Wilhelm

Wilhelm, name of 2 German emperors: Wilhelm I (1797–1888) and Wilhelm II (1859–1941). The elder became the first emperor of modern Germany—crowned king of Prussia and Wilhelm I (1861)—then kaiser of Germany (1871). With the help of the prime minister, Otto von Bismarck, Germany was unified into an empire with the success of the Franco-Prussian Wars (1870–71). The younger was the grandson of Wilhelm I and the last emperor (kaiser) of Germany. Not only did he make Germany prosperous through growth in manufacturing, trade, and colonization of parts of Africa and the Pacific, he also developed a powerful military force. Expansion and his disruption of an alliance with Russia resulted in World War I (1914–18). With German defeat eminent, Wilhelm II moved to the neutral Netherlands where he lived out the rest of his days in exile.

See also: Germany.