of Germany East Francia within the Carolingian Empire ( 843 -- 911 ) Louis the German Carloman Louis the Younger Charles the Fat Arnulf Louis the Child East Francia ( 911 -- 962 ) Conrad I Henry I Otto I Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire ( 962 -- 1806 ) Otto I Otto II Otto III Henry II Conrad II Henry III Henry IV Henry V Lothair II Conrad III Frederick I Henry VI Philip Otto IV Frederick II Conrad IV Rudolf I Adolf Albert I Henry VII Louis IV Charles IV Wenceslaus Rupert Sigismund Albert II Frederick III Maximilian I Charles V Ferdinand I Maximilian II Rudolf II Matthias Ferdinand II Ferdinand III Leopold I Joseph I Charles VI Charles VII Francis I Joseph II Leopold II Francis II Confederation of the Rhine ( 1806 -- 1813 ) Napoleon I German Confederation ( 1815 -- 1848 ) Francis I Ferdinand I German Empire ( 1848 / 1849 ) Archduke John of Austria ( Imperial Regent ) German Confederation ( 1850 -- 1866 ) Franz Joseph I North German Confederation ( 1867 -- 1871 ) William I German Empire ( 1871 -- 1918 ) William I Frederick III William II Princes of Prussia The generations are numbered from the ascension of Frederick I as King in Prussia in 1701. 1st generation Frederick William I 2nd generation Frederick Louis, Prince of Orange Frederick William, Prince of Orange Frederick II Prince Louis Charles William Prince Augustus William Prince Henry Prince Augustus Ferdinand 3rd generation Frederick William II Prince Henry Prince Emil Prince Henry Prince Christian Prince Louis Ferdinand Prince Paul Prince Augustus 4th generation Frederick William III Prince Louis Prince Henry Prince William 5th generation Frederick William III Frederick William IV William I Prince Charles Prince Ferdinand Prince Albert Frederick William II Prince Frederick Prince Charles Prince Tassilo Prince Adalbert Prince Tassilo Prince Waldemar 6th generation William I Frederick III Frederick William III Prince Frederick Charles Prince Albert Frederick William II Prince Alexander Prince George 7th generation Frederick III William II Prince Henry Prince Sigismund Prince Waldemar Friedrich Wilhelm III Prince Friedrich Leopold Prince Frederick Henry Albert Prince Joachim Albert Prince Friedrich Wilhelm 8th generation Wilhelm II Crown Prince Wilhelm Prince Eitel Friedrich Prince Adalbert Prince August Wilhelm Prince Oskar Prince Joachim Friedrich III Prince Waldemar Prince Sigismund Prince Henry Friedrich William III Prince Friedrich Sigismund Prince Frederick Charles Prince Frederick Leopold 9th generation Wilhelm II Prince Wilhelm Prince Louis Ferdinand Prince Hubertus Prince Frederick Prince Wilhelm Viktor Prince Alexander Ferdinand Prince Oskar Prince Burchard Prince Wilhelm - Karl Prince Karl Franz Frederick III Prince Alfred Frederick William III Prince Friedrich Karl 10th generation Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Prince Michael Prince Louis Ferdinand Prince Christian - Sigismund Prince Frederick Prince William Prince Rupert Prince Adalbert Prince Stephan Alexander Prince Wilhelm - Karl Prince Oskar Prince Franz Wilhelm Prince Friedrich Christian Prince Franz Friedrich 11th generation Prince Georg Friedrich Prince Christian Ludwig Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia Prince Alexander Prince Frederick Prince Christian Prince Frederick Nicholas Prince Oskar Prince Albert 12th generation Prince Carl Friedrich Prince Louis Ferdinand Prince Heinrich German Confederations ( 1806 -- 1871 ) Confederation of the Rhine 1806 -- 1813 Protector Napoleon I ( 1806 -- 1813 ) Prince primate Karl Theodor von Dalberg ( 1806 -- 1813 ) Eugène de Beauharnais ( 1813 ) German Confederation 1815 -- 1866 Presidents Francis I of Austria ( 1815 -- 1835 ) Ferdinand I of Austria ( 1835 -- 1848 ) Francis Joseph I of Austria ( 1850 -- 1866 ) Imperial regent Archduke Johann of Austria ( 1848 -- 1849 ) North German Confederation 1867 -- 1871 President Wilhelm I of Prussia ( 1867 -- 1871 ) Chancellor Otto von Bismarck ( 1867 -- 1871 ) List of German monarchs History of Germany House of Habsburg - Lorraine House of Hohenzollern Unification of Germany States Austrian Empire ( later Austria - Hungary ) Kingdom of Bavaria Kingdom of Hanover Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Saxony Kingdom of Württemberg more Unions German Confederation Zollverein German Empire ( 1848 / 1849 ) ( constitution ) Erfurt Union North German Confederation ( constitution ) German Empire ( constitution ) Events Vormärz 1814 -- 15 Congress of Vienna 1819 Carlsbad Decrees 1832 Hambach Festival 1833 Frankfurter Wachensturm 1848 Revolutions 1848 -- 49 Frankfurt Parliament 1850 Punctation of Olmütz 1850 - 51 Dresden Conference 1862 `` Blood and Iron '' speech 1864 Second Schleswig War 1866 Austro - Prussian War / Peace of Prague 1870 -- 71 Franco - Prussian War 1871 Treaty of Versailles People Baron von Stein Charles I of Württemberg Christian IX of Denmark Eduard von Simson Franz I of Austria Franz Joseph I of Austria Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William IV of Prussia Friedrich Daniel Bassermann Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust Heinrich von Gagern Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gustav Droysen Archduke John of Austria John of Saxony Karl August von Hardenberg Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich Ludwig II of Bavaria Napoleon III of France Otto von Bismarck Robert Blum Wilhelm von Humboldt Wilhelm I, German Emperor Related Alsace - Lorraine Burschenschaft Das Lied der Deutschen Die Wacht am Rhein Flag of Germany ( Lützow Free Corps ) Pan-Germanism Kleindeutschland / Großdeutschland Frankfurt Parliament German reunification Schleswig - Holstein Question Sonderweg Germany portal Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross 1813 Grand Cross Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher ( Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross ) Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg 1870 Grand Cross Albert of Saxony August Karl von Goeben Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel Helmuth Graf von Moltke the Elder Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia August Graf von Werder Kaiser Wilhelm I Frederick Francis II 1914 Grand Cross Kaiser Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg ( Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross ) Erich Ludendorff Prince Leopold of Bavaria August von Mackensen 1939 Grand Cross Hermann Göring VIAF : 121621349 LCCN : n80149385 ISNI : 0000 0001 1063 0020 GND : 118632884 SELIBR : 207087 SUDOC : 027764486 BNF : cb113442872 ( data ) NDL : 00795186 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_I,_German_Emperor&oldid=821802218 '' Categories : German emperors Kings of Prussia 1797 births 1888 deaths Colonel generals of Prussia Dukes of Saxe - Lauenburg Protestant monarchs Regents of Prussia German people of the Franco - Prussian War German Protestants House of Hohenzollern Prussian Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from Berlin Knights of the Garter Knights of the Golden Fleece Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of St. George of the First Degree Recipients of the Order of the Black Eagle Knights of the Order of Saint John ( Bailiwick of Brandenburg ) Recipients of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I Grand Crosses of the Order of the Red Eagle Grand crosses of the Military Karl - Friedrich Merit Order Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Burials at the Charlottenburg Palace Park Mausoleum, Berlin German Calvinist and Reformed Christians 1860s in Prussia 1870s in Germany 1870s in Prussia 1880s in Germany 1880s in Prussia 19th - century German people 19th - century rulers in Europe Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference CS1 German - language sources ( de ) Pages using infobox royalty with unknown parameters Articles containing German - language text Interlanguage link template link number All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2017 Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from May 2016 Articles needing additional references from December 2016 All articles needing additional references Articles with German - language external links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Pages using authority control with parameters VIAF different on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Aragonés Asturianu Azərbaycanca Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית ქართული Kiswahili Кыргызча لۊری شومالی Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar Македонски Malagasy मराठी Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча پنجابی Piemontèis Polski Português Română Русский Scots Seeltersk Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 吴语 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 22 January 2018, at 18 : 41. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was proclaimed the german emperor in 1871
Answer: William I