Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau

Leopold III
Prince, then Duke of Anhalt-Dessau
Reign16 December 1751 – 9 August 1817
PredecessorLeopold II
SuccessorLeopold IV
RegentDietrich of Anhalt-Dessau
Born(1740-08-10)10 August 1740
Dessau, Anhalt
Died9 August 1817(1817-08-09) (aged 76)
Luisium Castle, near Dessau, Anhalt
SpouseLouise of Brandenburg-Schwedt
IssueFrederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
Names
Leopold Friedrich Franz
HouseAscania
FatherLeopold II
MotherGisela Agnes of Anhalt-Köthen
ReligionLutheranism

Leopold III Frederick Franz, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (10 August 1740 – 9 August 1817), known as "Prince Franz" or "Father Franz", was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1751 until 1807 he was reigning prince of the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau and from 1807 the first Duke of the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau.

A strong supporter of the Enlightenment, Leopold undertook numerous reforms in his principality and made Anhalt-Dessau one of the most modern and prosperous of the small German states. An Anglophile, Leopold also extended and altered the old gardens of Oranienbaum that were laid out in Dutch style to create the first and largest of the English parks of his time, renamed the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm.