ALBERT I. (1875-1934), king of the Belgians, was born at Brussels, April 8, 1875, the younger son of Philip, count of Flan ders (1837-1905 ), who was a brother of Leopold II., and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern. The other children of this marriage were Baldwin (b. 1869), Henriette, afterwards duchess of Vendome (b. 187o), a daughter who died in infancy, and Josephine, after wards Princess Charles of Hohenzollern (b. 1872).
The premature death of Prince Leopold, only son of Leopold II., on June 22, 186g, made Prince Baldwin heir presumptive to the Belgian crown, but on his death on Jan. 23, 1891, Prince Albert became next in the line of succession. He was carefully educated, and showed a marked taste for engineering and mechanics, study ing both naval and aerial construction. He received his training in military matters at the Ecole Militaire under Gen. Jungblut, and also became a thorough sportsman, taking much interest in mountaineering and later in aviation. He served as an officer in the Grenadier regiment. On Oct. 2, 1900 he was married at Mun ich to Elisabeth (b. July 25, 1876), second daughter of Duke Charles Theodore of Bavaria. Three children were born of this marriage: Leopold, duke of Brabant (b. Nov. '3, 1901) ; Charles, count of Flanders (b. Oct. Io, 1903) and Marie Jose (b. Aug. 4, 1906). See LEOPOLD III.
Prince Albert also travelled widely, paying a visit to America in 1898, and in 1908 visiting England in order to study naval con struction. In April 1909 he went to the Belgian Congo. Starting from the Cape, he visited the Cape province and the Transvaal, going from there to Elisabethville. Thence he traversed the Katanga mineral region and followed the course of the Congo to its mouth. He returned to Belgium in August, and three months later King Leopold died.
On Dec. 23, 1909 Prince Albert took the oath of fidelity to the Belgian constitution, and became king under the name of Albert I. In his speech from the throne, the king emphasized his care for the people's welfare in the words: "Our prosperity depends upon the prosperity of the masses." He occupied himself more espe cially with the organization of the army, and in May 1913 gave his assent to the law which was designed to secure for Belgium an army of 350,000 men. He also interested himself in various social and legal reforms, while his scientific tastes did not prevent him becoming a friend of art and literature. The economist Wax weiler, the poet Verhaeren and the painter Laermans were on friendly terms with the royal family, the latter receiving personal attention from the queen when he was threatened with the loss of his sight.
Albert was anxious to preserve friendly relations with neigh bouring States, and after 191 o paid official visits both to Berlin and Paris. On Nov. 5 and 6, 1913, the king, who had been ap pointed honorary colonel of the regiment of Hanover Dragoons, visited Germany for the second time. At a reception in Potsdam, the Emperor William II. and Gen. von Moltke informed him that they considered war with France imminent. The king gave warning of this to the French ambassador in Berlin through his own minister plenipotentiary, Baron Beyens. On July 31, 1914, when the European crisis came to a head, the king wrote a per sonal letter to the German emperor, reminding him of the respect due to Belgian neutrality. Germany replied by the ultimatum of Aug. 2, which in turn was answered by a fin de non recevoir and hostilities began. The king took command of the troops and established his headquarters first at Louvain and afterwards at Antwerp. He directed in person the first advance from Antwerp towards Louvain, which was intended to relieve the French and British armies engaged with the forces of Kluck and Billow. After the fall of Antwerp, the king and queen sent their children to England, while they themselves accompanied the retreating army ; when it came to a halt on the Yser they took up their residence at Furnes. From Oct. 17 to 24 the Belgian army, under the king's command, withstood the German invasion without any Allied assistance. During the whole of the war he remained with the troops, having his headquarters at La Panne, where he was ex posed to the risk of enemy bombardments. He made continual visits to the front-line trenches, and even surveyed the enemy's lines from an aeroplane. The queen remained with him, acting as a nurse in the Hopital de 1'Ocean at La Panne. She also inter ested herself deeply in the welfare of the soldiers in the trenches, and superintended the establishment of canteens and aid posts. Prince Leopold, King Albert's elder son, lived by his father's wish, the life of a simple soldier in the 12th Regiment.
When the general offensive of Oct. 1918 was undertaken, Albert was appointed commander of the northern army groups, consist ing of both Belgians and French, which captured the forest of Houthulst, "the Flandernstellung," Thourout, Ostend and Bruges, and forced the passage of the Lys. On Nov. I1, 1918 the king and queen made their entry into Ghent, and on Nov. 22 into Brussels, being received with enormous enthusiasm. Even before the signing of the Armistice the king had summoned at Lophem a number of politicians and had arranged a new government con taining representatives of the three more important Belgian political parties. After a triumphant reception by parliament, the king made a speech from the throne, in which he urged that all parties should work together for national reconstruction, while, addressing himself to the Allies, he asked for the abolition of Belgian neutrality and of the treaties of 1839 which had left Belgium open to invasion. After the Armistice, King Albert de clined the augmentation of his civil list. He occupied himself actively with the improvement of conditions in his country, visit ing the devastated areas, and contributing considerable sums to "King Albert's Fund," which was devoted to providing temporary shelter for sufferers from the war.
The king in person presided at the Colonial Congresses of 19 20 and 1926 and made important speeches on those occasions. He was actively interested in the development of the Belgian mercan tile marine. As before the war, he continued to support the intellectual development of his country. After the war he made official visits to the State universities of Ghent and Liége. In Jan. 1926 King Albert, who had been given honorary degrees by many universities, was elected a member of the Institut de France. His constant solicitude for the welfare of his people was shown during the floods which ravaged Belgium in Dec. 1925. On Feb. while rock-climbing near Namur, King Albert fell and was killed.
(See BELGIUM.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.-P. Nothomb, Le Roi Albert (1915) • E. Laurent, Bibliography.-P. Nothomb, Le Roi Albert (1915) • E. Laurent, Le Roi Albert (1912) ; Baron H. Beyens, Les hommes de la Guerre le roi Albert (1919) ; G. Mathys, Le Prince Albert; Mousseau, Le Prince Albert au Congo, La Mort de Leopold II. and l'Avenement du Roi Albert, collection of documents (lgog) ; X. Roux, Albert 1., Roi des Belges (1918) ; J. de C. MacDonnell, The Life of H. M. King Albert (1915) ; Evelyn Graham, Albert, King of the Belgians 0929).