Henry of Anhalt-Köthen (30 July 177823 November 1847) 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 ' ...

, ruler of the non-sovereign principality of

Anhalt-Pless 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 ...

and the last ruler of the duchy of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. T ...

Life

He was the fourth (but third surviving) son of Frederick Erdmann, Prince of Anhalt-Pless, by his wife, Louise Ferdinande, daughter of Henry Ernest, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode. In 1796, he joined the Prussian army. During the campaign of 1806, he attained the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Before he retired from active service, Henry was elevated to the rank of ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

''. After his elder brother Frederick Ferdinand inherited Anhalt-Köthen in 1818, Henry assumed the government over the

state country State country (; ; ) was a unit of administrative and territorial division in the Bohemian crown lands of Silesia and Upper Lusatia, existing from 15th to 18th centuries. These estates were exempt from feudal tenure by privilege of the Bohemian ...

of Pless. When Frederick Ferdinand died in 1830, Henry succeeded him in Köthen, whereas he left

Pless Pleß or Pless may refer to: Places *Pleß, a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany * Pszczyna (German: Pleß), a town in southern Poland ** Duchy of Pless, a historic territory in Silesia * Pleß (mountain), a mountai ...

to his younger brother

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, who died in 1841 without heirs. Henry reassumed his rulership over

until his death. In Trebschen on 18 May 1819, Henry married Auguste Fredericka Espérance (3 August 1794, Brunswick – 13 July 1855, Köthen), daughter of Henry XLIV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz, and sister of Prince Henry LXIII. The union was childless. Since his youth, Henry was a strong advocate of

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

. In 1821, he took under his protection its creator,

Samuel Hahnemann Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann ( , ; 10 April 1755 – 2 July 1843) was a German physician, best known for creating the pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine called homeopathy. Early life Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann w ...

, who remained with his large family in Köthen for the next fourteen years as Henry's physician. In 1830, Henry was made a knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

. In 1841, he resumed service in the Prussian army, and by the time of his death, he was a

General of Infantry General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...

. With him, the line of Anhalt-Köthen became extinct. On his death, the duchy was inherited by his kinsmen Alexander Karl of Anhalt-Bernburg and

Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold IV Frederick, Duke of Anhalt (1 October 179422 May 1871) was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1817 until 1853 he was ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Dessau and from 1847 until 1853 also ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Köthen. Fro ...

. However, Alexander renounced his rights over Köthen on behalf of Leopold IV since it was clear that his eventual assumption of all the Anhalt lands was inevitable. The principality of

, governed by

Semi-Salic The Salic law ( or ; ), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by Clovis, the first Frankish King. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is debated. The written text is in Late L ...

Law, passed to Henry's nephew

Hans Henry X, Count of Hochberg-Fürstenstein Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

( corresponding article in German), son of his sister Anna Emilie, who was the only one of his siblings who had children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anhalt-Kothen, Henry, Duke of 1778 births 1847 deaths

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

People from Pszczyna Generals of Infantry (Prussia)

Dukes of Anhalt-Köthen