1712-1786. King of Prussia from 1740, when he
succeeded his father Frederick William I. In
that year he started the War of the Austrian
Succession by his attack on Austria. In the
peace of 1745 he secured Silesia. The
struggle was renewed in the Seven Years' War
1756-63. He acquired West Prussia in the
first partition of Poland 1772 and left
Prussia as Germany's foremost state. He was
an efficient and just ruler in the spirit of
the Enlightenment and a patron of the arts.
In his domestic policy he encouraged industry
and agriculture, reformed the judicial
system, fostered education, and established
religious toleration. He corresponded with
the French writer Voltaire, and was a
talented musician. He received a harsh
military education from his father, and in
1730 was threatened with death for attempting
to run away. In the Seven Years' War, in
spite of assistance from Britain, Frederick
had a hard task holding his own against the
Austrians and their Russian allies; the skill
with which he did so proved him to be one of
the great soldiers of history.