Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt

Frederick I
Duke of Anhalt
Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt
Duke of Anhalt
Reign 22 May 1871 – 24 January 1904
Predecessor Leopold IV
Successor Frederick II, Duke of Anhalt
Spouse Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg
Issue
Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt
Frederick II, Duke of Anhalt
Elisabeth, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Eduard, Duke of Anhalt
Prince Aribert
Alexandra, Princess of Schwarzburg
Full name
German: Leopold Friedrich Franz Nikolaus
House House of Ascania
Father Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt
Mother Princess Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia
Born April 29, 1831(1831-04-29)
Dessau, Anhalt
Died January 24, 1904(1904-01-24) (aged 72)
Ballenstedt, Anhalt

Frederick I (German: Herzog Friedrich I von Anhalt) (29 April 1831 – 24 January 1904) was a German prince of the house of Ascania who ruled the Duchy of Anhalt from 1871 to 1904.

Contents

Early life

Frederick was born in Dessau in 1831 as the third child and only son of Duke Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau and his wife Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia, the daughter of Prince Louis Charles of Prussia.[1]

He studied in Bonn and Geneva, and in 1851 entered the Prussian military at Potsdam.

In 1863 he became heir to the united Duchy of Anhalt, when his father Leopold IV had inherited all the Anhalt territories following the death of the last Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg.

In 1864, he participated in the Second Schleswig War in the staff of his brother-in-law, Prince Frederic Charles of Prussia, and in 1870-71 in the Franco-Prussian War as Lieutenant General. He was present at the proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace on 18 January 1871.

Reign

Frederick succeeded his father as Duke of Anhalt on 22 May 1871.

On 23 January 1904 he suffered an apoplectic stroke and died the next day at Ballenstedt castle. As his eldest son Leopold had predeceased him, he was succeeded as Duke by his second son who became Frederick II.[2]

Family

Marriage and issue

He was married on 22 April 1854 at Altenburg to Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. She was a daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his wife Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. They had six children:[1]

Name Birth Death Notes
Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt 18 July 1855 2 February 1886 married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel; had issue
Frederick II, Duke of Anhalt 19 August 1856 22 April 1918 married Princess Marie of Baden
Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt 7 September 1857 20 July 1933) married Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; had issue
Eduard, Duke of Anhalt 18 April 1861 13 September 1918) married Princess Luise of Saxe-Altenburg; had issue
Prince Aribert of Anhalt 18 June 1866 24 December 1933 married Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
Princess Alexandra of Anhalt 4 April 1868 26 August 1958 married Sizzo, Prince of Schwarzburg; had issue

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ a b Almanach de Gotha. 1903. pp. 3, 4. 
  2. ^ "Duke of Anhalt is dead". New York Times. 1904-01-25. pp. 7. 
Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt
Born: 29 April 1831 Died: 24 January 1904
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Leopold IV
Duke of Anhalt
1871-1904
Succeeded by
Frederick II