Friedrich I of Prussia (11 July 1657-25 February 1713) was the first king of Prussia, from from 1688 to 1713. He was succeeded by Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia.
Biography[]
Friedrich was the son of Friedrich William of Brandenburg and Louise-Henriette of Orange-Nassau, and was of half-German and half-Dutch descent. He was a son of the House of Hohenzollern and was Elector of Brandenberg from 1688 to 1701, when he proclaimed himself "King in Prussia" under the auspices of the Holy Roman Empire. However, he was independent from the Austrian Empire and set his sights on creating a German Empire out of his new state of Prussia. He conquered Poland-Lithuania and Saxony and also annexed Bohemia & Moravia, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, and Silesia from the Austrians and their allies. Friedrich's battlefield successes led to the establishment of Prussia as a power, and his grandson Frederick the Great would lead Prussia to future success.