Otto von Bismarck was born on 1 April 1815 in Schönhausen (Elbe). A Prussian and German statesman, Bismarck became minister-president of Prussia in 1862 and then used wars against Denmark in 1864, Austria in 1866 and France in 1870 and 1871 to unify the German states under Prussian leadership. In 1871 the German Empire was proclaimed and he became its first chancellor, a post he held until 1890. He practised a hard-headed foreign policy, now called Realpolitik, and built a system of alliances to keep France isolated and Europe at peace. At home he fought the Catholic Church in the Kulturkampf, suppressed the socialists and introduced pioneering social insurance. Wilhelm II dismissed him in 1890.
Before and after
- 8 January 1815Battle of New Orleans
- 6 March 1815Discovery of 13P/Olbers
- 16 March 1815Founding of Kingdom of the Netherlands
- from 20 March 1815 to 8 July 1815Hundred Days
- 1 April 1815Birth of Otto von Bismarck
- from 9 June 1815 to 1 January 1915Congress Poland
- from 10 June 1815 to 24 August 1866Founding of German Confederation
- 18 June 1815Battle of Waterloo
- from 3 July 1815 to 3 August 1818Russian Rurik Expedition
More in Wars, politics & history
- 1790Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
- from 24 June 1812 to 14 December 1812French invasion of Russia
- from 18 March 1839 to 29 August 1842First Opium War
- from 24 April 1846 to 2 February 1848Mexican-American War
- from 1 August 1894 to 17 April 1895First Sino-Japanese War
- from 8 October 1912 to 30 May 1913First Balkan War
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.