Ferdinand Albert I (; 22 May 1636 – 23 April 1687), a member of the

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...

, was a

Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. After a 1667 inheritance agreement in the

Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel () was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 square kilometres in the mid 17th century. Va ...

, he received the

secundogeniture A secundogeniture (from 'following, second', and 'born') was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch.Luard, Evan. The Balance of Power: The System of International Relations, ...

Brunswick-Bevern Brunswick-Bevern was a secundogeniture of the Younger House of Brunswick, itself a branch of the House of Welf. Its first member was Ferdinand Albert I of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1636–1687), the fourth son of Duke Augustus the Younger, ruling ...

, which he ruled until his death.

Life

Ferdinand Albert was born in Brunswick, the fourth son of Duke Augustus the Younger, reigning

Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

, from his third marriage with Duchess Elisabeth Sophie of Mecklenburg. Raised at his father's residence, the young man received a comprehensive education, with Justus Georg Schottel and Sigmund von Birken among his tutors. After the father's death in 1666, the sons quarreled about the heritage. Eventually, Ferdinand Albert received the palace of Bevern near

Holzminden Holzminden (; ) is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden (district), Holzminden. It is located on the river Weser, which at this point forms the border with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

, some feudal rights, and a certain amount of money in exchange for his claims to the government of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, which was to be ruled by his elder half-brothers Rudolph Augustus and Anthony Ulrich. Ferdinand Albert joined the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1665 and was admitted to the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''Societas Fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it ...

by Duke

Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels (13 August 1614 in Dresden – 4 June 1680 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle), was a Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt of the House of Wettin and administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. He was the fourth (but s ...

in 1673. Over the years, however, he grew more and more eccentric, and at some point his brothers had to send a military force to restore order at his palace. He collected many works of art, which later became part of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Brunswick. He died in 1687 at Bevern; his son and successor, Ferdinand Albert II, inherited the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel decades later.

Family

Ferdinand Albert married Christine of Hesse-Eschwege (30 October 1648 - 18 March 1702), a daughter of Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Eschwege and Countess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of Zweibrücken, in 1667. They had the following children that reached adulthood: * Sophia Eleanora (24 August 1674 – 10 September 1711), died childless * Augustus Ferdinand (29 December 1677 – 2 July 1704), died childless * Ferdinand Albert II (1680–1735) * Ferdinand Christian ( 8 September 1682 – 18 March 1706), died childless * Ernest Ferdinand (1682–1746) * Henry Ferdinand (12 April 1684 – 7 September 1706), died childless

Ancestors

References

At the House of Welf site

Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliographie, vol. 6, p. 679-681
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand Albert, Duke of Brunswick-LuneburgI 1636 births 1687 deaths Nobility from Braunschweig House of Brunswick-Bevern German art collectors New House of Brunswick Burials at Brunswick Cathedral