Ferdinand, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
| Frederick V | |
|---|---|
| Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg | |
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Engraving of Ferdinand by Adolf Neumann
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| Reign | 8 September 1848 – 24 March 1866 |
| Predecessor | Gustav, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg |
| Successor | None (line extinct; territory inherited by Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse then annexed by William of Prussia) |
| Born |
26 April 1783 Bad Homburg vor der Höhe |
| Died | 24 March 1866 (aged 82) Bad Homburg vor der Höhe |
| Spouse | None |
| Issue | None |
| House | Hesse |
| Father | Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg |
| Mother | Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt |
Ferdinand Heinrich Friedrich (26 April 1783 - 24 March 1866) was a German nobleman and the last landgrave of Hesse-Homburg.
He was born in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in 1783, the fifth of six sons born to Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg and his wife Caroline, eldest daughter of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and his wife Caroline. From 1800 to 1817 he served in the Karl von Lothringen Regiment, a hussar unit in the Austrian Imperial Army. Contemporary reports stated he had "the ideal form of a heavy cavalryman". He fought in all the major engagements of the Napoleonic Wars and was badly wounded several times. After the battle of Leipzig Francis II granted him the Order of Maria Theresa, the highest Austrian military order. In 1822 he left active service with the rank of General of Cavalry (Feldzeugmeister). He never married and according to Herbert Rosendorfer became "very old and very reactionary". He lived with his personal bodyguard or leibjäger in the Orangery, a modest lodge adjoining Bad Homburg Castle, where he devoted himself to his two main hobbies, hunting and the Romano-German era of the Taunus.
His elder brother Gustav died without surviving male issue (Gustav's only son Frederick had predeceased him by eight months) and so Ferdinand inherited the landgraviate in 1848. However, his lack of any male relations or issue made it clear that he would be the last landgraf of Hesse-Homburg even before his accession - his only younger brother, Leopold, had been killed in 1813. He extended his personal extreme frugality to the parlous state finances in a vain attempt to regain control - they had largely been ruined by his brother Philipp's granting a concession for a casino to the Blanc brothers.
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