Otto von Bismarck

1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898

Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) was a Prussian statesman who masterminded the unification of Germany and served as the first Chancellor of the German Empire from 1871 to 1890. Through a policy of 'blood and iron' he engineered wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, and afterwards maintained European peace through a complex system of alliances. He also pioneered early welfare-state legislation while suppressing socialist and Catholic political movements.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Otto von Bismarck.

Life events

Born in Schönhausen, Prussia
1 April 1815

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was born into a Junker landowning family in Schönhausen, in the Prussian province of Saxony.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Studied law at the University of Göttingen
1832 – 1835

Bismarck began legal studies at the University of Göttingen before continuing at the University of Berlin.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Johanna von Puttkamer
28 July 1847

Bismarck married the pious noblewoman Johanna von Puttkamer, with whom he had three children.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed Prussian envoy to the German Confederation in Frankfurt
1851 – 1859

Bismarck served as Prussia's representative to the Diet of the German Confederation, his first major diplomatic post.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed Minister President of Prussia
23 September 1862

King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck head of the Prussian government during a constitutional crisis over army reform.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Led Prussia to victory in the Austro-Prussian War
14 June 1866 – 23 August 1866

Prussia's rapid defeat of Austria excluded Austria from German affairs and led to the creation of the North German Confederation.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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German Empire proclaimed; Bismarck became first Chancellor
18 January 1871

Following victory in the Franco-Prussian War, the German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles and Bismarck became its first Chancellor.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Presided over the Congress of Berlin
13 June 1878 – 13 July 1878

Bismarck hosted and chaired the Congress of Berlin, which reorganized the Balkans after the Russo-Turkish War and confirmed his role as Europe's 'honest broker'.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Dismissed as Chancellor by Kaiser Wilhelm II
18 March 1890

After clashing with the young Kaiser Wilhelm II over policy, Bismarck was forced to resign and retired to his estate at Friedrichsruh.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died at Friedrichsruh
30 July 1898

Bismarck died at his Friedrichsruh estate near Hamburg at the age of 83.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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