Hesse is a region of west-central Germany. Originally the western part of the Landgraviate of Thuringia, in the mid 13th Century it was inherited by the younger son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and became a distinct political entity. From the late 16th century it was generally divided into several branches, the most important of which were those of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Darmstadt. During the Napoleonic Period, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel changed his title to Elector of Hesse (1803), while the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt became the Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine (1806). Electoral Hesse was annexed by Prussia in 1866 after the Six Weeks War, but Grand Ducal Hesse lasted until the end of the German monarchies in 1918. Graf is a German noble title equal in rank to a count or an earl. ... The Free State of Thuringia (German Freistaat Thüringen) lies in central Germany and is among the smaller of the countrys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 sq. ... The title Duke of Brabant was created when the counts of Leuven acquired the duchy of Lower Lorraine after the death of Godfrey of Bouillon. ... Hesse-Kassel (Hessen-Kassel) was a German principality that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1568 upon the death of Landgrave Philip of Hesse and his eldest son Wilhelm IV inherited the northern portion and established his capital in Kassel. ... The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt came into existence in 1568, as the portion of George, youngest of the four sons of Landgrave Philipp of Hesse. ... The prince-electors or electoral princes of the Holy Roman Empire — German: Kurfürst (singular) Kurfürsten (plural) — were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Emperors of Germany. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ... The Austro-Prussian War (also called the Seven Weeks War or the German Civil War) was a war fought between Austria and Prussia in 1866 that resulted in Prussian dominance in Germany. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Landgraves of Hesse, 1247-1567

• Henry I 1247-1308
• John 1308-1311
• Otto I 1308-1328
• Herman I 1328-1370
• Louis I 1328-1345
• Henry II 1328-1376
• Herman II 1376-1413
• Louis I 1413-1458
• Louis II 1458-1471
• William I 1471-1493
• William II 1493-1509
• Philip I 1509-1567

Heinrich I called Das Kind (the child) was Landgrave of Hesse. ... Philipp I of Hesse Philipp I, Landgraf von Hessen, the Magnanimous (13 November 1504 - 31 March 1567), was a leading champion of the Reformation and one of the most important German rulers of the Renaissance. ...

Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel, 1567-1803

• William IV 1567-1592
• Maurice 1592-1627
• William V 1627-1637
• William VI 1637-1663
• William VII 1663-1670
• Charles 1670-1730
• Frederick I 1730-1751
• William VIII 1751-1760
• Frederick II 1760-1785
• William IX 1785-1803

Frederick I of Sweden (April 23, 1676 - March 25, 1751), King of Sweden from 1720 and (as Friedrich I von Hessen-Kassel) Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel from 1730. ...

Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1567-1806

• George I 1567-1596
• Louis V 1596-1626
• George II 1626-1661
• Louis VI 1661-1678
• Louis VII 1678
• Ernest Louis 1678-1739
• Louis VIII 1739-1768
• Louis IX 1768-1790
• Louis X 1790-1806

Electors of Hesse, 1803-1866

• William I (IX of Hesse-Kassel) 1803-1806; 1814-1821
• William II 1821-1831
• Frederick William 1831-1866

Grand Dukes of Hesse and the Rhine, 1806-1918

• Louis I (X of Hesse-Darmstadt) 1790-1830
• Louis II 1830-1848
• Louis III 1848-1877
• Louis IV 1877-1892
• Ernest Louis 1892-1918

Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine ( 26 December 1777 – 16 June 1848) ruled over the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1830 until his death. ... Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, K.G. (12 September 1837 in Bessungen, now Darmstadt - 13 March 1892 in Darmstadt), the ruler of the small German grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt (Hesse and by Rhine), was the husband of Princess Alice of Great Britain and Ireland, the...

Heads of the House of Hesse-Kassel since 1866

• Elector Frederick William 1866-1875
• Landgrave Friedrich 1875-1884
• Landgrave Friedrich Wilhelm 1884-1888
• Landgrave Alexander Friedrich 1888-1925 (d.1945)
• Landgrave Friedrich Karl 1925-1940
• Landgrave Philipp 1940-1980
• Landgrave Moritz 1980-present

Prince Frederick of Hesse (May 1, 1868 - May 28, 1940), Friedrich Karl Ludwig Konstantin, Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen, brother-in-law to Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany and elected king of Finland (October 9, 1918). ...

Heads of the House of Hesse and the Rhine, 1918-1968

• Grand Duke Ernest Louis 1918-1937
• Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus 1937
• Prince Ludwig 1937-1968

In 1968 the House of Hesse and the Rhine became extinct.