son of Duke Frederick Eugen of Würtemberg, one of the generals of Frederick II. of Prussia, was born at Treptow in Pomerania, November 6, 1754. At an early age, together with seven brothers, he entered the Prussian service, in which he attained the grade of major-general. At the end of the Bavarian war of succession, he accompanied his sister and her husband, the Grand-duke Paul of Russia, on a journey through Italy, on his return from which he was named governor-general of Russian Finland. This dignity he resigned in 1787, his father having meanwhile become duke of Würtemberg, and himself heir-apparent to the throne. As such he opposed the French on their entry into Germany, but unsuccessfully; and then retired for some time to England. He succeeded to the dukedom in 1797, again fought against the armies of France in 1799-1801, and finally fled into Austria, after having procured for himself the title of Elector of the empire. Induced by large promises on the part of the French government to return to his states soon after, he became a trusty ally of Napoleon, and obtained from him, October, 1805, the title of King of Würtemberg, and a considerable increase of territory. After the Russian campaign, however, he made overtures to the allies, and by the treaty of Fulda was secured in the possession of his estates, as well as his kingly title. He died October 30, 1816. Frederick was twice married; first, October 27, 1780, to Princess Augusta Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who died in 1787; and secondly. May 18, 1797, to Princess Charlotte Mathilde, eldest daughter of King George III. of Great Britain. He was succeeded by his son William I.—F. M.
* Frederick William I., Elector of Hesse, born August 20, 1802, the only son of Elector William II. and his consort Augusta Frederica, daughter of King Frederick William II. of Prussia. He received his education at the universities of Marburg and Leipsic, and then took up his residence at Bonn on the Rhine. The stormy period of 1830 called him back to Cassel, the capital of Hesse, where he was rather popular at the time. In the following year, on the 30th of September, his father, urged to some such measure by political demonstrations, invested him with the regency, which he exercised till the death of the elector, November 20, 1847. But the events of 1848 made Frederick William not less unpopular, if not even more so, than his predecessor had ever been; and the vox populi now proclaims him one of the worst of German sovereigns. In his domestic relations Frederick William is far from happy. He married in 1831 the divorced wife of a Prussian lieutenant of the name of Lehmann; and this morganatic union has been the source of endless troubles to the elector. There are nine children of this marriage, but none of them, according to German princely law, can inherit the throne, which, in the event of the decease of Frederick William, falls to a distant relation, a landgraf or earl, William of Hesse-Homburg, an officer in the service of the king of Denmark.—F. M.
* Frederick William Charles, Prince of the Netherlands, second son of King William I., was born, February 28, 1797, after his family had been compelled to leave Holland. He received his education chiefly at Berlin, where he profited by the instruction of the celebrated historian, Niebuhr, who afterwards became his trusty friend. In 1813 the prince returned to Holland, and by decree of April 4, 1815, was declared heir-apparent of the German possessions of the house of Orange. But the Belgian revolution of 1830 deprived him of this dignity, and in requital for its loss, he had to content himself with some domains in Northern Brabant and the title of Prince of the Netherlands. The prince commanded the royal troops at Brussels on the night of July 26-27, 1830, when, after a sanguinary street fight, the Dutch had to retreat. Since that time Prince Frederick has completely renounced the military career, and occupied his leisure in scientific studies and in travel. He was married May 21, 1825, to Princess Louise of Prussia, daughter of King Frederick William III., born February 1, 1808, by whom he has two daughters—Louise, born August 5, 1828, and married June 19, 1850, to the heir-apparent of Sweden and Norway; and Marie, born July 5, 1841.—F. M.
II. PRUSSIA.
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, known as the Great Elector, son of the Elector George William, born at Berlin in 1620. He spent his early years with his mother in the castle of Letzlingen and that of Cüstrin. In 1635 he entered the university of Leyden. His education, finished in the camp of Frederick Henry, prince of Orange, embraced the classics, history, and various modern languages. In 1640 he quitted the Hague to avoid becoming a member of an immoral society—the Media Nocte. In the same year he succeeded his father, and found his dominions in a state of the utmost anarchy. His first policy was to secure his position among the German states. At war with Sweden, and suspecting Austria, he was, moreover, harassed by Count Schwarzenberg, his father's minister, who had taken possession of the Mark, lately reduced to great extremities by Wallenstein. Shortly after his accession he wrote—"On one hand I have the king of Sweden, on the other the emperor. Here I stand between the two, awaiting that which they will do unto me—whether they will leave me mine own, or whether they will take it away." He soon gained confidence, and turned his attention to finance, and also to the extension of his dominions. In 1642 he was invested with Prussia by the king of Poland, and the following year he severed his connection with Austria, and arranged a truce with Sweden. At the peace of Munster he obtained privileges for the protestant church, and made arrangements which secured him two countships and the old duchy of Cleves. He did not succeed in procuring the duchies of Jägendorf or Pomerania, though for the latter he had offered 2,000,000 thalers, with Halberstadt, Minden, and Magdeburg. Anticipating another rupture with Sweden, he allied himself with Holland, and courted Cromwell and Louis XIV. In 1647 he married Louisa Henrietta, princess of Orange. He joined the Swedish army in 1654, when Charles Augustus declared war against Poland. His Swedish alliance pleased Cromwell, but when Austria, Holland, and Poland remonstrated, a convention was summoned at Whelau, at which Frederick William abandoned Sweden on condition that Prussia should be released from allegiance to Poland. In November, 1657, this arrangement was ratified at Bromberg, and in the same year he exerted his influence as an independent prince to secure the election of Leopold I., and received for this service the duchy of Magdeburg. On the death of Charles Augustus in 1659, Frederick William devoted himself to civil, government. His reforms were strongly opposed. When he amalgamated into one code the laws of the different provinces, it was with difficulty that he averted a civil war. He conceded many privileges to the estates, among others, that of partially levying taxes. The estates, however, were violent, and endeavoured to resuscitate the Polish suzerainty, and warned him that unless he redressed every grievance they would refuse him allegiance. He replied—"I can do nothing here but chafe within myself. The Lord deliver me from men that will hear no reason." In 1663 Frederick William prevailed over the disaffection of his estates and received their allegiance. He raised a standing army, and, after much opposition, two hundred and forty thousand thalers were annually granted for that purpose. In 1661, at the desire of his wife, he declined the crown of Poland rather than desert the protestant faith. In 1666, at the peace of Oliva, the first alliance between Austria and Brandenburg was concluded. In 1667 his wife died, and in the following year he married Dorothea, dowager-duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1672 he opposed Louis XIV. in his schemes of aggrandizement against Holland, by allying himself with Austria, Denmark, Hesse-Cassel, and other German principalities. In the campaign which ensued he abandoned Westphalia to the enemy, but in the following year it was restored to him in terms of a treaty of peace. In 1674, when the emperor invaded Alsatia, he joined the imperial army, but was defeated by Turenne, who took possession of Westphalia. During this campaign an assassin offered to kill Turenne, which proposal horrified the elector, who at once informed his enemy of his danger. In 1675 he gained the battle of Fehrbellin; in 1677 took Stettin; and in 1678 drove the Swedes completely from Grieswald and Stralsund, and obtained possession of Pomerania. In 1679 the Swedes again invaded his territories from Livonia, from which he routed them after forced and difficult marches over the Frische Haff. France, however, insisted upon the restoration of all the conquered places, and in the same year, at the peace of St. Germain, he agreed to restore them upon the French evacuating Westphalia, and paying him 30,000 crowns. Spain neglecting to pay a subsidy agreed upon for his assistance against France, he fitted out, in 1680, eight frigates, which captured several rich Spanish prizes. In 1683 the estates appeared jealous of his popularity, but he met their complaints by limiting their privileges, and also that of the nobles. In 1685 the revocation of the edict of Nantes gained
