The so-called Aktienrechtsnovelle (amendment to the stock corporation law) of 1870, which was published by Emperor William I of Prussia (1797–1888) in the Bundesgesetzblatt des Norddeutschen Bundes, provided the legal basis for the emergence of the modern company.
Bundesgesetzblatt des Norddeutschen Bundes, No. 21, first page, Berlin 1870, unknown author, digital copy: A. Wagner; image source: Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Norddeutsches_Bundesgesetzblatt_1870_021_375.jpg. Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany.