Vincent, Count Benedetti was a French diplomat. He is probably best known as one of the central figures in the instigation of the Franco-Prussian War through his role in the Ems Dispatch.
Portrait in 1856
Benedetti in 1895–96
The Ems Dispatch, sometimes called the Ems Telegram, was published on 13 July 1870; it incited the Second French Empire to declare war on the Kingdom of Prussia on 19 July 1870, starting the Franco-Prussian War. The actual dispatch was an internal telegram sent by Heinrich Abeken from Prussian King Wilhelm I's vacationing site at Ems to Otto von Bismarck in Berlin, describing demands made by the French ambassador concerning the Spanish succession. Bismarck, the chancellor of the North German Confederation, released a statement to the press, stirring up emotions in both France and Germany.
Memorial stone to the Ems Dispatch in Bad Ems
Wilhelm I of Prussia in Ems