Frederick I () (29 April 1831 – 24 January 1904) was a German prince of the

house of Ascania The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...

who ruled the

Duchy of Anhalt The Duchy of Anhalt () was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now ...

from 1871 to 1904.

Early life

Frederick was born in

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

in 1831 as the third child and only son of Duke Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau and his wife Princess Frederica of Prussia, the daughter of

Prince Louis Charles of Prussia Prince Frederick Louis Charles of Prussia (; Potsdam, 5 November 1773 – Berlin, 28 December 1796) was the second son and third child of Frederick William II of Prussia and Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. Biography Marriage and issue ...

. He studied in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and in 1851 entered the Prussian military at

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. In 1863 he became heir to the united

, when his father Leopold IV had inherited all the Anhalt territories following the death of the last Duke of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

. In 1864, he participated in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

in the staff of his brother-in-law, Prince Frederic Charles of Prussia, and in 1870–71 in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. He was present at the proclamation of

Wilhelm I Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

German Emperor The German Emperor (, ) was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdicati ...

in the

Hall of Mirrors The Hall of Mirrors () is a grand Baroque architecture, Baroque style gallery and one of the most emblematic rooms in the royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the hall and its adjoining salons was intended to ...

at the

Versailles Palace The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines Department of Île-de-France region in France. The palace is owned by the government of F ...

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 Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

stroke and died the next day at

Ballenstedt Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Geography It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipal area comprises the vi ...

castle. As his eldest son

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

had predeceased him, he was succeeded as duke by his second son who became Frederick II.

Family

Marriage and issue

He was married on 22 April 1854 at

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg (17 April 1838 – 13 October 1908) was a princess of Saxe-Altenburg by birth and Duchess of Anhalt by marriage. Biography Antoinette was the second child of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg (1804–1852) fr ...

. She was a daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his wife Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. They had six children:

Honours

;German orders and decorations''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt'' (1894) "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses" p
1
2 ;Foreign orders and decorations

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick I, Duke Of Anhalt House of Ascania Dukes of Anhalt 1831 births 1904 deaths Generals of Infantry (Prussia) German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Royal reburials People from Dessau-Roßlau Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt