[November 15] Frederick William II, king of Prussia

Surnamed: "The Fat Bastard" (Der dicke Lüderjahn)
Local Name: Friedfrich Wilhelm
Parents: Augustus William, heir of Prussia, and Luise of Brunswick-Wilfenbüttel
Born: 25 September 1744
House: Hohenzollern
Spouse(s): (1) Elisabeth Christina, daughter of Charles I, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Philippine Charlotte of Prussia, then (2) Frederika Louisa, daughter of Ludwig IX, landgrave of Hesse-Darmstaft, and Caroline of Zweibrücken, alongside (3) Julie and (4) Sophie, daughters of Friedrich Christian von Voss and Amalia Ottilia av Vieregg
Predecessor: Frederick II

Reign: 1786 – 1797
Brief: The reign of Frederick William II was perilous from the start. The king was flirtatious and cared little for the role he played in government. He was artistically-inclined and favored music over warfare, things that sent shivers down the spine of Frederick the Great, his predecessor. As soon as Frederick William took the throne, he lightened the burdens of the Prussian people, encouraging trade at reduced costs and educating more people. The king was also a Rosicrucian and employed many of them in his government. He neglected the army, leaving it under the control of foreign warlords. His foreign policy was a joke, giving concessions to anyone would deigned to invade Brandenburg-Prussia. And when the French Revolution broke out, he delayed, focused more on the wealth that could come out of Poland than the threat in the west. He eventually removed himself from the French-Revolutionary wars in 1795, betraying the other European powers and isolating Prussia. When Frederick William II finally died in 1797, the economy of Prussia was in shambles, the army confused, and the kingship in doubt. 

Date of Death: 16 November 1797
Successor: Frederick William III

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Anastasius II, pope of Rome (498)
• Henry III, king of England (1272)
• Hisaaki, shogun of Japan (1328)
• Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden (1632)
• Robert I, duke of Parma (1907)

[September 24] Albert, archbishop of Mainz

Parents: John Cicero, elector of Brandenburg, and Margaret of Thuringia
Date of Birth: 28 June 1490
House: Hohenzollern
Predecessor: Uriel von Gemmingen

Reign: 1514 – 1545
Brief: When he was young, he became a co-margrave of Brandenburg and soon also became archbishop of Magdeburg. His brother, Joachim I Nestor, was appointed elector. In 1514, Albert became the elector of Mainz and was made a cardinal soon after. In becoming elector, he had to begin selling indulgences and enlisted the aid of John Tetzel whose activities prompted the 95 Theses of Matin Luther to be posted on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. In 1519, he was bribed to vote for Charles I of Spain for Holy Roman Emperor against the bid of François I of France. At first tolerant to the rising Protestant movement within his lands, Albert turned on them in his latter years and was eventually booted out of his own lands, with Mainz becoming a Protestant see.

Date of Death: 24 September 1545

Successor: Sebastian von Heusenstamm

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Liberius, pope of Rome (366)
• Pippin, king of the Franks (768)
• Welf II, duke of Bavaria (1120)
• Innocent II, pope of Rome (1143)
• Manuel I, emperor of Constantinople (1180)
• Stefan, king of Serbia (1228)
• Reigen, emperor of Japan (1732)
• Pedro I, emperor of Brazil (1834)

[July 18] Joachim III Friedrich, elector of Brandenburg

Parents: John George, elector of Brandenburg, and Sophie of Legnica

Date of Birth: 27 January 1546
Royal House: Hohenzollern
Spouse: (1) Catherine, daughter of John, margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin, and Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, then (2) Eleanor, daughter of Albert Frederick, duke of Prussia, and Marie Eleanore of Jülich-Cleves-Berg

Predecessor: John George
Reign: 1598 — 1608
Summary: Nothing is said of the early life of Joachim Friedrich. At the age of twenty, he was appointed the administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg, although he lost technical rights to that post in 1570 when he married Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin. Since Magdeburg was a Catholic see and the Hohenzollern family was Lutheran, they only exercised political power in the archbishopric. The Bishop of Halberstadt was in charge of ecclesiastical affairs in Magdeburg between 1480 and 1680 when it was secularized and became a duchy. Joachim Friedrich became margrave and Holy Roman Imperial Elector of Brandenburg upon the death of his father in 1598, at which time he passed his authority in Madgeburg to his youngest son, Christian Wilhelm.


Of his reign, almost nothing is known. He became regent over the Duchy of Prussia in 1605 in the name of his relative, Albert Frederick, who had become feeble-minded. The Brandenburg-Ansbach branch of the family had technical control over Prussia, but it was decided that that control passed to the Electorate after Margrave George Friedrich's death in 1603. Joachim Friedrich's first wife died in 1602 and the margrave was forced to find another wife, whom he found among his cousin and ward's children. Marrying, Eleanor, the daughter of Albert Friedrich of Prussia helped emphasize his control and influence in Prussia while also giving him rights to Jülich-Cleves-Berg, a territory that Eleanor could one day inherit. Eleanor died in 1607 after giving birth to her only child, Maria Eleanore. Joachim Friedrich died the following year passing his margraviate to his eldest son from his first wife, John Sigismund.

Date of Death: 18 July 1608
Successor: John Sigismund