Who was the 1st Kaiser of Germany?

Question

Tell me more about him. Don't ask me to find myself.

Answer 1

That would be Wilhelm I

In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War William was proclaimed German Emperor on January 18, 1871 in Versailles Palace. The title "German Emperor" was carefully chosen by Bismarck after discussion until (and after) the day of the proclamation. William accepted this title grudgingly as he would have preferred "Emperor of Germany" which, however, was unacceptable to the federated monarchs, and would also have signalled a claim to lands outside of his reign (Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg etc.). The title "Emperor of the Germans", as proposed in 1848, was ruled out from the start anyway, as he considered himself chosen "by the grace of God", not by the people as in a democratic republic.

By this ceremony, the North German Confederation (1867-1871) was transformed into the German Empire ("Kaiserreich", 1871-1918). This Empire was a federal state; the emperor was head of state and president (primus inter pares - first among equals) of the federated monarchs (the kings of Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, the grand dukes of Baden and Hesse, and so on, not to forget the senates of the free cities of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen).

In May 11, 1878, Max Hödel failed in an assassination attempt on William in Berlin. A second attempt was made on June 2, 1878, by the anarchist Karl Nobiling, who wounded William before committing suicide. These attempts 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 in October 18, 1878, for the purpose of fighting the socialist and working-class movement. The laws deprived the Social Democratic Party of Germany of its legal status; they 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 this policy of reprisals the Social Democratic Party increased its influence among the masses. Under pressure of the mass working-class movement the laws were repealed on October 1, 1890.

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".


[edit] Titles and styles
His Royal Highness Prince William of Prussia (1797-1861)
His Majesty The King of Prussia (1861-1871)
His Imperial and Royal Majesty The German Emperor, King of Prussia (1871-1888)

[edit] 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, Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz, Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen, Duke in Saxony, of Angria, of Westphalia, of Pomerania and of Lunenburg, Duke of Schleswig, of Holstein and of Krossen, Duke of Magdeburg, of Brene, of Guelderland and of Jülich, Cleves and Berg, Duke of the Wends and the Kassubes, of Lauenburg and of Mecklenburg, Landgrave of Hesse and in Thuringia, Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia, Prince of Orange, of Rugen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and of Pyrmont, Prince of Halberstadt, of Münster, of Minden, of Osnabrück, of Hildersheim, of Verdun, of Kammin, of Fulda, of Nassau and of Moess, Princely Count of Henneberg, Count of the Mark, of Ravensburg, of Hohenstein, of Tecklenburg and of Lingen, Count of Mansfield, of Sigmaringen and of Veringen, Lord of Frankfurt, etc. [1]


[edit] Issue
Imperial and Royal Styles of
German Emperor William I, King of Prussia

Reference style His Imperial and Royal Majesty
Spoken style Your Imperial and Royal Majesty
Alternative style Sire

In 1829, William married Augusta of Saxe-Weimar and had two children:

Frederick III, German Emperor (1831–1888) and
Princess Louise of Prussia (1838–1923)

[edit] Memorials
From 1867–1918 more than 1,000 memorials to William I were constructed, including the Kyffhäuser Monument in Thuringia.

Answer 2

Strictly speaking the Holy Roman Emperors of the First German Reich (962-1806) called themselves "Kaiser" (which means "Emperor").

So, technically, the first Kaiser of Germany would be Otto I, "The Great" (912-973). See link 1 below.

Most people associate the word "Kaiser" with the Second Reich (1871-1918) and the first Kaiser in this period was Wilhelm I (1797-1888). See links 2 and 3

Answer 3

William the 1st