Frederick III, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

Frederick III, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Portrait of Frederick III
Spouse(s)	Elisabeth Dorothea of Hesse-Darmstadt Christiane Charlotte of Nassau-Ottweiler
Noble family	House of Hesse
Father	Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Mother	Louise Elisabeth of Courland
Born	(1673-05-19)19 May 1673 Cölln
Died	8 June 1746(1746-06-08) (aged 73) 's-Hertogenbosch

Frederick III James of Hesse-Homburg (born 19 May 1673 in Cölln; died: 8 June 1746 in 's-Hertogenbosch) was a Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

Frederick III James was the second son of Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Homburg (1633–1708), the famous Prince of Homburg, from his marriage with Louise Elisabeth (1646–1690), daughter of the Duke Jacob of Courland (1610–1662). He received a thorough education in the culturally and spiritually progressive atmosphere of the Electoral Court in Berlin, where his father served as commander of the Brandenburg troops,.

After his confirmation in 1687, he joined the Knight academy in Wolfenbüttel. Later, he joined a Cavalry Regiment in Württemberg. In 1690, he was Captain in the Dutch States Army; in 1692, he was Colonel of the Groningen cavalry regiment. He kept being promoted: to Brigadier in 1701, to Major General in 1704 and after Battle of Blenheim on 13 August 1704, to Lieutenant General. He remained in the Dutch service until the Peace of Utrecht, and then took up government in Bad Homburg.

Frederick III could not contribute much to the administration of his territory while he was in Dutch service. Worth mentioning, however, is the foundation in 1721 of the orphanage in Homburg, which still exists as a "Landgraviate Foundation". The archives of the Foundation were transferred to the Bad Homburg city archives in August 2010.