Czar Nicholas II of Russia was born on May 19, 1868, as the first child of Tsarevitch Aleksandr III and his wife, Maria Fyodorovna. He was christened His Imperial Highness Nicholas Aleksandrovitch Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia. He had three brothers and two sisters, and was related to the Danish, British, and German royal families.
As a child, Nicholas was not as bright as his younger brothers, which led his father to believe that he was not "man enough" to be Emperor of Russia. His father had already chosen a French princess for Nicholas to marry, but Nicholas fell in love with a German princess named Alix, also known as Alexandra, and decided to marry her instead. His father reluctantly gave his blessing on his deathbed.
Nicholas married Alix in November 1894, and they had five children: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei. Alexei suffered from hemophilia, a disease that prevented blood from clotting properly, and the family became dependent on a mystic and "healer" named Grigory Rasputin.
Nicholas became Emperor of Russia in 1894 and was given the title His Highness the Tsar Nicholas Aleksandrovitch Romanov, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias. He was known for his desire to travel and see the world, but his experiences, including a close call with an assassin and a stampede at his coronation, may have been ominous portents of the challenges he would face.
Nicholas' reign was marked by several significant events, including the Russo-Japanese War, which Russia lost, and the Russian Revolution, which led to the abdication of the monarchy. The Romanov family was placed under house arrest and eventually executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
Here is the biography of Czar Nicholas II of Russia:
* Born: May 19, 1868
* Married: November 1894 to Alix of Hesse and by Rhine
* Children: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei
* Ascended to the throne: 1894
* Abdicated: March 1917
* Executed: July 17, 1918
