Historedia
Episode 1 of 4

Death of Wilhelm I

When
9 March 1888
Where
Berlin, Germany
Part of
The Year of the Three Emperors: Wilhelm I dies, Friedrich III and Wilhelm II succeed

Wilhelm I died in Berlin on 9 March 1888 at age 90 after a short illness, ending his long reign.

Wilhelm I, who had been German Emperor since 1871, died on 9 March 1888 in Berlin. He was 90 years old and had suffered from a short illness prior to his death. His passing triggered the succession to his son, who had been Crown Prince for many years.

Sources

  1. Wilhelm I Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06
  2. Frederick III, German Emperor Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-08
  3. Wilhelm II Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-08

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.