Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) was a German statesman and the first chancellor of the German Empire. Born on April 1, 1815, in the family estate of Schönhausen in Brandenburg, Bismarck was the third son of Ferdinand von Bismarck-Schönhausen and Wilhelmine Mencken. He studied law at the University of Göttingen and gained a reputation as a partygoer and duelist. After graduation, Bismarck worked as a tax official in Aachen and Potsdam before joining the Guard Hussar Regiment in Potsdam.
In 1838, Bismarck moved to Greifswald, where he combined his military duties with the study of animal breeding at the Eldena Academy. However, financial difficulties and his dislike of the Prussian bureaucracy led him to resign from government service in 1839 and take over the management of the family estates in Pomerania. During this time, he also continued his education by studying the works of Hegel, Kant, Spinoza, David Strauss, and Feuerbach.
In 1847, Bismarck married Johanna von Puttkamer, and the couple settled in his family estates of Schönhausen and Kniephof in Pomerania. There, Bismarck became associated with the Pietist movement and developed a conservative political stance. He became known for his opposition to the liberal movement in Prussia during the constitutional crisis of 1848-1850. Bismarck supported the creation of various political organizations and newspapers, including the "Neue Preussische Zeitung."
In 1849, Bismarck was elected to the Lower House of the Prussian Parliament and later to the Erfurt Parliament in 1850. He opposed the German Confederation with or without Austria, believing that such a union would strengthen the revolutionary movement. In his Olmütz Speech, Bismarck defended King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, who had capitulated to Austria and Russia. The satisfied monarch wrote of Bismarck, "A keen reactionary. To be used later."
In May 1851, the king appointed Bismarck as Prussia's representative to the Federal Diet in Frankfurt. There, Bismarck came to the conclusion that Prussia's goal could not be achieved through a German confederation dominated by Austria and that war with Austria was inevitable if Prussia was to assume a dominant position in a united Germany. As Bismarck became more adept at diplomacy and statecraft, he increasingly distanced himself from the king's views and his inner circle, while the monarch began to lose faith in him.
Despite their differences, Bismarck continued to serve Prussia in various capacities, including as ambassador to Russia and France. In 1862, he was appointed prime minister by King Wilhelm I, and he quickly set about consolidating Prussian power and expanding its territory. Through a series of carefully orchestrated wars and diplomatic maneuvers, Bismarck succeeded in unifying Germany under Prussian leadership in 1871, with Wilhelm I as the first emperor.
Bismarck's legacy as a statesman is complex. He is credited with creating a powerful and united Germany, but his policies also contributed to the rise of German militarism and ultimately to the First World War. Bismarck himself was dismissed by Wilhelm II in 1890, and he spent his remaining years in retirement at his estate in Friedrichsruh. He died on July 30, 1898, at the age of 83.
-
Нортумберленды
19 Oct, 24 -
Гарнье, Жан Луи Шарль
19 Oct, 24 -
Бланки, Огюст
19 Oct, 24 -
Ангел
19 Oct, 24 -
Герье, Владимир Иванович
19 Oct, 24 -
Буш, Джордж Герберт Уокер
19 Oct, 24 -
Гирций, Авл
19 Oct, 24 -
Альбрехт I Медведь
19 Oct, 24 -
Иван V Алексеевич
19 Oct, 24 -
Ван Тинсян
19 Oct, 24
