FREDERICK WILLIAM I., King of Prussia, son of Frederick I., was born in 1688. At a very early age he manifested a predilection for military exercises : at the age of five years he was sent to Hanover to be brought up with the electoral prime, afterwards George 11. of England. The court of his grandfather, where the mode of living was strictly economical, simple, and without the restraints of rigid etiquette, pleased the young prince much more than the formal mag nificence of his father's court. He served in the allied army against the French, and distinguished himself at the siege of Menin nod the battle of 3Ialplaquet. In 1706 ho married the princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover.
His character being in many respects directly the reverse of that of his father, he commenced, immediately on his accession on the 25th of February 1713, to retrench the luxury that had prevailed in the preceding reign ; he reduced the salaries of persons in limited their number, and endeavoured to introduce order into the finances. In hia own person ho set an examplo of tho utmost plaiuneas of apparel, and laid aside all the formalities of his station ; while tho queen and princesses were allowed to wear only dresses of the simplest kind. Ho devoted himself to public business, examined everything, was easy of access, and received and answered letters from the meanest of his subjects; but ho was austere and arbitrary, and carried to the utmost extent his ideas of the divine right of kings. Though he repeatedly declared this republican constitution of Holland to be a model for all states, and boasted that he was himself a true repub lican, he was very far from allowing any cheek on his own power. His reforms in the finances and expenditure enabled him to gratify his most ardent wish, of keeping a great military establishment, and he laid the foundation of that strict discipline and regularity by which the Prussian troops have been since so greatly distinguished. His childish passion for tall soldiers is well known. No expense was spared in order to gratify it, men of gigantic stature were picked up in all the neighbouring states, and many were even kidnapped or forced into his service, by which he involved himself in many serious quarrels. The economy of his internal administration enabled him to repoople dam provinces which were desolated by the plague, by moans of colonies from other states, which he settled on vary advan tageous terms. He was liberal in rewarding the industry and ability of those who introduced any now art, and many of the richest manu factories in the Prussian derntniona owe their foundation to him. But be had a mortal aversion to all abstract sciences, and even to poetry and literature; and he expelled the celebrated philosopher Wolf for his metaphysical opinions. Ho erected many publio buildings at oonsidorable expense, but built little, and with great economy, for himself and his court. Ile founded the Medico-Chirogical College, the Charit6, and the Foundling Hospital at Berlin, the Berlin Cadet Eatablishment, and the Orphan House at Potsdam; the emigrants from Salzburg and the Polish dissidents met with a favourable reception in his dominions On the other baud the Berlin academy and the universities narrowly escaped dissolution. The details of his
private life have been given at great length by his daughter, the Margravine of Baireuth ; and his character is portrayed in a few happy touches by Voltaire ('116inoiree, &c. 6crits par lui-matne ').
The publio events of the reign of Frederick William were of no great importance. In the treaty of Utrecht, France and Spain recog nised his royal title, and the sovereignty of Neufehittel and Vallangin was given him. In the course of the war in the north, in which his father had taken no part, the Russians and Saxons, after the capitula tion of the Swedish general, Steenbock, in Tonningen, resolved to occupy Swedish Pomerania. The king wished to restore tranquillity in the north by his mediation ; but Charles XII., who had returned from Turkey to Stralsund, rejected his proposals, and required Prussia to give back Stettin, but refused to repay the 400,000 dollars which Frederick had advanced to indemnify the Russians and Saxons for the expenses of the war. This induced Frederick William in 1715 to declare war against Sweden, and to make an alliance with Russia, Saxony, and Denmark. In this war the island of Riigen and Stralsund were taken, but no other event of importance occurred, and after the death of Charles XII. peace was restored ; Prussia retaining Hither Pomerania, Stettin, and the islands of Usedom and Wollin, and paying to Sweden 2,000,000 of dollars. Count Seckendorf, the Austrian ambassador, induced the king to withdraw from the alliance which had been concluded at Hanover, between England, Holland, and Prussia, after George II. had ascended the throne of England, and to agree in the treaty of Wnsterhausen, in October 1726, to recognise the Pragmatio Sanction, and, if necessary, to support it with 19,000 men. On the breaking out of the war in Poland in 1733, he caused King Stanislaus, the opponent of Augustus IL, to be honourably received at Konigsberg, when he fled from Poland, by which conduct he displeased the courts of Vienna and St. Petersburg, the allies of Saxony. However, when France declared war against Austria, lie assisted Austria with a corps of 10,000 men upon the Rhine. The king and the crown-prince were for some time with this corps; but nothing of importance was effected, and peace was concluded at Vienna in 1735. About this time Frederick William fell into a weak state of health, which increased the natural violence of his dispo sition. He was for a time supposed to be in great danger, but recovered and lived for some years, on the whole upon pretty good terms with his son, in whose arms he expired on tho 31st of May 1740. He left to his successor 9,000,000 of dollars in his treasury, a disciplined army of 70,000 men, and a kingdom of the extent of 2190 German square miles, with a population of 2,240,000 inhabitants.