Count Palatine William of Gelnhausen
Count Palatine William of Gelnhausen | |
---|---|
Born | Gelnhausen | 4 January 1701
Died | 25 December 1760 The Hague | (aged 59)
Noble family | House of Wittelsbach |
Father | John Charles, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen |
Mother | Esther Maria of Witzleben-Elgersburg |
Count Palatine William of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen (4 January 1701 in Gelnhausen – 25 December 1760 in The Hague) was a titular Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and an Imperial Field Marshal.
Life[]
William was the youngest son of the Count Palatine John Charles of Gelnhausen (1638–1704) from his second marriage, Esther Maria (1665–1725), a daughter of George Frederick, Baron Witzleben of Elgersburg.
William served from 1729 in the Austrian army and was wounded during the Battle of Mollwitz. In 1742, he won a victory against the French general Bouffleur and drove the French from Tein. In 1743, he became General of the Cavalry in the Dutch army. In 1754, he accompanied Emperor Francis I to his coronation in Frankfurt. In the same year, he became imperial field marshal. In 1757 he was appointed governor of Namur.
References[]
- Jean Baptiste Ladvocat: Neues historisches Hand-Lexikon, Stettin, 1800, p. 229 f
- Johann Samuel Ersch: Allgemeine Encyklopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste: in alphabetischer Folge, section 2: H - N, part 21: Johann (Infant von Castilien) - Johann-Boniten, p. 189
- House of Wittelsbach
- Counts Palatine of Germany
- 1701 births
- 1760 deaths
- 18th-century German people
- Generals of the Holy Roman Empire
- German nobility stubs