Frederick I () (29 April 1831 – 24 January 1904) was a German prince of the house of Ascania who ruled the Duchy of Anhalt from 1871 to 1904.
Early life Frederick was born in Dessau in 1831 as the third child and only son of Duke Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau and his wife Princess Frederica of Prussia, the daughter of Prince Louis Charles of Prussia.
He studied in Bonn and Geneva, and in 1851 entered the Prussian military at Potsdam.
In 1863 he became heir to the united Duchy of Anhalt, when his father Leopold IV had inherited all the Anhalt territories following the death of the last Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg.
In 1864, he participated in the Second Schleswig War in the staff of his brother-in-law, Prince Frederic Charles of Prussia, and in 1870–71 in the Franco-Prussian War as Lieutenant General. He was present at the proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace on 18 January 1871.
Reign
Frederick succeeded his father as Duke of Anhalt on 22 May 1871.
On 23 January 1904 he suffered an apoplectic stroke and died the next day at Ballenstedt castle. As his eldest son Leopold had predeceased him, he was succeeded as duke by his second son who became Frederick II.
Family Marriage and issue He was married on 22 April 1854 at Altenburg to Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. She was a daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his wife Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. They had six children:
NameBirthDeathNotesLeopold, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt18 July 18552 February 1886married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel; had issueFriedrich II, Duke of Anhalt19 August 185622 April 1918married Princess Marie of Baden, no issuePrincess Elisabeth of Anhalt7 September 185720 July 1933married Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; had issueEduard, Duke of Anhalt18 April 186113 September 1918married Princess Luise of Saxe-Altenburg; had issuePrince Aribert of Anhalt18 June 186624 December 1933married Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, no issuePrincess Alexandra of Anhalt4 April 186826 August 1958married Sizzo, Prince of Schwarzburg; had issue
Honours German orders and decorationsHof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1894) "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses" p. 1-2
Foreign orders and decorations
Ancestry
References