Biographies

(1777-1825), Russian Tsar 1801-1825 Alexander I was born in St. Petersburg on 23 December, 1777 and died at Taganrog on 1 December, 1825. He was the son of Paul I and Sophie of Württemberg (Maria Feodorovna), and the grandson of Catherine II. He was handsome – he had the classic profile of his grandmother – […]

Karl Friedrich was the son of Hereditary Prince Friedrich of Baden and Anna of Nassau-Dietz-Orange (October 13, 1710 – September 17, 1777), the daughter of William Friso of Nassau-Dietz-Orange.

Born in Florence (Italy) 1768, died 1835 Vienna. Last Holy Roman Emperor (Francis II., 1792-1806), first Emperor of Austria (Francis I., 1804-35); Son of Emperor Leopold II, 1747-1792 and Maria–Luisa of Spain (1745 – 1792)). He had four wives, only the second of whom (Maria-Theresa…

Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (Duchy and Elector, he became King on the 11 December, 1806).  Saxony's sovereign was by far the most faithful German ally to Napoleon. The idea that all states in the Confederation of the Rhine were uniformly modernised under the French model must be abandoned, in fact the Saxon state is […]

Son and heir of Prussian king Frederick William II, he received a military education and held active commands during the War of the First Coalition from 1792 to 1794. King of Prussia on his father's death in 1797, he rescinded some of the monarchy's more repressive legislation, ans was less inclined to reactionary intolerance than […]

Benito Juarez was born at San-Pablo-Guelatao (Oaxaca, Mexico) on 21 March, 1806, to poor indigenous parents of the Zapotec tribe (who died a few years after his birth). After a period of illiteracy and extreme poverty, Benito came to the city of Oaxaca to join his sister who worked as a servant for the Maza […]

King Maximilian I of Bavaria. (1756 –1825) was prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1805, King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I) from 1805 to 1825 Born in Schwetzingen – between Heidelberg and Mannheim – Maximilian Joseph took service in 1777 as a colonel in the French army and rose rapidly to the […]

The Archduke Ferdinand-Josef, brother of Franz-Josef, and the second son of the Archduke Franz-Karl, at first served in the Navy. He then became viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia (1857), a position he occupied only until in 1859. He was contacted when the Empire was proclaimed on 10 July, 1863, following extensive diplomatic talks on […]

Viceroy of Egypt, son of Ibrahim Pasha, born in Cairo in 1830. Sent to France to complete his education, he followed a course of study at the École d’état-major, at the same time as his elder brother, Ahmet Rifaat, and returned to Egypt in 1849. Some years later, Ismail travelled to Constantinople, where he received […]

Viceroy of Egypt, born in Cairo in 1822 (by a woman from the Caucasus) the fourth son of Mohammed-Ali. He died, also in Cairo, in 1863. Mohammed-Ali devoted himself wholeheartedly to educating Saïd Pasha in the European style, by employing tutors, most of whom were French, and one of whom was Koenig-Bey, who later became […]