Frederick William I of Prussia

1688 – 1740 · Generation XXIX · King in Prussia

Frederick William I of Prussia (1688–1740). King in Prussia. Married Sophia Dorothea of Hanover in 1706. Remembered as the “Soldier King,” he ruled for twenty-seven years as a convinced absolutist, doubling the Prussian Army and raising its officer corps to three thousand. The plague that ravaged Prussia during the Great Northern War first drew him into politics, exposing the corruption and waste of his father's ministers, and he warred on both for the rest of his life — overhauling the state's finances, taxing firmly and holding officials to exacting rules, curbing crime, and drawing power to the centre until Prussia stood as a regional power. He sold the Prussian overseas colonies, founded the Canton system, and took the port of Stettin. Harsh by temperament and worn by ill health, he was succeeded by his son, Frederick the Great.

Partners

Married Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (1687 – 1757) in 1706

Life

1688 — Born
1706 — Married Sophia Dorothea of Hanover
1740 — Died