William I, Elector of Hesse
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William I, Elector of Hesse (German: Wilhelm I., Kurfürst von Hessen) (June 3, 1743 – February 27, 1821) was the eldest surviving son of Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Mary of Great Britain, the daughter of George II.
His father, landgrave Frederick II (who died in 1785) had in 1747 left the family and soon converted Catholicism, and in 1755 formally ended the marriage. The young prince William, together with his two younger brothers, were with their mother the landgravine Mary and became since 1747 fostered by Protestant relatives and soon moved to Denmark, to the care of her sister Louise of Great Britain who however died in 1751.
William married in 1763 his first cousin Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway (1747-1820), the second surviving daughter of king Frederick V of Denmark and Norway. They remained mostly in Denmark, until 1785 to return to Kassel when he succeeded in the landgraviate. William however received the Principality of Hanau south of the Hessian territories, near Frankfurt, as successor of its newly extinct princes, already in the lifetime of his father, since the last Hanau did not want to leave his lands in hands of a Catholic.
William's younger brother Charles followed suit and in 1766 married another of their Danish first cousins.
Upon the death of his father on October 31, 1785 he became William IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and as such, is said to have inherited one of the largest fortunes in Europe at the time.
He had several mistresses, and sired over twenty recognized illegitimate children, providing some financial means to each of those.
Due in part to the wealth of his estate, William is especially notable for his role in affording Mayer Amschel Rothschild both the relationship, and situational means, by assigning some of the care of his properties and tax-gathering, for founding the Rothschild family dynasty. Also, though acquainted since 1775, William IX didn't formally designate Rothschild as overseer until 1801.
In 1803 he was created Elector of Hesse but in 1806 his electorate was annexed by the Kingdom of Westphalia, ruled by Jérôme Bonaparte. William escaped to Denmark with his family and lived there in exile until the French were repulsed from Germany. Following the defeat of the Napoleonic armies in the Battle of Leipzig, he was restored in 1813, and ruled until his death in 1821.
He was succeeded by his son William.
| Preceded by Frederick II |
Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel 31 October 1785 – February 27, 1821 |
Succeeded by William II, Elector of Hesse |
| Preceded by creation |
Elector of Hesse 1803 – February 27, 1821 |
Succeeded by William II, Elector of Hesse |
