Year of Three Emperors
The year 1888 is commonly called Year of Three Emperors (Dreikaiserjahr) in Germany. It is learned by German schoolchildren with the mnemonic "three eights, three Emperors".
On March 9, the first German Emperor, Wilhelm I, died. He was succeeded by his son, Friedrich III, who however, already suffered from terminal cancer and died after only 99 days of rule on June 15. He in turn was followed by his son, Wilhelm II, the third and last Emperor, who was to reign until the end of the Empire in 1918.