William I was king of Prussia and German emperor. He was born in 1797 at Berlin the son of FrederickWilliam III. of Prussia and died in 1888. He first saw service in the war of liberation against Napoleon I, and for his gallantry in the 1814 campaign in France received the iron cross. His reactionary sympathies at the time of the revolution of 1818 in Berlin made him very unpopular, and he was compelled to take refuge in England. In 1858 the mind of the king, Frederick William, gave way, and Prince William became regent.
In the beginning of 1861 William I succeeded to the throne of Prussia. In September 1862 he called Otto Bismarck to office, and in 1863 the Schleswig-Holstein question came to the fore, and embittered the relations of Austria and Prussia. In 1866 the Austro-Prussian war broke out, and at the conclusion of the war the Prussian ascendancy in Germany was assured. The war of 1870 - 1871 completed the triumph of William I. On January 18th 1871, in the palace of Versailles, William I was chosen German emperor. William I's honesty and sagacity made him universally popular.
William I was king of the Netherlands. He was born in 1772 at the Hague, the son of William V and died in 1843. He was the last hereditary stadtholder. He commanded the army of the Netherlands against France from 1793 until the subjection of the kingdom in 1795. After that he joined the army of Prussia, and served as a general until his capture by the French at Jena in 1806. He also served in the Austrian army. On the downfall of Napoleon, and the subsequent adjustment of European affairs, the Congress of Vienna decided that Belgium and Holland should be united under one sovereign, William I. He reigned until 1840, when he resigned in favour of his son William II. Research William I
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