Frederick William III of Prussia in the context of "Altes Museum"

The Humboldt University of Berlin (German: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.

The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt, Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher as the University of Berlin (Universität zu Berlin) in 1809, and opened in 1810. From 1828 until its closure in 1945, it was named the (Royal) Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin (FWU Berlin; German: Königliche Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin). During the Cold War, the university found itself in East Berlin and was de facto split in two when the Free University of Berlin opened in West Berlin. The university received its current name in honour of Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt in 1949.

The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt (German pronunciation: [ˈjeːna … ˈaʊ̯ɐ.ʃtɛt]; older spelling: Auerstädt) were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, more specifically in today's Thuringia, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia, at the outset of the War of the Fourth Coalition during the Napoleonic Wars. The disastrous defeats suffered in these battles by the Prussian Army, which had not been reformed for about half a century, subjugated the Kingdom of Prussia to the French Empire until the Sixth Coalition was formed in 1813.

The Prussians did not forget the military glory of Frederick the Great and venerated it, but by the time of the war, changes were needed for victory, despite the fact that Prussia showed itself well in the French Revolutionary Wars. Thus at Jena and Auerstedt the backwardness of the Prussian Army became apparent. By 1806, Prussian military doctrines have been unchanged for more than 50 years,—tactics were monotonous, and wagon system was obsolete. The Prussian musket of 1806 (the 1754 model) was called "the worst in Europe" by one authority; there were many recruited non-Prussians in the royal army. At the same time, Napoleon's army was recently reorganized according to the advanced corps system, which the French Emperor improved greatly by 1805. At Jena the French were led by Napoleon himself, and at Auerstedt they were led by one of the most outstanding commanders of the Napoleonic Wars, Louis-Nicolas Davout. The battle took the Prussian supreme commander at Jena, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, by surprise due to his misorientation and ignorance of the enemy. Due to this incompetence, the Prussians fought a series of isolated, disjointed engagements, unconnected by a unified plan. From beginning to end, Hohenlohe remained disoriented regarding the enemy's strength and direction of advance, and not only did not find time to maintain control of the battle but was unable to even organize an adequate retreat; whilst Napoleon showed firm will at Jena, skillfully taking advantage of both the weather conditions (fog) and the rugged terrain when his troops gradually entered the battle from the march.

The Treaties of Tilsit (French: Traités de Tilsit), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (German: Friede von Tilsit; Russian: Тильзитский мир, romanized: Tilzitski mir), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War of the Fourth Coalition. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander I, when they met on a raft in the middle of the Neman river. The second was signed with Prussia on 9 July. The treaties were made at the expense of King Frederick William III of Prussia, who had already agreed to a truce on 25 June after the Grande Armée had captured Berlin and pursued him to the easternmost frontier of his realm.

In Tilsit, Prussia ceded about half of its pre-war territories. From these territories, Napoleon had created French client states, which were formalized and recognized at Tilsit: the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Duchy of Warsaw and the Free City of Danzig; the other ceded territories were awarded to existing French client states and to Russia.

The Treaty of Chaumont was a series of separately-signed but identically-worded agreements in 1814 between the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom. They were dated 1 March 1814, although the actual signings took place on 9 or 19 March. The treaty was intended to draw the powers of the Sixth Coalition into a closer alliance in case France rejected the peace terms they had recently offered. Each power agreed to put 150,000 soldiers in the field against France and to guarantee for twenty years the European peace (once obtained) against French aggression.

Following discussions in late February 1814, representatives of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom reconvened a meeting at Chaumont, Haute-Marne, on 1 March 1814. The resulting Treaty of Chaumont was signed on 9 or 19 March 1814 although it was dated 1 March by Emperor Alexander I of Russia, Austrian Emperor Francis II (with Prince Metternich), King Frederick William III of Prussia, and British Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh. The treaty called for Napoleon to give up all conquests and thus to revert France to its pre-revolutionary borders in exchange for a ceasefire. If Napoleon rejected the treaty, the Allies pledged to continue the war. If Napoleon accepted, he would be allowed to continue to rule as the Emperor of the French and to keep a dynasty. The following day, Napoleon rejected the treaty, which ended his last chance of a negotiated settlement.

Wilhelm I (William I; William Frederick Louis; German: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. He was regent of Prussia from 1858 to 1861 for his elder brother, King Frederick William IV. During the reign of his grandson Wilhelm II, he was known as Emperor Wilhelm the Great (German: Kaiser Wilhelm der Große).

The second son of Prince Frederick William and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Wilhelm was not expected to ascend to the throne. His grandfather, King Frederick William II died the year he was born, and his father was crowned Frederick William III. Wilhelm fought with distinction during the War of the Sixth Coalition, and afterwards became a prominent figure within the Prussian Army. In 1840, his childless elder brother became King of Prussia, making him heir presumptive. Wilhelm played a major role in crushing the Revolutions of 1848 in Germany, although he was briefly forced into exile in England. Frederick William IV suffered a stroke in 1857 and was left incapacitated, and Wilhelm was formally named Prince Regent a year later. In 1861, Wilhelm ascended to the Prussian throne on his elder brother's death.