[December 1] Alexander I, emperor of Russia

Local Name: Aleksandr I Pavlovich (Александр I Павлович)
Soubriquet: "The Blessed" (Blagoslovennyi)
Parents: Paul, emperor of Russia, and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg
Date of Birth: 23 December 1777
House: Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Spouse(s): Louise Elizabeth Alexeievna, daughter of Charles Louis of Baden and Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Predecessor: Paul

Reign: 1801 – 1825
Brief: The only European monarch to have defeated Emperor Napoleon I at his own game, Alexander was raised by his autocratic grandmother, Catherine the Great, and by a French enlightenment tutor, Frédéric-César de La Harpe, embracing both philosophies in an unnatural amalgam. When his father was assassinated in March 1801, possibly with his own collusion, Alexander set on a campaign of governmental reform and centralization. He also turned Russia on a course toward constitutional monarchy, establishing an upper chamber of Lords and reforming the Governing Senate into his Supreme  Court. After first recognizing Napoleon as leader of the French Republic, Alexander realized that Napoleon was an autocrat and against basic freedoms. The young emperor rallied together an alliance with his neighbors but found himself along in 1807 when France defeated Austria. The two countries made peace, with plans to divide Europe in half between them, but over the course of the next five years, these plans fell apart and the two countries again prepared for war. Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 and burned Moscow before his army was utterly devastated on its long return to France. From the end of the war until the end of his life, Alexander became increasingly autocratic, abandoning much of his love for enlightenment philosophy and instead embracing the methods of Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, the Austrian prime minister. Emperor Alexander I died in 1825 after catching a cold which developed into typhus. His wife died a few months later. Legends suggest that Alexander actually lived and continued his life as a hermit until 1864, living under the name Feodor Kuzmich, who was sainted by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1984.
Date of Death: 1 December 1825

Successor: Nicholas I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Henry I, king of England (1135)
• Magnus II, king of Sweden (1377)
• Go-Komatsu, emperor of Japan (1433)
• Leo X, pope of Rome (1521)
• Pius VIII, pope of Rome (1830)

[July 17] St. Nicholas II, emperor of Russia

Full Name: Nikolay II, Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov (Николай II, Николай Александрович Романов)
Surnamed: "The Martyr"
Parents: Alexander III, emperor of Russia, and Dagmar of Denmark

Date of Birth: 18 May 1868
Royal House: Oldenburg-Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Spouse: Alix, daughter of Louis IV, grand duke of Hesse, and Alice of the United Kingdom

Predecessor: Alexander III
Reign: 1894 — 1917
Summary: To summarize the life and many failures of Czar Nicholas II of Russia is an impossible task. Born to the German family that ruled Russia in the name of Romanov, Nicholas was the eldest son of Czar Alexander III. His cousins included his wife, Alix, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, and George V of the United Kingdom. He became the tsarevich (crown prince) upon the death of his grandfather, Alexander II, in 1881. He was sent in 1890 to Siberia where he witnessed the opening ceremony for the Trans-Siberian Railway. He then went on a world-tour that included Japan and much of Europe. Nicholas insisted on marrying Alix, the daughter of the Hessian grand duke, in 1894 and, reluctantly, his parents allowed it. But Russian society frowned on the marriage of the first cousins since Alix was German and viewed as an enemy of Russia. She maintained her Lutheran faith to the chagrin of many a Russian, but she never became popular. Alexander III unexpectedly died in late 1894 and Nicholas was thrust into the emperorship. Despite twenty-six years of upbringing, Nicholas was not prepared to lead Russia and, as many would discover, he would never really gain a knack for it.


Nicholas's first major mistake was denouncing thoughts of democracy in Russia. He chose instead to stick to the conservative position of his forefathers. When local assemblies popped up throughout Russia, Nicholas openly objected to him proclaiming his desire to retain the Russian autocracy. For the first decade of his reign, little changed in Russia. The gold standard was re-adopted allowing the national currency to undergo some much-needed reforms. The Trans-Siberian Railway was completed allowing direct trade with the Far East. In diplomacy, the relationship with France was increased and heavily emphasized. Things went sour in 1904 when the Russian fleet was suddenly attacked by Japan. The ensuing Russo-Japanese War cost Russia its Pacific fleet. Only American mediation ended a war that Nicholas refused to admit that he lost. Riots soon followed in 1905 leading to Bloody Sunday on January 9. Protesters marching peacefully through St. Petersburg were attacked by Russian infantry, killing 92 and wounding hundreds. Many fled and protests against Nicholas popped up throughout the Empire for the next thirteen years. After the riots, Nicholas decreed that he would allow basic civil liberties in Russia and allow a popular assembly, though he would retain ultimate oversight. It took three sessions of the assembly before Nicholas would tolerate its oversight, and, even still, he always kept a cautious eye on it. In his personal life, the successive births of four daughters caused Nicholas much worry of the succession. In 1904, his son, Alexei, was finally born, but his case of hemophilia B meant that he would probably never live long enough to produce offspring. His fate in 1918 ended any problems related to his succession. When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, Nicholas eventually declared a mass mobilization of Russia, setting the course of Europe toward war. When Austria declared war soon after, the European alliances were initiated and Russia joined the Allies against the Central Powers. Throughout the war, Russia would never defeat the Germans in open battle, though successes against Austria and Ottoman Turkey were much more frequent. Though Russia had the largest army in the war, it slowly was whittled away by a triple front of Austria, Germany, and Turkey. Russia would not survive this war of attrition. Nicholas was frequently near the front lines leaving his wife, Alix, and his advisor, Grigori Rasputin, ruling the country. But people did not trust Rasputin and Alix was distrusted for being German. Run-away inflation and impossibly high food prices mixed with severe winters and broken railways caused the entire Russian population to rise in rebellion. Over the course of 1917, the Romanov family was imprisoned by an upstart Provisional Government led by the former Russian assembly and the Soviet. Both demanded the resignation of Nicholas which he finally agreed to on 15 March 1917, passing the throne to his brother, Michael. 


Michael soon after declined the throne and the Bolsheviks took control over Russia. The revolution in Russia gave the United States impetus to join the war, feeling that it was now a part of a democratic alliance. Nicholas attempted to go into exile to the United Kingdom but the Provisional Government decided to keep the family in Russian custody, moving them to the Ural Mountains. When the Bolsheviks took control of the government later that year, the Romanovs could do little. Vladimir Lenin, the new leader of the government, viewed the Romanovs as a threat to their government. In mid-July, the family was taken to the basement of a former governor's mansion and privately executed. Nicholas was shot three times in the chest. His four daughters survived the initial attack but were soon after speared with bayonets then shot in the head. The others in the room were killed indiscriminately in the first round of firing. The remains of all seven family members were only identified in 2008. Czar Nicholas was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a martyr in 2000. While he is still considered a weak and poor ruler, he has also been seen as a victim of his times.

Date of Death: 17 July 1918
Successor: Cyril (as pretender)

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Uthman, caliph of Sunni Islam (656)
• Edward (I) the Elder, king of Wessex (924)
• Baldwin VI, count of Flanders (1070)
• Dmitry Shemyaka, grand prince of Moscow (1453)
• Tu Duc, emperor of Vietnam (1883)

[February 12] Adolf Frederick, king of Sweden

Parents: Christian August, prince of Eutin, and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach

Date of Birth: 12 February 1710

Royal House: Oldenburg-Holstein-Gottorp

Spouse: Louisa Ulrika, daughter of Frederick William I, king in Prussia, and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover

Reign: 1751 – 1771

Predecessor: Frederick I

Summary: Adolf Frederick came to the throne in a time when the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, controlled the government. His father was the prince-bishop of Lubeck and ruled the Holstein-Gottorp during the Great Northern War. Despite a fair descent from many German families as well as the British royal house, Adolf Frederick was not meant to rule. He was elected heir to the throne by a faction of the Riksdag so that negotiations with Russia would go smoother. Elizabeth of Russia accepted his nephew as her heir in return and the two countries made peace in the Treaty of Turku.

As king, Adolf Frederick served as the figurehead of a parliamentary government. He was not content to stay a passive entity in his own kingdom, but he had little power or ability to break out of his shell. Twice he attempted to leave his estates in order to arrange a coup d'etat, and both times he failed. His wife, Louisa Ulrika, was the fiery daughter of the Prussian king and encouraged him in his efforts to assert himself. He almost lost the throne during his first attempt. His son, Gustav, supported his second coup attempt and succeeded in overthrowing the senate, but could not rally enough support to reinstate absolute rule. The king was a portly and unhealthy man and his death was famous for its extravagance. His final meal consisted of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, kippers, champaign and fourteen servings of his favorite dessert, semla, served in a bowl of hot milk. Today he is remembered by Swedish schoolchildren as "the king who ate himself to death." 

Date of Death: 12 February 1771

Successor: Gustav III

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Jane Grey, queen of England & Ireland (1554)