A Brief History
On September 1, 1715, King Louis XIV of France died after having ruled for 72 years, the longest reign of a king or queen of any major European country. Many Frenchmen were born and died during his time on the throne and never knew any other monarch. Here 10 of the longest-reigning leaders of countries or other institutions are listed, in no particular order.
Digging Deeper
10. Howard Stern, “King of All Media,” 1986-Present.
Howard became the soi-disant (self-proclaimed) “King of all Media” in response to Michael Jackson’s claim to be the “King of Pop.” Stern went national in 1986 after having been fired from WNBC in New York, and he became an instant sensation. He has also successfully done television shows such as America’s Got Talent, recordings and even movies. In 2004, he signed a $500 million contract with Sirius to have his own satellite channel. Honorable mention to Larry King.
9. Elvis Presley, “King of Rock and Roll,” 1956-1977.
To this day, the man often addressed simply as the “King” has ruled the radio. In his day, he also ruled the concert halls and record sales. He is still the best-selling artist of all time, and even now, although having been dead for 37 years, he has his own Sirius/XM satellite radio station. (He even died on the “throne”…).
8. Sobhuza II, King of Swaziland, 1899-1982.
The longest-reigning monarch in history, Sobhuza’s reign of almost 83 years eclipses Queen Victoria’s by about 20 years! He became Chief/King at only 4 months! In 1968 he successfully managed the transition of Swaziland from a British colony to an independent country. Despite his distractions and duties as King, he managed to find the time to acquire 70 wives and to sire 210 children.
7. Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 1926-1989.
With a reign of almost 63 years, Hirohito is the longest-reigning monarch in Japanese history. After presiding over the disaster of World War II, he lived to see Japan recover to heights even greater than its peak in early World War II and become the second-largest economy on earth (in the meantime surpassed by China). Despite many calls for him to be tried for war crimes, Hirohito was protected against such prosecution by Douglas MacArthur and the US occupation government of Japan so that he could be used as a focal point of unity and control for the post-war re-development of Japan.
6. Frederick III, King of Germany, 1424-1493.
The longest serving ruler of Germany (1440-1493), “Fred” was also Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 to 1493, although by that time being Roman Emperor did not mean the same as it did in ancient times. Fred had been born in Innsbruck, Austria and was the Archduke of Austria (1424-1493). Also known as Frederick the Peaceful, he was notable mostly for his long time on his various thrones, being somewhat hesitant and cautious rather than dynamic and bold. Honorable mention to Franz-Joseph I, Emperor of Austria-Hungary from 1848-1916.
5. Constantine The Great, Roman Emperor, 306-337 AD.
Also known as Saint Constantine or Constantine I, he was the second longest reigning of all the Roman emperors after Augustus (unless Basil III who was emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire for 56 years is counted). Augustus did have a 51 year reign, but was not called “emperor”, although we refer to him as the first emperor of Rome. Constantine was the longest reigning of those that actually had the title. At least Constantine was in charge when the empire was one entity. The first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (or sepulcher) built in Jerusalem, the holiest site in Christianity. He is also considered the founder of the Byzantine Empire, and Byzantium was renamed Constantinople in his honor, though it is now called Istanbul (“Even old New York was once New Amsterdam!”).
4. Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1837-1901.
Not only the longest-reigning monarch of Britain, she was also the longest reigning of any queen in history. (In about one year’s time, Queen Elizabeth II is set to overtake the record of her great-great grandmother.) A member of the House of Hanover, she was of German origin. The Victorian Era named for her is characterized by ultra-moral prudishness and suppression of all things sexual. Her reign saw the rapid advance of the industrial revolution and the modernization of Britain.
3. Louis XIV, King of France, 1643-1715.
Louis was king for so long that an entire era of furniture is named after him. During his reign, he saw scores of European monarchs come and go, Louis being the one constant in the equation. A member of the House of Bourbon, Louis was known as the Sun King (le Roi-soleil) and as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand). His direct heirs died before he did, so he was succeeded by his great-grandson. Louis believed that the religion of the King should be the religion of the country, so he logically revoked the Edict of Nantes that provided for tolerance of Protestantism. He also permitted slavery, but decreed that slave families should not be split up, that slaves (Africans) could only be owned by Catholics and that the slaves must be baptized. Napoleon Bonaparte, a revolutionary who helped overthrow Louis XVI, praised only one King of France, that being Louis XIV, whom he referred to as a “great King.”
2. Joseph Stalin, Dictator of the Soviet Union, 1924-1953.
His mundane-sounding title of “General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union” does not properly describe his absolute control of the country. A paranoid, ruthless and bloodthirsty thug, Stalin may have been responsible for more civilian deaths than Hitler, having starved 6 million or more Ukrainians among other atrocities. He may well have murdered his wife, and in turn it is speculated that he himself may have been murdered. Born Iosef (or Ioseb) Jugashvili (or Dzugashvili) he was of Georgian origin.
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, 1933-1945.
The only man elected to the U.S. Presidency more than twice, FDR was elected 4 times in a row. Had he not died early in his 4th term, he would have held the top job for at least 16 years. His time in office was dominated by the Great Depression and World War II, and his most profound legacy is probably the enactment of Social Security. History and Headlines Fact: FDR’s wife, Eleanor, whose maiden name was also Roosevelt, was more closely related to Theodore Roosevelt than to FDR, to whom she was a distant cousin.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Wilkinson, Richard. Louis XIV (Routledge Historical Biographies). Routledge, 2007.
The featured image in this article, a painting formerly attributed to Nicolas de Largillière (1656–1746) of Louis XIV and his family, is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or fewer.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="4404 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=4404">37 Comments
It is pretty cool how Elvis Presley was mentioned in this article. His music and image really did stand the test of time.
It’s always a good thing when people don’t over-posterize Hitler as the anti-christ of an Era. Stalin was far more terrifying and far more, shall we say, ‘evil’ than his fellow ruler.
Becoming king at 4 months is insane. Although having 210 children is not something you hear every day.
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I can’t believe someone became a king at only 4 months!
72 years of ruling! This is mostly surprising to me because people tended to not live as long back it the day. Since he was not overthrow that also gives him the reputation of a good ruler for all those years.
the power some of these people have held had to have corrupted them to some degree. i could not think about becoming the most important person in a country for more than 4 years
The power that everyone had in this list really changed that certain society by being good or bad but in today’s society you rarely see that much except in a few countries.
I never knew the enactment of Social Security came from FDR.
The person on the list that stood out to me the most was the King of Swaziland. As I mentioned in a previous comment, it is crazy that all the time he was unaware he was “ruling” is counted in his length of reign. Becoming in charge at the age of four months is crazy, I think almost 83 years is too long of a time to be ruling. Also, it amazed me how many wives and children he had in his lifetime.
I don’t really understand how some of these people can be kings at 4 months or 5 years old. Also, really concerned for the guy who had 210 kids and 70 wives, seems like a pretty interesting guy to learn about.
I love that you put Elvis on the list. It’s only appropriate to have the king of Rock on the list. I also think it is very interesting that no president went longer than two terms until Roosevelt.
Where is LeBron James on this list?
Well, he was once listed at https://www.historyandheadlines.com/top-ten-low-stab-back-rat-fink-traitors/ but has since been struck out there…
I wonder if ruling a country would get boring after 72 years.
I liked that you included references outside of directly political rulers and leaders. It shows how many different ways people can achieve power and influence that makes them the “best” or “most influential” in whatever they are doing. Humans always want to be the best and have the biggest legacy (negative or positive) but few actually achieve that!
If healthy I have to wonder just how many terms FDR would have served?
Will LeBron James be included on this list in the future?…once he has more years under his belt of course.
Not really understanding how someone can be a King at four months.. It would make more sence if the mother took over until the child was like 13.
What would our country be like if the president could rule for longer than what the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution states? One can only imagine… but hopefully, will never have to witness! — DAVID WARDLE
LeBron James will enter this list. However there might be some debate on who the real king of basketball was.
FDR was alright but Theodore will always been my #1 Roosevelt
FDR was a phenomenal president, he got us out of the great depression, and helped us win WWII, although he died before he could see the outcome. He will always be one of my favorite presidents.
I can’t imagine knowing one president/king/emperor from when i was born to when i died. FDR was an incredible leader, one of the greatest presidents.
I cant believe Sobhuza had 210 children and 70 wives !
I was super happy that Elvis made this list! I was also surprised Michael Jackson wasn’t on here.
FDR and Teddy are the two presidents I wish were around today. They did some amazing things for this country and I would be curious to see what they would do given the circumstances today.
And Elvis because I think he would be killer to see in concert!
FDR was good president! Awesome Elvis made the list!
Elvis, would have loved to hear him live in concert.
The first to people were a bit of a surprise but very interesting list.
interesting
FDR is one president during the 20th century that I would’ve liked to see serve longer than he did.
To think that FDR was elected to 4 consecutive terms is incredible. In today’s America we cannot wait to get a President out of office after 4 months, let alone 4 terms.
Although we hold the notion that a president can only serve two terms, FDR did a lot of good in his 3 and a half.
If Howard Stern and Elvis Presley made this list, then how come Michael Jackson (King of Pop) didn’t make the cut. But in all seriousness, how did these two make a list with the other historical figure. Was this list to include pop culture figure? If so, then they left a whole lot of people off that probably should have made it!
When you think of long-reigning leaders, the first people to come to mind are such figures like Constantine and King Louis XIV. It is an interesting reminder of how culture and media (Howard Stern and Elvis Presley) can and does lead a nation.
I too find it interesting to think that Roosevelt was elected 4 times. It’s interesting to me due to the fact that under the domocracy and not dictatorship of the United States, the people in most part had to be for Roosevelt. Many leaders obviously had followers but to be elected as president once in America is an accomplishment, 4 times is greatness!!
I find it amazing that someone such as the King of Swaziland, Sobhuza II can run a country for 83 years in a time period where most people only lived to be 50 or so and at the same time continue to be the head of a country.