Otto von Bismarck

King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck as Minister President and Foreign Minister following the House of Representatives' rejection of the military budget.

Bismarck delivered the 'Blood and Iron' speech to the Budget Committee, asserting that Prussia's goals would be achieved through military strength.

Bismarck demanded the abolition of the November Constitution within 48 hours, insisting that the 1852 protocol be upheld to prevent European interference.

Christian IX acceded to the Danish throne on 15 November 1863 following the death of Frederick VII, becoming the first monarch of the House of Glücksburg.

Prussian and Austrian forces crossed into Schleswig on 1 February 1864, starting the war against the German Confederation's resistance.

Bismarck demanded Denmark abolish the November Constitution within 48 hours. The Danish government rejected the demand as politically impossible, and war followed.

Preliminaries signed in August 1864 established the basis for the final treaty by renouncing Danish rights.

Denmark formally ceded Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria on 30 October 1864.

The military pact between Italy and Prussia was signed in Berlin on 8 April 1866, directed against Austria.

The Duchy of Limburg ceased to be a member of the German Confederation in 1866, coinciding with the Confederation's dissolution.

Prussia and Austria signed the peace treaty at Prague on 23 August 1866, ending the war.

Austria accepted the dissolution of the German Confederation, ending its existence as an association of sovereign states.

The revised constitution was passed by the Reichstag in April 1867 and went into effect on 1 July 1867 after state parliament approvals.

The Ems Dispatch was published on 13 July 1870, serving as the immediate casus belli for the war between Prussia and France.

France sent a declaration of war to the Prussian government on 19 July 1870, formally opening the Franco-Prussian War.

A preliminary vote on the section on infallibility was held in a general congregation on 13 July 1870.

The final vote on the dogmatic constitution Pastor aeternus was taken on 18 July 1870, defining papal infallibility as a dogma.

Bismarck pursued harsh laws on church-state separation in 1871, an early Kulturkampf step. The legacy date of 10 December 1871 and Berlin location are not confirmed by passages.

Bismarck revealed intentions to fight the Centre Party, separate state and church, and transfer school inspection to laymen.

Bismarck assumed the role of first Chancellor of the German Empire in 1871, following the unification and constitutional establishment of the new state.

The new constitution came into effect on 1 January 1871, establishing the German Empire and extending federal lands.

Wilhelm I was formally proclaimed German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors on 18 January 1871, following Bismarck's political maneuvering.

Residents of Alsace-Lorraine could keep French nationality and emigrate, or remain and become German citizens, until the 1 October 1872 deadline.

The Treaty of Frankfurt was signed on 10 May 1871, ending the Franco-Prussian War and transferring Alsace-Lorraine to Germany.

Adolphe Thiers worked to pay off debts and liberate the last French territories occupied by Germany following the treaty.

Russia and Austria-Hungary signed the Schönbrunn Convention on 6 June 1873, preceding the formal League agreement.

Bismarck negotiated an agreement between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Germany on 22 October 1873.

Bismarck ended the Kulturkampf in 1878 to secure Centre Party votes for his anti-socialist campaign, marking a strategic political pivot.

The Reichstag passed the Anti-Socialist Law in October 1878 following assassination attempts on Emperor Wilhelm I, outlawing social democratic organizations.

The Congress of Berlin opened on 13 June 1878 at the Radziwill Palace, hosted by Bismarck to revise the Treaty of San Stefano.

A formal Three Emperors' Alliance was concluded on 18 June 1881, renewing the pact between Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary.

Adolf Lüderitz requested protection from Bismarck for a station in South West Africa, leading to the purchase of Angra Pequena.

Bismarck placed South West Africa under German protection in April 1884 to deter European encroachment.

The German flag was raised in South West Africa on 7 August 1884, and German claims were confirmed during the Conference of Berlin.

The defensive military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy was formally established on 20 May 1882.

The first successful social security bill, the Sickness Insurance Bill, was passed in 1883, establishing health care for workers.

The conference opened on 15 November 1884 at Bismarck's residence on Wilhelmstrasse, organized by Bismarck at Leopold II's request.

The conference concluded on 26 February 1885 with the signing of the General Act, establishing rules for effective occupation.

The General Act decreed free trade throughout the Congo Basin, protecting commercial interests in resource-rich areas.

German administration was established in 1884, beginning the colonial period in Kamerun.

The Berlin Conference concluded on 26 February 1885 with the signing of the General Act, regulating European colonization and trade in Africa.

Prussian authorities ordered the expulsion of ethnic Poles and Jews holding Russian citizenship in March 1885, later extending it to Austrian citizens.

The German Reichstag condemned the Prussian expulsions of Poles and Jews on 16 January 1886 with a great majority, supported by Polish MPs and various parties.

German Ambassador Schweinitz advised Bismarck to stop expulsions to avoid provoking Pan-Slavism and repressions against German settlers in Russia.

The expulsions worsened Russo-German relations, contradicting Bismarck's diplomatic goals and contributing to long-term alliance shifts.

Prussian authorities ordered the expulsion of ethnic Poles and Jews holding Russian citizenship on 26 March 1885.

The expulsion order was extended in July 1885 to include Polish citizens from Austria.

The German Empire's parliament condemned the expulsions in January 1886, though the Prussian parliament did not.

Bismarck and Russian Foreign Minister Nikolay Girs signed the secret treaty in Berlin in 1887, establishing mutual neutrality with specific exceptions.

In early 1887, a Russian diplomat proposed a treaty in Berlin for friendly neutrality during a German-French war, seeking recognition of Russian dominance in Bulgaria.

After Bismarck's removal in 1890, Germany refused Russia's request to renew the treaty, citing unfavorable terms and contradictions with other alliances.

General Boulanger pushed for an ultimatum demanding Schnaebelé's release and proposed mobilization during the week-long crisis.

French official Guillaume Schnaebelé was arrested by German agents near the border, sparking a diplomatic crisis.

German Chancellor Bismarck ordered Schnaebelé's release, citing safe conduct guarantees for frontier officials.

The Reichstag voted against extending the Anti-Socialist Law on 25 January 1890, defeating Bismarck's proposal for a permanent or harsher law.

Bismarck resigned at Wilhelm II's insistence on 18 March 1890, after the failed renewal and the strengthened Social Democrats played a decisive role in his dismissal.

The Anti-Socialist Laws officially lapsed on 30 September 1890, after Bismarck had already resigned.

The poet Theodor Fontane published a poem opposing specific burial plans for Bismarck on August 3, 1898, four days after his death.

On March 16, 1899, the coffins of Otto von Bismarck and his wife were ceremonially interred in marble sarcophagi at the Friedrichsruh chapel.

Cohen-Blind committed suicide shortly after his arrest following the assassination attempt.