Otto von Bismarck
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Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg, was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as its first chancellor
Bismarck in 1885
Bismarck in 1833, at age 18
Bismarck in 1847, at age 32
Bismarck in 1863 with Roon (centre) and Moltke (right), the three leaders of Prussia in the 1860s
Wilhelm I
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Wilhelm I was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. He was regent o
Otto von Bismarck
…earned him the nickname Iron Chancellor (Eiserner Kanzler). From Junker landowner origins, Bismarck rose rapidly in Prussian politics under King Wilhelm I of Prussia. He served as the Prussian ambassador to Russia and France and in both houses of the Prussian parliament. From 1862 to 1890, he held office as the…
Wilhelm I in 1884
Prince Wilhelm at age 13, c. 1810
Portrait of Prince Wilhelm, by Frederick Richard Say, c. 1848
Coronation of William I as King of Prussia at Königsberg Castle, 18 October 1861.