See Also: Frederick William III(encyclopedia)
Frederick William I(encyclopedia)
Frederick William II(encyclopedia)
Frederick William IV(encyclopedia)
Frederick William(encyclopedia)
Borden, Sir Frederick (William)(encyclopedia)
Cody, William Frederick(dictionary)
Lanchester, Frederick William(encyclopedia)
Ashton, Sir Frederick (William Mallandaine)(encyclopedia)
Steuben, Frederick William (Augustus), Baron, von(encyclopedia)

Frederick William II (sh)




German Friedrich Wilhelm

born Sept. 25, 1744, Berlin, Prussia
died Nov. 16, 1797, Berlin

King of Prussia from 1786.

He succeeded his uncle Frederick II. Prussia expanded under his rule, adding territories it gained in the second (1793) and third (1795) partitions of Poland and acquiring additional German lands. He entered into an Austro-Prussian alliance, chiefly in opposition to the French Revolution, but signed a separate treaty with France and withdrew from the alliance in 1795 after defeat in the French Revolutionary Wars. Cultural activities, especially music, flourished in his reign; both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven visited the king and dedicated music to him.