Otto I (1815-1867), was the first king of Greece after the Greeks won their independence from the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) in 1830. France, Britain, and Russia—who had helped Greece win independence—named Otto king in 1832, and he ruled from 1832 to 1862. Otto was an unpopular ruler. He failed to move toward the realization of the “Great Idea,” which sought to liberate all Greeks still under Ottoman rule in such territories as Crete, Thessaly, and Macedonia.
Otto and the Greeks were prepared to join the Russians against the Ottoman Turks during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Britain and France sent troops to Greece to prevent it. The Greeks blamed Otto for this failure and deposed him in 1862. During his reign, Otto rebuilt Athens, established the first Greek university, and refounded Sparta. Otto I was born on June 1, 1815, in Salzburg, Austria, as Otto Friedrich Ludwig, a prince of Bavaria (now part of Germany). He died on July 26, 1867.
