[January 4] Ferdinand I, king of the Two Sicilies

Parents: Charles III, king of Spain, and Maria Amalia of Saxony

Date of birth: 12 January 1751

Royal House: Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Spouse: Maria Carolina of Austria, then Lucia Migliaccio of Floridia
Predecessor: Charles VII/V, king of Naples and Sicily

Reign: 1759 – 1825

Summary: Charles was not born to be a king. He was the third surviving son of his parents and his elder brother, Charles, was to be his father's heir. When his grandfather died in 1759, his father declined the Sicilian and Neapolitan thrones in favor of Ferdinand in an effort to divide the realm between his children. Charles would inherit Spain much later in 1888. Ferdinand was far too young to rule, so both countries were ruled by regents until 1767.

For the first three decades of his reign, Ferdinand was a simple and just ruler. His wife, Maria Carolina, held a place on his councils and fought strongly to increase both kingdoms' standing in the world. During the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, the two Italian kingdoms joined the Allies against France, though they did not do so until the executions of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette (Maria Carolina's sister). From 1799 until 1815, Naples was under enemy occupation as first the Parthenopaean Republic, then under King Joseph, and finally under King Joachim Murat. When Ferdinand returned to Naples, he took advantage of the political confusion in Europe and merged his two kingdoms into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He reigned as absolute monarch after this proclamation, having overturned both the Sicilian and Neapolitan constitutions in his union. His alliance with Austria ensured complete political obedience within his realm and his final days were marked with utter political and physical savagery on his Neapolitan populace.

Date of Death: 4 January 1825

Successor: Francis I, king of the Two Sicilies

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Sancho II, king of Portugal (1248)
• Frederick I, elector of Saxony (1428)