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Albert (MARGRAVE OF BRAN- DENBURG)

MARGRAVE OF BRAN- DENBURG, and first Duke of Prussia, was born in 1490. He was elected, in 1511, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, which held dominion over Prussia proper, that part of the former Kingdom of Prussia which borders on the Baltic Sea. He fought against Sigismund, King of Poland, for the defense of his order, which had been for ages at war with the Poles. Peace was made in 1525, at Cracow, in which Albert managed to have che Duchy of Prussia secured to himself and his descendants as a fief of the crown of Poland, thus laying aside the rights of the order. Albert, some time after, embraced the Protestant faith, and married a princess of Denmark. One of his descendants, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, threw off the allegiance of Poland, and his son, Frederick I., changed the title of duke into that of King of Prussia in 1701.