Frederick I ({{langx|de|Herzog Friedrich I von Anhalt}}) (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

File:FredIA.jpgFrederick 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.{{cite news | title =Duke of Anhalt is dead | pages =7 | work =New York Times | date =1904-01-25 }}

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:{{cite book | title = Almanach de Gotha | year = 1903 | pages = 3, 4 }}

border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
bgcolor="#cccccc" !Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt	18 July 1855	2 February 1886	married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel; had issue
Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt	19 August 1856	22 April 1918	married Princess Marie of Baden, no issue
Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt	7 September 1857	20 July 1933	married Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; had issue
Eduard, Duke of Anhalt	18 April 1861	13 September 1918	married Princess Luise of Saxe-Altenburg; had issue
Prince Aribert of Anhalt	18 June 1866	24 December 1933	married Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, no issue
Princess Alexandra of Anhalt	4 April 1868	26 August 1958	married Sizzo, Prince of Schwarzburg; had issue

Honours

;German orders and decorationsHof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1894) "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses" p. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LR03AAAAYAAJ/page/n17/mode/2up 1]-2

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{{flagicon image|Flag of Anhalt Duchies.png}} Ascanian duchies: Grand Cross of the Order of Albert the Bear, 18 March 1837; with Swords, 1 October 1864Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1867) "Herzoglicher Haus-orden Albrecht des Bären" p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TYEp3N5O48EC&pg=PA16 16]
{{flag|Baden}}:Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden" [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1878737 pp. 63], [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1878751 77]
Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1889
Knight of the Order of Berthold the First, 1889
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Bavaria}}: Knight of St. Hubert
{{flag|Brunswick}}: Grand Cross of the Order of Henry the Lion, 1887Braunschweig, Staat (Hg.) (1903): Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig für 1903. In: Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig 1903. p. 10
{{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg-Gotha}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Hanover}} Hanoverian Royal Family:
Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order
Grand Cross of the Order of Ernst August
{{flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtum Hessen ohne Wappen.svg}} Hesse and by Rhine: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 14 January 1884{{citation|title=Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112089248626&view=1up&seq=14&skin=2021 4]|language=German|location=Darmstadt|year=1885|publisher=Staatsverlag|via=hathitrust.org}}
{{flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg}} Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore and Collar
{{flag|Nassau}}: Knight of the Gold Lion of Nassau, September 1858[https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10021632?page=24 Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Nassau] (1866), "Herzogliche Orden" p. 8
{{flag|Oldenburg}}: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown, 7 October 1847{{cite book|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: 1879|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AD6sPIakAuMC&pg=PR1|year=1879|publisher=Schulze|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=AD6sPIakAuMC&pg=PA32 32]}}
{{flag|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}}: Grand Cross of the White Falcon
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Saxony}}: Knight of the Rue Crown, 1856{{cite book|author=Sachsen|title=Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901|year=1901|publisher=Heinrich|chapter=Königlich Orden|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030492006&view=1up&seq=43&skin=2021 3]|location=Dresden|via=hathitrust.org}}
{{flag|Württemberg}}: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1889Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1896), "Königliche Orden" p. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Pc5CAAAAYAAJ/page/n63/mode/2up 28]
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} Prussia:
Knight of the Black Eagle, with Collar, 1 December 1854{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste|journal=Preussische Ordens-Liste|volume=1|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=13&skin=2021 5], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=37&skin=2021 29], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=1082&skin=2021 1010]|language=German|location=Berlin|year=1886|via=hathitrust.org}}
Knight of the Red Eagle, 1st Class, 20 May 1850; with Swords, 1864
Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class
Member of Honour of the Johanniter Order, 1877
Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
{{flagicon image|Flag of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Sigmaringen.png}} Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class
{{flag|Schaumburg-Lippe}}: Military Merit Medal, with Swords

}}

;Foreign orders and decorations

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{{flag|Austrian Empire}}:{{citation|chapter-url=http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1903&size=45&page=347|chapter=Ritter-Orden|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie|date=1903|access-date=2 November 2019|pages=[http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1903&page=351&size=45 57], [http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1903&page=362&size=45 68]}}
Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 1852
Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1871
{{flag|Belgium}}: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (military), 22 February 1874{{cite book|author=Belgien|title=Almanach royal officiel: 1875|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yiBoAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA55|year=1875|page=55}}
{{flag|Denmark}}: Knight of the Elephant, 22 March 1873{{cite book|author=Jørgen Pedersen|title=Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559–2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glw-AQAAIAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Syddansk Universitetsforlag|language=da|isbn=978-87-7674-434-2|page=463}}
{{flagicon|Greece|royal}} Kingdom of Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer
{{flag|Kingdom of Romania}}: Grand Cross of the Star of Romania
{{flag|Principality of Serbia}}: Grand Cross of the Cross of Takovo
{{flagicon|Sweden|1844}} {{flagicon|Norway|1844}} Sweden-Norway:
Knight of the Seraphim, 13 March 1873{{citation|title=Sveriges Statskalender|year=1881|url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1881/0403.html|via=runeberg.org|access-date=2018-01-06|language=sv|page=377}}
Commander Grand Cross of the Sword, 30 June 1869