Count Palatine William of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen (4 January 1701 in

Gelnhausen Gelnhausen () is a town, and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig. It is one of ...

– 25 December 1760 in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

) was a titular

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld (German: ''Pfalz-Birkenfeld''), later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line initially ruled over only a relatively ...

and an Imperial

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Life

William was the youngest son of the Count Palatine

John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-round ...

of Gelnhausen (1638–1704) from his second marriage, Esther Maria (1665–1725), a daughter of George Frederick, Baron Witzleben of Elgersburg. William served from 1729 in the Austrian army and was wounded during the

Battle of Mollwitz The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, during the First Silesian War (in the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession). It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both si ...

. In 1742, he won a victory against the French general Bouffleur and drove the French from Tein. In 1743, he became

General of the Cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...

in the Dutch army. In 1754, he accompanied Emperor

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

to his coronation in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. In the same year, he became imperial field marshal. In 1757 he was appointed

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

References

* Jean Baptiste Ladvocat: ''Neues historisches Hand-Lexikon'', Stettin, 1800, p. 229 f * Johann Samuel Ersch: ''Allgemeine Encyklopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste: in alphabetischer Folge'', section 2: H - N, part 21: ''Johann (Infant von Castilien) - Johann-Boniten'', p. 189 House of Wittelsbach Counts Palatine of the Holy Roman Empire 1701 births 1760 deaths 18th-century German people Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Sons of monarchs {{Germany-noble-stub