Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

Wilhelm II: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert • Wilhelm II
Born January 27, 1859 • Potsdam
Died June 4, 1941 (aged 82) • Netherlands
Title / Office emperor (1889-1918), German Empire • king (1888-1918), Prussia
House / Dynasty Hohenzollern dynasty
Notable Family Members father Frederick III • mother Victoria • daughter Viktoria Luise of Prussia
Role In First Moroccan Crisis • Moroccan crises • World War I

Photos and Videos

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in military uniform, wearing a fur hat with a prominent skull emblem and various medals and decorations on his chest.
Kaiser William II stands in military uniform behind his seated wife Augusta, who holds their young son, Crown Prince Wilhelm, in a formal studio portrait.
Painting of the coronation of Kaiser William II in 1888, showing William II in ceremonial uniform surrounded by officials and military officers in an ornate hall with banners.
Wilhelm II
Kaiser William II stands beside his second wife, Hermine Reuss, on their wedding day. She wears a long gown and wide-brimmed hat; he wears a decorated military uniform and holds a cane.
Who Was the Last German Emperor?
German revolution: The last kaiser
Causes and start of World War I
See All Videos and Images →
Bernhard, Fürst von Bülow
Bernhard, prince von Bülow
chancellor of Germany
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg
German statesman
default image
Fritz Fischer
German historian
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff
German general
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
president of Weimar Republic
Walther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau
German statesman
default image
Karl Otto Koch
German Nazi commandant
Helmuth von Moltke
Helmuth von Moltke
German military commander [1848–1916]
Dietrich, Sepp
Josef Dietrich
German military officer
default image
Alfred von Schlieffen
German military officer
default image
Arthur Zimmermann
German statesman
Wilhelm Groener
Wilhelm Groener
German general and politician
Kluck, 1914
Alexander von Kluck
German general
default image
Georg Bruchmüller
German artillery officer
Scheer, Reinhard
Reinhard Scheer
German admiral
Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
German officer
default image
Maximilian, Graf von Spee
German admiral
August von Mackensen
August von Mackensen
German military officer
Paul Hausser, German Waffen-SS commander, World War II.
Paul Hausser
German military officer
default image
Rudolf Franz Höss
German Nazi commandant

Related Quizzes

American infantry streaming through the captured town of Varennes, France, 1918.This place fell into the hands of the Americans on the first day of the Franco-American assault upon the Argonne-Champagne line. (World War I)
World War I Quiz
Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.
Kings and Emperors (Part III) Quiz
Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.
Kings and Emperors (Part III) Quiz