Frederick the Great
Occupation: Royalty
Best known as: King of Prussia
AKA: Frederick Hohenzollern, Frederick II of Prussia
Nickname: Old Fritz
Nationality: German / Prussian
Religion: Athiest
Born: January 24, 1712 in Berlin, Germany
Died: August 17, 1786 in Potsdam, Germany
Reign: 1740-1786
Short biography:
The son of King Frederick William I, Frederick the Great spent much of his early life rebelling against his strict father and studying music and the arts. However, he eventually became an able administrator and military leader. When he became king in 1740, Prussia was a collection of separate territories. Frederick captured Silesia, a part of Austria, during the Silesian Wars, which lasted from 1740 to 1745. Then he invaded Saxony in 1756, which sparked the Seven Years War between Prussia and Great Britain on one side, and Saxony, Russia, France, Austria, and Sweden on the other side. Although Prussia did not gain any territory, it held its own in the war, partly due to the death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia and the resulting retreat of Russian troops. In 1772, Prussia acquired territory through the First Partition of Poland, which finally made him the ruler of a united Prussia. Also, during his reign, Frederick modernized the Prussian government and economy and encouraged religious tolerance, art, music, and architecture. He considered himself an enlightened philosopher-king and a servant of his country, unlike many of his contemporaries, who followed the teachings of Machiavelli that monarchs should have absolute power.
Wife: Elisabeth Chritsine of Brunswick-Bevern
Friend: Voltaire
Parents: Frederick William I and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover
Enemies: Russia, France, Austria, Sweden, Saxony
