I
Dutch Willem Frederik
born Aug. 24, 1772, The Hague, United Provinces of the Netherlands
died Dec. 12, 1843, Berlin, Prussia
King of The Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1815–40).
Son of William V, prince of Orange, he married in 1791 and immigrated with his family to England after the French invasion of the Dutch Republic (1795). He sided with Prussia against Napoleon and lived in exile at the Prussian court until 1812. After the Dutch revolt against French rule, he became sovereign prince of the Dutch Republic (1813) and king of the United Netherlands (1815), which included Belgium, Liège, and Luxembourg. He led an economic recovery program that sparked a commercial revival, but his autocratic methods and imposition of Dutch as the official language provoked a revolt by Belgium (1830) that led to its independence. In 1840 he abdicated in favour of his son, William II .
II
Dutch Willem known as William the Silent
born April 24, 1533, Dillenburg, Nassau
died July 10, 1584, Delft, Holland
First stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (1572–84).
Son of William, count of Nassau-Dillenburg, he inherited the principality of Orange and other vast estates from his cousin in 1544. He was educated at the Habsburg imperial court in Brussels, then appointed by Philip II to the council of state (1555). He helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent (1576). He sought help from France in the revolt against Spain, and in 1579 he was outlawed by Philip. A reward was offered for his assassination, and in 1584 he was shot by a fanatical Catholic.
III
German Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig
born March 22, 1797, Berlin
died March 9, 1888, Berlin
King of Prussia (1861–88) and German emperor (1871–88).
Son of Frederick William III of Prussia, he fought in the war against Napoleon (1814) and thereafter devoted himself to the Prussian army and military affairs. He advocated the use of force against the rebels in 1848. The military governor of Rhineland province from 1849, he succeeded his brother on the Prussian throne in 1861. A conservative and a supporter of military reform, William insisted on a three-year term of military conscription, which the liberal lower chamber rejected in 1862. William was ready to abdicate but was dissuaded by Otto von Bismarck , whom he had installed as prime minister (1862). He cautiously supported Bismarck's policies in the Seven Weeks' War and the Franco-Prussian War . Proclaimed German emperor in 1871, he oversaw the continued rise of Germany as a European power.
IV
known as William the Conqueror
born с 1028, Falaise, Normandy
died Sept. 9, 1087, Rouen
Duke of Normandy (1035–87) and king of England (1066–87).
Though born out of wedlock, he succeeded his father as duke of Normandy, subduing rebellions and becoming the mightiest noble in France. In 1051 Edward the Confessor promised to make him heir to the English throne, but on Edward's death in 1066, Harold Godwineson, earl of Wessex ({{link=Harold">Harold II ), was accepted as king. Determined to assert his right to the throne, William sailed from Normandy with an invasion force, defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings , and was crowned king. The Norman Conquest was thus completed, though English rebellions continued until 1071. To secure England's frontiers, William invaded Scotland (1072) and Wales (1081). In 1086 he ordered the survey summarized in the Domesday Book . He divided his lands between his sons, giving Normandy and Maine to Robert II and England to William II .
V
known as William the Lion
born 1143
died Dec. 2, 1214, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scot.
King of Scotland (1165–1214).
He succeeded his father as earl of Northumberland (1152) but was forced to relinquish his earldom to England's Henry II in 1157. He succeeded his brother, Malcolm IV, as king of Scotland and in 1173 joined a revolt of Henry's sons in an attempt to regain Northumberland. Captured in 1174, he was released after submitting to Henry's overlordship. He bought his release from subjection in 1189. He continued to agitate for the restoration of Northumberland but was forced to renounce his claim by King John in 1209. William created many of the major burghs of modern Scotland.