Timeline Prussia
Return to home
East Prussia: http://www.lernwelt.de/f/history/Ostpreussenhistory1772-1945.htm
History:
http://department.monm.edu/history/urban/articles/State_of_the_grandmasters.htm
Pomerania: http://hometown.aol.com/pommern1/pommern.htm
Prussia Genealogy links:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Haven/1538/prussia.html
Timeline: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~wolf/prussia/content/milest.htm
Prussia was the home of the pagan spiritual leader Krivis and
the pagan center of Romuva that was dear to the Baltic people.
Sudovia and Galindia were two of the twelve
original
Prussian
lands. Not actually a separate language, Sudovian, Jatvingian has
however been documented in writing.
(www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Sudovian-language)
1141
Jan 31, Pope Innocent II authorized Bishop Henry
of Moravia to preach Catholicism in Prussia.
(LHC, 1/31/03)
~1200 Following Prussian
attacks on Polish lands, the Catholic Poles invited German
religious-military orders to attack Prussia.
(H of L, 1931, p.25)
1249 Feb 7, The Christburg
Peace Treaty forced the Prussians to recognize the rule of the
Teutonic Knights. Within about 50 years the Teutonic Knights and
Knights of the Cross had overcome most of Prussia and established
German as the dominant culture and language. The German orders then
turned to Lithuania.
(H of L, 1931, p.25)(LHC, 2/7/03)
1255 Konigsberg (Kaliningrad)
was founded on the Baltic Sea by the Bohemian King Otakar II, who
came to help Teutonic Knights during their conquest of Prussia
disguised as the Christianization effort called the Northern
Crusades. It was annexed by Russia in 1945.
(Econ, 5/14/05,
p.55)(www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Konigsberg)
1270 Feb 16, In the Karusa Ice
war in Estonia, Lithuanian forces defeated the Livonian Knights of
the Cross.
(LHC, 2/16/03)
1279 Mar 5, Lithuanians
overcame Livonian forces at Aizkraukle.
(LHC, 3/5/03)
1298 Mar 30, Duke Vytenis
joined with Riga and its archbishop against the Livonian order.
(LHC, 3/30/03)
1324 Feb 10, The pope
officially chastised the Knights of the Cross for ill treatment of
Catholics and for pushing pagans away from Christianity.
(LHC, 2/10/03)
1330 Mar 23, Riga surrendered
to the Livonian Order.
(LHC, 3/23/03)
1336 Feb 25, The Knights
of the Cross sieged the Pilenai Castle in Samogitia. The defenders
burned all their goods and committed suicide.
(LHC, 2/25/03)
1361 Mar 21, Grand duke
Kestutis was captured by the Knights of the Cross.
(LHC, 3/21/03)
1370 Apr 11, Frederick I
the Warlike, elector of Saxony, was born.
(HN, 4/11/98)
1372 Sep 21, Frederik I van
Hohenzollern, monarch of Brandenburg (1417-40), was born.
(MC, 9/21/01)
1401 Mar 13, The 1st
Samogitian uprising supported by Vytautas took place against the
German knights. (LHC, 3/13/03)
1402 Mar 2, In
Marienburg Svitrigaila crossed over to the Knights of the Cross and
promised to uphold the Salyn treaty that was broken by Vytautas.
(LHC, 3/1/03)
1410 Jul 15, Lithuanian-Polish
forces defeated the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Tannenberg,
Prussia, thereby halting the Knights’ eastward expansion along the
Baltic and hastening their decline. Vytautas and Jogaila with hired
mercenaries from Belarus along with Tartars and Czechs defeated the
Teutonic Knights between Grunvald (Zalgiriai) and Tannenberg
southeast of Malburg. Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen and many of
his nobles were killed. The war officially ended with the Treaty of
Thorn in which the Knights gave up Zemaitija to Vytautas.
(COE)(H of L, 1931, p.52)(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.6)
1415 Sep 21, Frederick III,
German Emperor (1440-1493), was born in Innsbruck Austria.
(MC, 9/21/01)
1454 Mar 6, Casimir
proclaimed the attachment of Prussia to Polish rule. This began a
13-year war over Prussia (1454-1466).
(LHC,3/6/03)
1466 Oct 19, The peace of Torun
ended the 13-year War of the Cities (1454-1466), between the
Teutonic knights and their own disaffected subjects in Prussia. The
Peace of Thorn (Torún) ended the war between the Teutonic
knights (a German military and religious order) and their subjects
in Prussia, led by King Casimir IV (1427-1492) of Poland.
Poland was given Pomerelia and West Prussia, and the knights
retained East Prussia, with a new capital at Königsberg
(Kaliningrad). The knights, formerly strictly a German order, were
forced to accept Poles as members and their grand master became a
vassal of the Polish king.
(HN,
10/19/98)(http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/T/TeutonKn.html)
1506 Copernicus (1473-1543),
Polish-born astronomer, was appointed canon of church properties in
the Prussian diocese of Ermland.
(ON, 2/11, p.5)
1512 Copernicus, Polish-born
astronomer, wrote his manuscript “The Little Commentary,” in which
he suggested that the earth’s apparent immobility was due to a
“false appearance” and a sun-centered cosmos would resolve many
astronomical inconsistencies.
(ON, 2/11, p.5)
1519 Prussia experienced a
monetary crises.
(ON, 2/11, p.6)
1525 Apr 8, Albert von
Brandenburg, the leader of the Teutonic Order, assumed the title
“Duke of Prussia” and passed the first laws of the Protestant
church, making Prussia a Protestant state.
(HN, 4/8/99)
1545 Sep 24, Albrecht von
Brandenburg, archbishop, monarch, founder of The Brandenburg
Concerts of Mainz, died at 55.
(MC, 9/24/01)
1608 May 19, The Protestant
states formed the Evangelical Union of Lutherans and Calvinists
under the direction of the elector of Brandenburg.
(HN, 5/19/99)
1640-1688 Elector Friedrich Wilhelm acquired a
collection of paintings by Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt and others at
his home in Oranien. His nephew was Frederick the Great.
(WSJ, 7/29/98, p.A13)
1640-1945 In 1955 Stanford Prof. Gordon A. Craig
(1913-2005) authored “The Politics of the Prussian Army, 1640-1945.”
(SFC, 11/9/05, p.B11)
1656 Jan 17, Prussian Duke
Frederick Wilhelm withdrew ties with Lithuania and Poland and
acknowledged vassal status with Sweden.
(LHC, 1/17/03)
1685 Nov 8, Fredrick William of
Brandenburg issued the Edict of Potsdam, offering Huguenots refuge.
(HN, 11/6/98)
1688 Aug 15, Frederick-William
I, king of Prussia (1713-1740), was born.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1701 Jan 18, Frederick, the
elector of Brandenburg, became the king of Prussia.
(HN, 1/18/99)
1701 German artisans created an
amber room for King Frederick I of Prussia. He presented it as a
gift to Peter the Great in 1712 [see 1712, 1716].
(SFC, 3/22/97, p.A16)(SFC, 4/30/98, p.E6)(WSJ,
1/20/00, p.A20)
1712 Jan 24, Frederick II
(d.1786), Frederick the Great, the Hohenzollern King of Prussia
(1740-1786), was born. He was noted for his social reforms and
leading Prussia in military victories.
(WUD, 1994, p.565)(HN, 1/24/99)(WSJ, 4/27/00,
p.A24)(MC, 1/24/02)
1712 King Frederick I of
Prussia presented his amber room, made as a gift by German artisans
in 1701, to Peter the Great [1716]. Catherine the Great later added
four marble panels from Florence, that were inlaid with precious
stones. It was moved to Konigsburg in 1945 and then lost during WW
II.
(SFC, 3/22/97, p.A16)(SFC, 4/30/98, p.E6)(WSJ,
1/20/00, p.A20)
1713 Feb 25, Frederik I (55),
King of Prussia (1701-13), died.
(MC, 2/25/02)
1716 Prussian King
Friedrich Wilhelm I gave the Czar of Russia an elaborately carved
amber chamber. In exchange, he received his wish: 55 very tall
Russian soldiers. German troops dismantled it in 1941 and took it to
Koenigsburg where it disappeared. In 1979 the Soviet government
initiated a reconstruction, which was unveiled in 2003. [see 1701,
1712]
(AP, 5/13/03)
1719 Mar 22, Frederick William
abolished serfdom on crown property in Prussia.
(AP, 3/22/99)
1730 Sep 17, Friedrich von
Steuben, Prussian and US inspector-general of Washington's army, was
born.
(MC, 9/17/01)
1730 Nov 6, Hans Hermann von
Katte, Prussian lieutenant, was beheaded.
(MC, 11/6/01)
1740 Jun 22, King Frederick II
of Prussia ended torture and guaranteed religion and freedom of the
press.
(MC, 6/22/02)
1740 Frederick II (28) ascended
to the throne.
(WSJ, 4/27/00, p.A24)
1740 Frederick the Great
awarded what is believed to be the first medal for combat bravery,
the Pour le Merite, nicknamed the Blue Max.
(WSJ, 4/23/99, A1)
1740s Frederick the Great built
a summer palace in Potsdam named Sans-souci (without worries).
(SFEC, 7/27/97, p.T11)
1741 Jun 11, Austria ceded most
of Silesia to Prussia by Treaty of Breslau.
(AP, 6/11/03)
1742 May 17, Frederick great
(Emperor of Prussia) beat Austrians.
(MC, 5/17/02)
1745 Jun 4, Frederick the Great
of Prussia defeated the Austrians & Saxons.
(MC, 6/4/02)
1745 Dec 25, Prussia and
Austria signed the Treaty of Dresden. This gave much of Silesia to
the Prussians.
(MC, 12/25/01)
1750 Sep 5, A decree issued in
Paderborn, Prussia, allowed for annual search of all Jewish homes
for stolen or "doubtful" goods.
(MC, 9/5/01)
1753 Mar 25, Voltaire left the
court of Frederik II of Prussia.
(MC, 3/25/02)
1755 Nov 12, Gerhard JD von
Scharnhorst, Prussian military minister of War (1807-10), was born.
(MC, 11/12/01)
1756-1763 The Seven Years War. France and Great
Britain clashed both in Europe and in North America. In 2000
"Crucible of War" by Fred Anderson was published. France, Russia,
Austria, Saxony, Sweden and Spain stood against Britain, Prussia and
Hanover. Britain financed Prussia to block France in Europe while
her manpower was occupied in America.
(V.D.-H.K.p.223)(SFC, 7/7/96, BR p.7)(WSJ,
2/10/00, p.A16)
1757 May 6, Battle at Prague:
Frederik II of Prussia beat emperor's army.
(MC, 5/6/02)
1757 Jun 18, Battle at Kolin,
Bohemia: Austrian army beat Prussia.
(MC, 6/18/02)
1757 Sep 3, Charles X, Duke of
Prussia, was born in Versailles, France.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1757 Nov 5, Frederick II of
Prussia defeated the French at Rosbach in the Seven Years War.
(HN, 11/5/98)
1757 Nov 22, Austrians defeated
Prussians at Breslau in the Seven Years War.
(HN, 11/22/98)
1758 Aug 25, The Prussian army
defeated the invading Russians at the Battle of Zorndorf. Thousands
were killed.
(HN, 8/25/98)(chblue.com, 8/25/01)
1760 Jun 23, Austrians defeated
the Prussians at Landshut, Germany.
(HN, 6/23/98)
1760 Aug 15, Frederick II
(1712-1786), king of Prussia, defeated the Austrians at the
Battle of Liegnitz.
(HN, 8/15/98)(WUD, 1994, p.565)
1760 Nov 3, Following the
Russian capture of Berlin, Frederick II of Prussia defeated the
Austrians at the Battle of Torgau (Germany).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Torgau)
1762 Aug 5, Russia, Prussia and
Austria signed a treaty agreeing on the partition of Poland.
(HN, 8/5/98)
1763 Frederick the Great took
over Die Konigliche Porzelan-Manufaktur. The royal porcelain factory
was privatized by the state of Berlin in 2006.
(Econ, 5/23/09, p.65)
1770 Prussia issued the first
covered bonds. They were paid back from the issuer’s cash flow and
were secured against a pool of assets.
(Econ, 9/13/08, p.80)
1779 Aug 7, Carl Ritter,
cofounder of modern science of geography, was born in Quedlinberg,
Prussia.
(MC, 8/7/02)
1779 Sep 13, Frederick II of
Prussia issued a manifesto in which he bemoaned the increased use of
coffee and called for more consumption of beer.
(SFC, 1/30/99, p.D3)
1786 Frederick the Great
(b.1712) died. In 2000 Giles MacDonogh authored “Frederick the
Great.”
(WSJ, 4/27/00, p.A24)
1792 Apr 20, France declared
war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia, marking the start of the
French Revolutionary wars.
(AP, 4/20/97)(HN, 4/20/98)
1792 Sep 2, Verdun, France,
surrendered to the Prussian Army.
(HN, 9/2/98)
1793 Jan 23, Prussia and Russia
signed an accord on the 2nd partition of Lithuania and Poland. The
2nd partition of Poland. Polish patriots had attempted to devise a
new constitution which was recognized by Austria and Prussia, but
Russia did not recognize it and invaded. Prussia in turn invaded and
the two agreed to a partition that left only the central portion of
Poland independent.
(WUD, 1994, p.1677)(LHC, 1/23/03)
1793 Jul 23, The French
garrison at Mainz, Germany, fell to the Prussians.
(HN, 7/23/98)
1794 Nov 28, Friedrich WLGA von
Steuben (64), Prussian-US inspector-general of Washington’s army,
died in Oneida, NY. Baron von Steuben, a former Prussian captain,
had arrived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1777, and despite false
credentials, was hired to drill and train Washington’s Continental
Army. His manual of arms, known as the “Blue Book,” shaped basic
training for American recruits for generations to come. In 2008 Paul
Lockhart authored “The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de
Steuben and the Making of the American Army.”
(WSJ, 11/8/08, p.W9)(WSJ, 11/8/08, p.W9)
1795 Oct 24, Russia, Austria
and Prussia held a convention in Petersburg to finalize the 3rd
division of the Polish-Lithuanian Republic. Most of Lithuania with
Vilnius went to Russia, Warsaw and the left bank of the Nemunas
River went to Prussia and Cracow went to Austria. King Stanislovas
Augustas of Poland was forced from his capital and moved to Grodno
(Gardinas).
(Voruta #27-28, 7/1996, p.5)(MC, 10/24/01)
1797 Jan 15, In St. Petersburg
Russia, Prussia and Austria signed and act that terminated the
Lithuanian-Polish state.
(LHC, 1/15/03)
1800 Oct 26, Helmuth Karl von
Moltke, Prussian Field Marshal and Count, was born. His
reorganization of the Prussian Army led to military victories that
allowed the unification of Germany. His father was a German officer
serving in the Danish army. His greatest innovation was the creation
of a fighting force that could mobilize quickly and strike when and
where it chose. He was one of the first generals to grasp the
importance of railroads in moving troops. In 1995 Otto Friedrich
authored a biography of the Moltke family line from Bismarck to
Hitler: “Blood and Iron: From Bismarck to Hitler the von Moltke
Family’s Impact on German History.”
(WSJ, 11/7/95, p.A-20)(HN, 10/26/98)
1803 Feb 25, The 1,800
sovereign German states united into 60 states.
(MC, 2/25/02)
1805 Prussia sent Baron Wilhelm
von Humboldt as envoy to the Vatican, the first Protestant state to
do so.
(Econ, 7/21/07, p.59)
1805 Napoleon defeated Austria
and Prussia. In 1997 Alistair Horne wrote: "How Far from Austerlitz?
Napoleon 1805-1815."
(WSJ, 7/10/96, p.A16)(WSJ, 5/19/97, p.A16)
1806 Oct 14, The forces of
French Emperor Napoleon I defeated the Prussians in the twin battles
of Jena and Auerstadt.
(AP, 10/14/07)
1807 Jun 25, Napoleon I of
France and Russian Czar Alexander I met near Tilsit, in northern
Prussia, to discuss terms for ending war between their empires.
(AP, 6/25/07)
1807 Jul 7, Napoleon I of
France and Czar Alexander I of Russia signed a treaty at Tilsit
ending war between their empires. It divided Europe among themselves
and isolated Britain.
(HN, 7/7/98)(AP, 7/7/07)
1812 Mar 9, Swedish Pomerania
was seized by Napoleon.
(HN, 3/9/98)
1812 Mar 11, Citizenship was
granted to Prussian Jews.
(MC, 3/12/02)
1813 Feb 28, Russia and
Prussia formed the Kalisz union against Napoleon.
(LHC,2/28/03)
1813 Mar 4, The Russians
fighting against Napoleon reached Berlin. The French garrison
evacuated the city without a fight.
(HN, 3/4/99)
1813 Aug 23, At the Battle of
Grossbeeren Prussians under Von Bulow repulsed the French.
(MC, 8/23/02)
1813
Aug 26-1813 Aug 27, The Battle of Dresden was Napoleon’s last major
victory against the allied forces of Austria, Russia and Prussia.
(www.napoleonguide.com/battle_dresden.htm)
1813 Oct 16-19, In the Battle
at Leipzig (aka Battle of the Nations) Napoleon faced Prussia,
Austria and Russia and suffered one of his worst defeats.
(DoW, 1999, p.325)
1813 Oct 18, The Allies
defeated Napoleon Bonaparte at Leipzig.
(HN, 10/18/98)
1813 Prussia took over Danzig.
(WSJ, 8/31/98, p.A4)
1813 The Prussians introduced
the Iron Cross during the Napoleonic wars.
(WSJ, 4/23/99, A1)
1814 Sep, The Congress of
Vienna convened in late September and continued to June 8, 1815.
Friedrich von Gentz of Austria served as secretary to the Congress.
It was held after the banishment of Napoleon to Elba. The congress
aimed at territorial resettlement and restoration to power of the
crowned heads of Europe with Prince Metternich of Austria as the
dominant figure. Viscount Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington
represented Britain. Alexander I stood for Russia. Talleyrand stood
for France. Prince von Hardenberg stood for Prussia. In 2007 Adam
Zamoyski authored “Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the
Congress of Vienna.” In 2008 David King authored “Vienna 1814: How
the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War and Peace at the Congress
of Vienna.
(Econ, 4/14/07,
p.94)(www.bartleby.com/65/vi/Vienna-C.html)(SSFC, 4/6/08, Books p.4)
1815 Apr, British General
Arthur Wellesley, duke of Wellington, began assembling troops at
Brussels, Belgium. 73,000 British troops were joined by 33,000
German, Dutch and Belgian troops preparing to face Napoleon.
Prussian Gen. Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher gathered an army of
120,000 southeast of Brussels.
(ON, 4/06, p.1)
1815 Jun 16, Napoleon defeated
the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny, Belgium.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ligny)
1815 Jun 18, British and
Prussian troops under the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon
Bonaparte and his forces at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium. The
French elite troops of the Imperial Guard wore bearskins to appear
more intimidating. Afterwards Britain established towering bear skin
hats for soldiers in ceremonial duties and to guard royal
residencies and the Tower of London. Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht
von Blucher made a short speech to his troops saying that he was
pregnant and about to give birth to an elephant. He was taken from
the front in protective custody and missed the battle. Napoleon lost
over 40,000 men at Waterloo; the British and Belgians lost 15,000;
the Prussians lost 7,000. The total losses in 3 days of fighting was
later estimated at 91,800. In 2002 Andrew Roberts authored "Napoleon
and Wellington." In 2005 Andrew Roberts authored “Waterloo:
Napoleon’s Last Gamble.”
(SFEC, 2/28/99, Z1p.10)(WSJ, 9/13/02,
p.W10)(Econ, 2/12/05, p.81)(ON, 4/06, p.5)
1815 Sep 26, Russia, Prussia
and Austria signed a Holy Alliance. "Justice, charity and peace"
were to be the precepts that guided the Holy Alliance as envisioned
by Czar Alexander I of Russia. The alliance of Russia, Austria and
Prussia was formed after the downfall of Napoleon and later all
European rulers signed the agreement except the prince regent of
Great Britain, the pope and the sultan of Turkey. With no specific
aims beyond mutual assistance, the provisions of the Holy Alliance
were so vague that it had little effect on European diplomacy.
Metternich quietly replaced the entire alliance by the purely
political alliance of 20 November, 1815, between Austria, Prussia,
Russia and England.
(www.newadvent.org/cathen/07398a.htm)(HNQ,
7/7/98)
1815 Nov 20, The treaties known
collectively as the 2nd Peace of Paris were concluded. Austria’s
chancellor Klemens von Metternich helped create a “Concert of
Europe,” a system by which 4-5 big powers kept miscreants in check
and managed the affairs of smaller states for over a decade.
(http://tinyurl.com/2sqgp9)(Econ, 6/9/07,
p.68)(www.newadvent.org/cathen/07398a.htm)
1818 May 5, Karl Marx, German
philosopher, was born in Prussia. He argued that history was marked
by various stages of class struggle and capitalism which had
overcome feudalism would in turn be overcome by socialism and the
elimination of private property. He and Friedrich Engels founded
Communism. Together they wrote "The Communist Manifesto" and "Das
Capital."
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R20)(AP, 5/5/97)(HN, 5/5/99)
1824 Mar 12, Gustav Robert
Kirchoff, physicist, was born in Prussia.
(HN, 3/12/98)(MC, 3/12/02)
1824 Jul 20, Alexander
Schimmelfennig, Brig. General Union volunteers, was born in Prussia.
(MC, 7/20/02)
1831 Nov 16, Karl von
Clausewitz (51), Prussian strategist (Campaign 1813), died.
(MC, 11/16/01)
1839 Mar 9, Prussian government
limited the work week for children to 51 hours.
(MC, 3/9/02)
1848 Apr 6, Jews of Prussia
were granted equality.
(MC, 4/6/02)
1849 Jul 23, German rebels in
Baden capitulated to the Prussians.
(HN, 7/23/98)
1850 Jul 2, Prussia agreed to
pull out of Schleswig and Holstein, Germany.
(HN, 7/2/98)
1856 Jul 2, Prussian private
bankers founded Berliner Handels-Gesselschaft. In 1970 the bank
merged with Frankfurter Bank and became BHF-Bank.
(Econ, 1/15/11,
p.84)(http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Handels-Gesellschaft)
1858 Jan 25, Britain's Princess
Victoria (the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert),
married Crown Prince Frederick William (the future German Emperor
and King of Prussia) at St. James's Palace. The ceremony's
tradition-setting music, personally selected by the Princess Royal,
included the "Bridal Chorus" from Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin" and
the "Wedding March" by Felix Mendelssohn.
(AP, 1/25/08)
1861 Jan 2, Frederik Willem IV
(b.1795), king of Prussia (1840-61) and Germany (1849-61), died.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William_IV_of_Prussia)
1862 Sep 23, Otto von Bismarck
became the 9th Minister President of the Kingdom of Prussia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck)
1862 Oct 8, Otto von Bismarck
became German republic chancellor.
(MC, 10/8/01)
1865 Apr 15, Otto von Bismarck
was elevated to earl.
(MC, 4/15/02)
1865 Jul 2, Lili Braun,
feminist, socialist writer (Im Schatten Titanen), was born in
Prussia.
(SC, 7/2/02)
1866 Jun 8, Prussia annexed the
region of Holstein.
(HN, 6/8/98)
1866 Jun 15, Prussia attacked
Austria.
(HN, 6/15/98)
1866 Aug 23, Treaty of Prague
ended the Austro-Prussian war.
(MC, 8/23/02)
1870 Jul 19, The
Franco-Prussian War began. Napoleon declared war on Bismarck.
Emperor Napoleon III of France declared war on Germany under Otto
von Bismarck. Napoleon was defeated in three months and abdicated.
(WSJ, 3/14/95, p.A-16)(V.D.-H.K.p.260)(AP,
7/19/07)
1870 Aug 6, At the Battle at
Spicheren: Prussia beat France. Crown Prince Frederick, commanding
one of the three Prussian armies invading France, defeated French
Marshal MacMahon at Worth and Weissenburg, pushed him out of Alsace,
surrounded Strasbourg, and drove on towards Nancy. Two other
Prussian armies isolated Marshal Bazaine's forces in Metz.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spicheren)(www.marxists.org/history/france/paris-commune/timeline.htm)
1870 Aug 18, Prussian forces
defeated the French at the Battle of Gravelotte during the
Franco-Prussian War. French Commander Bazaine's efforts to break his
soldiers through the German lines were bloodily defeated at
Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte. The Prussians advanced on Chalons.
(HN,
8/18/98)(www.marxists.org/history/france/paris-commune/timeline.htm)
1870 Sep 1, The Prussian army
crushed the French under Marshal MacMahon at Sedan, the last battle
of the Franco-Prussian War.
(HN, 9/1/99)(PCh, 1992, p.516)
1870 Sep 2, Napoleon III with
80,000 men capitulated to the Prussians at Sedan, France.
(PCh, 1992, p.516)(WSJ, 3/14/95, p.A-16)(HN,
9/2/98)
1870 Sep 4, At news of Sedan,
Paris workers invaded the Palais Bourbon and forced the Legislative
Assembly to proclaim the fall of the Empire. Emperor Louis Napoleon
III was overthrown in a bloodless coup. The 3rd French Republic was
proclaimed in Paris and a government of national defense was formed.
(HN, 9/4/98)(ON, 9/06,
p.12)(www.marxists.org/history/france/paris-commune/timeline.htm)
1870 Sep 19, Two Prussian
armies began a 135-day siege of Paris as the 2nd Empire collapsed.
This forced the people of the city to eat Castor and Pollux, the 2
elephants in the zoo.
(PCh, 1992, p.516)(SFC, 4/17/99, p.B3)
1870 Oct 27, The French
fortress of Metz surrendered to the Prussian Army.
(HN, 10/27/98)
1871 Jan 8, Prussian troops
began to bombard Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
(HN, 1/8/99)
1871 Jan 22, The Paris
proletariat and the National Guards held a revolutionary
demonstration, initiated by the Blanquists. They demanded the
overthrow of the government and the establishment of a Commune. By
order of the Government of National Defense, the Breton Mobile
Guard, which was defending the Hotel de Ville, opened fire on the
demonstrators. After massacring the unarmed workers, the government
began preparations to surrender Paris.
(www.marxists.org/history/france/paris-commune/timeline.htm)
1871 Jan 18, William I of
Prussia was proclaimed "German Emperor" (which was not the same
thing as "Emperor of Germany") in Versailles, France.
(AP, 1/18/07)
1871 Jan 28, France, under a
provisional republican government, continued the war against
Germany, but was forced to surrender in the Franco-Prussian War.
Surrounded by Prussian troops and suffering from famine, the French
army in Paris surrendered. During the siege, balloons were used to
keep contact with the outside world.
(V.D.-H.K.p.260)(AP, 1/28/98)(HN, 1/28/99)
1871 Feb 26, France and Prussia
signed a preliminary peace treaty at Versailles.
(HN, 2/26/99)
1871 Mar 1, Germans paraded
down the Champs-Elysses, Paris, France during the Franco-Prussian
War.
(HN, 3/1/99)(WSJ, 3/14/95, p.A-16)
1871 Mar 21, Otto von Bismarck
became the 1st Chancellor of the German Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck)
1871 The German states became a
nation. Germany went on to adopt the mark as its common currency.
(WSJ, 1/15/96, p. A-10)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1872 Hawaii’s King Kamehameha V
asked the Kaiser of Prussia to send a music teacher for the Royal
Hawaiian Band. Henry Berger, a Prussian military band leader,
arrived and led the group for 43 years. He was later considered the
father of Hawaiian music.
(WSJ, 3/10/05, p.A1)
1880 Bavaria and Prussia
introduced Spelling reform. Chancellor Bismarck threatened civil
servants with increased fines if the new system was used.
(Econ, 8/21/04, p.45)
1882 Apr 13, An anti-Semitic
League formed in Prussia.
(MC, 4/13/02)
1883 May 29, Albrecht of
Prussia (73), mistress of John van Rossum, died.
(SC, 5/29/02)
1883 Germany under Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck adopted the first compulsory health insurance
program on a national scale.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R25)
1889 Prussia under Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck adopted old-age and invalidity pensions. Prussian
average life expectancy was about 45.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R25)(Econ, 6/27/09, p.18)
1890 Mar 20, Germany’s Kaiser
Wilhelm II fired republic chancellor Otto Von Bismarck.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck)
1898 Jul 30, Otto von Bismarck
(b.1815), German-Prussian statesman and former "Iron" chancellor
(1871-1890), died. He held the German social security system as his
greatest accomplishment. In 1986 Lothar Gall authored “Bismarck.” In
2011 Jonathan Steinberg authored “Bismarck: A Life.”
(WUD, 1994, p.151)(WSJ, 6/23/07, p.P10)(Econ,
4/2/11, p.80)
1914 Aug 2, Russian troops
invade Eastern Prussia.
(MC, 8/2/02)
1914 Aug 22, Von Ludendorff and
von Hindenburg moved into East Prussia enroute to Russia.
(MC, 8/22/02)
1915 Hans Leip, in training for
the Prussian Guard, authored the poem “Song of a Young Sentry.” It
reflected his recent meetings with two women named Lili and Marlene.
In 1938 Norbert Schultze of Berlin put it to music. The composition
was then recorded by cabaret chanteuse Lale Anderson and became
hugely as the song “Lili Marlene.” In 2008 Liel Leibovitz and
Matthew Miller authored “Lili Marlene: The Soldier’s Song of World
War II.”
(WSJ, 11/8/08, p.W8)
1918 Nov 28, Kaiser Wilhelm of
Prussia and Germany, abdicated.
(MC, 11/28/01)
1920 Feb 27, The
Lithuanian government offered the representatives of the National
Council of Prussian Lithuania assent to cooptation in the Lithuanian
government. They co-opted March 20.
(LHC, 2/27/03)
1927 Mar 10, Prussia lifted its
Nazi ban, Hitler was allowed to speak in public.
(HN, 3/10/98)
1928 Sep 28, Prussia forbade a
speech by Adolf Hitler.
(MC, 9/28/01)
1929 May 3, Prussia banned
anti-fascists.
(MC, 5/3/02)
1932 Apr 24, In German national
elections the NSDAP/NAZI won 36.3% in Prussia.
(MC, 4/24/02)
1933 Apr 11, Hermann Goering
became premier of Prussia.
(MC, 4/11/02)
Go to
http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = Prussia
End of file