Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg

Frederick William
Portrait by Frans Luycx, c. 1650
Elector of Brandenburg
Duke of Prussia
Reign1 December 1640 – 29 April 1688
PredecessorGeorge William
SuccessorFrederick III
Born(1620-02-16)16 February 1620
Stadtschloss, Berlin, Brandenburg-Prussia, Holy Roman Empire
Died29 April 1688(1688-04-29) (aged 68)
Stadtschloss, Potsdam, Brandenburg-Prussia, Holy Roman Empire
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1646; died 1667)
Issue
Detail
HouseHohenzollern
FatherGeorge William, Elector of Brandenburg
MotherElisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
ReligionCalvinist
SignatureFrederick William's signature

Frederick William (German: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "the Great Elector"[1] (der Große Kurfürst) because of his military and political achievements. Frederick William was a staunch pillar of the Calvinist faith, associated with the rising commercial class. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. His shrewd domestic reforms gave Prussia a strong position in the post-Westphalian political order of Northern-Central Europe, setting Prussia up for elevation from duchy to kingdom, achieved under his son and successor.

  1. ^ Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Great Elector, The" . Encyclopedia Americana.