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Frederick I 1657-1713
King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenberg

Born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), the second son of Frederick William, the Great Elector, he married (1684) Sophia Charlotte (1668-1705), sister of George I of Great Britain, and succeeded his father as Frederick III, Elector of Brandenberg (1688). In return for military aid to Emperor Leopold I in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), he was made the first King of Prussia (1701). He reclaimed land, doubled Prussian revenues, and encouraged the influx of Huguenots to create new industries. He maintained a large court, and was a great patron of the arts and of learning, especially of Gottfried Leibniz. During his reign the Academy of Sciences at Berlin and the University of Halle were founded.

Bibliography: Linda and Marsha Frey, Frederick I, the Man and His Times (1984)