Nicholas IPaulovitch

Nicholas I., Paulovitch (1796-1855), Emperor (Tzar) of Russia, was the third son of Paul I. In 1816 he visited England, and in 1817 married Charlotte, eldest daughter of William III. of Prussia. In 1825 he succeeded his eldest brother, Alexander I., passing over his elder brother Constantine. This gave rise to a slight mutiny in the army, which Nicholas quelled, and then began a reign of despotism and conquest. Provinces and countries were annexed and ravaged - notably Poland and Hungary - and he kept encroaching on Persia and Turkey till it seemed as though Constantinople was in his grasp. France and England, however, forced him to withdraw his army from the Danubian provinces and invaded the Crimea in 1854. The crushing defeats which he then received broke his spirit, and he died in 1855, and was succeeded by Alexander II.