Maximilian III Joseph
Maximilian III Joseph | |
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Elector of Bavaria | |
![]() Maximilian III Joseph of Bavaria by Georg Desmarées | |
Elector of Bavaria | |
Reign | 20 January 1745 – 30 December 1777 |
Predecessor | Charles Albert |
Successor | Charles Theodore |
Born | Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire | 28 March 1727
Died | 30 December 1777 Munich, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire | (aged 50)
Burial | |
Spouse | |
House | Wittelsbach |
Father | Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor |
Mother | Maria Amalia of Austria |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Signature | ![]() |
Maximilian III Joseph[a] (28 March 1727 – 30 December 1777) was the Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Bavaria from 20 January 1745 until his death in 1777. He was the last of the Bavarian branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Because of his death, the War of the Bavarian Succession started. He was the son of Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Amalia of Austria.
Marriage and death
[change | change source]Marriage
[change | change source]
Maximilian III married Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony[b] in 1747 at the age of 20. But, they had no children. So it lead to the War of the Bavarian Succession[c].
Death
[change | change source]
In December 1777 Maximilian Joseph rode in his carriage through Munich; on the ride, as he passed one of the tower clocks, the mechanism broke, and the clock struck 77 times. Commenting to the passengers, Maximilian Joseph decided this was an omen, and that his years had run out. Within days, he was stricken with a strange disease. None of his 15 doctors could diagnose it, but by Christmas, it had become clear that it was a particularly virulent strain of smallpox, called "purple small pox" at the time.[1]
Ancestry
[change | change source]Regnal titles
[change | change source]Maximilian III Joseph Born: 28 March 1727 Died: 30 December 1777
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Regnal titles | ||
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Preceded by Charles Albert |
Elector of Bavaria 1745–1777 |
Succeeded by Charles Theodore |
Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ Also known by his epithet "the much beloved"
- ↑ also his first cousin
- ↑ it lead to the argument (conflict) over the receiving of the Electorate of Bavaria, which caused the war
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Paul Bernard. Joseph II and Bavaria: Two Eighteenth Century Attempts at German Unification. Hague: Martin Nijoff, 1965, p. 40.