Equestrian statue of King Albert I of Belgium

Albert I (April 8, 1875 – February 17, 1934) reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 through 1934. This was a crucial period in the History of Belgium since it included the period of World War I (1914 - 1918) when 99 percent of Belgium was overrun, occupied, and ruled by the German Empire. Other crucial events included the adoption of the Treaty of Versailles, the ruling of the Belgian Congo as an overseas possession of the Kingdom of Belgium, the reconstruction of Belgium following the war, and the first five years of the Great Depression (1929 - 1934). King Albert was killed in a mountaineering accident in eastern Belgium in 1934, at the age of just 58, and he was succeeded by his son Leopold.