Frederick August I, Duke of Oldenburg

Frederick Augustus I was Prince-Bishop of Lübeck from 1750 to 1785, and Count and later the first Duke of Oldenburg from 1773 to 1785.

Early life

Frederick Augustus was the son of Christian August, regent of Holstein-Gottorp and his wife Margravine Albertine Friederike of Baden-Durlach. He was born in Gottorp, Schleswig.

Marriage and issue

Frederick Augustus married on 21 November 1752 to Princess Ulrike Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel; the couple had three children:

Peter Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Oldenburg
Luise of Holstein-Gottorp-Oldenburg, died in infancy
Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte, Queen of Sweden and Norway as wife of Charles XIII of Sweden.

Later life

Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, on behalf of her son Paul of Russia, last of the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, ceded the lands of that duchy to Denmark. In exchange, Denmark ceded the Duchy of Oldenburg to the Prince Bishops of Lübeck, a cadet branch of the Dukes of Gottorp. Thus, Friederich August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince Bishop of Lübeck, became Duke of Oldenburg.
Frederick Augustus died on 6 July 1785 in Oldenburg. His son and heir apparent, Peter Friedrich Wilhelm, succeeded him as Wilhelm I, Duke of Oldenburg.