Otto Von Bismark was a prophet.
In 1888 he predicted the following:
"One day the great European war will break out because of something damned silly in the Balkans."
In 1914 the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia (in the Balkans) would be the event that led to World War I.
Then in his last days, he said
The victory at Jena came twenty years after the death of Frederick the Great; the defeat of the country will come twenty years after my death if things continue as they are.
Exactly 20 years after Bismark's death, Germany would lose World War I and nearly collapse.
In his final meeting with Wilhelm, he stated
"Your Majesty, as long as you have this current corps of officers, you can do as you please. But when that is no longer the case, it will be very different for you."
Indeed, when the current officer corps retired and was replaced by the next generation, Wilhelm was forced from power and exiled in shame.
Let's tell you more facts about Bismark because the guy was really funny.
During his youth, he famously averaged one duel a month and never lost.
There was an assassination attempt during his rise to power. A man shot him six times and was then disarmed by the guards. Bismark said he was fine and returned home. A few hours later, the royal court physician finally managed to see Bismark despite his protests. It turned out that all six bullets had hit him, but none of them had done much damage. Bismark was simply indifferent to the whole affair.
He drank two bottles of champagne and smoked two cigars at breakfast.
Despite all his antics and wild personality, he ended up marrying a very calm, devout, and conservative Christian woman.
The rest of his story is a little less flashy but equally interesting. The man was a freak of nature. He dictated European politics for decades. He created Germany and, by accident, the French Republic, and was one of the most brilliant political minds ever.