| Frederick I | |
| Full Name: | German: Leopold Friedrich Franz Nikolaus |
| Succession: | Duke of Anhalt |
| Reign: | 22 May 1871 – 24 January 1904 |
| Predecessor: | Leopold IV |
| Successor: | Frederick II |
| Spouse: | Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg |
| Issue: | Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt Elisabeth, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Eduard, Duke of Anhalt Prince Aribert Alexandra, Princess of Schwarzburg |
| House: | Ascania |
| Father: | Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt |
| Mother: | Princess Frederica of Prussia |
| Birth Date: | April 29, 1831 |
| Birth Place: | Dessau, Anhalt |
| Death Place: | Ballenstedt, Anhalt |
Frederick I (German: 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.
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.
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.[1]
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:[2]
| 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 |