Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto I the Great (912 - May 7, 973), son of Henry I the Fowler, king of the Germans, and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany and arguably the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire -- Charlemagne having been Holy Roman Emperor but ruling over all of today's France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, western Germany, Switzerland, western Austria and northern Italy.

Succeeding his father as king of the Germans in 936, Otto defeated the Magyars in 955 at the Battle of Lechfeld near Augsburg in Bavaria, halting their advance into central Europe. In 963, Otto defeated Mieszko I, duke of Poland and compelled him to pay tribute.

On February 2, 962 Pope John XII crowned Otto Emperor. Though the term "Holy Roman Empire" was not used until about 200 years later, Otto is sometimes considered its founder (others confer this honor on his father Henry) and is counted as the first in a succession of emperors of various dynasties which ended only when Napoleon dissolved the Holy Roman Empire and the last Emperor of the house of Habsburg abdicated the crown in 1806. (Note: Charlemagne was crowned Emperor in 800, reviving the concept and ideal of a western Roman Emperor, and is regarded by many as the first Holy Roman Emperor. He was followed by several Carolingian Emperors. With Otto began the association between the title of Emperor and the German kingship.)

His younger brother was Archbishop Bruno I of Cologne.