Frederick the Great

King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786 (1712-1786)

  • Fame72.0
  • Momentum0.1
  • Germany rank#164
Source-basedFalling
  • Fame72.0
  • Momentum0.1
  • Germany rank#164
  • Historical Figures rank#66
  • Wikipedia142.8K
Lived 1712–1786, aged 74Germany
  • Wikipedia
    94 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Rank in Germany
    #164
    Historical Figures
  • Era
    1712–1786
    Aged 74
  • Awards
    6
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-06-08

The philosopher-king who hated his father's militarism, then spent forty-six years at war. Frederick turned Prussia from a second-tier German state into the power that would eventually unify Germany, and died so beloved his soldiers called him "Old Fritz."

Biography

About

Born in 1712, Frederick II clashed with his authoritarian father over his love of music and philosophy. Upon taking the throne in 1740, he immediately invaded Silesia and seized it from Austria, revealing a military genius no one had expected. He spent the next decades reorganizing the Prussian army, writing influential military theory drawn from his own battlefield experience, and expanding his kingdom through the First Partition of Poland in 1772. At home he practiced enlightened absolutism—modernizing the bureaucracy, reforming the courts, allowing religious freedom for Protestants, Catholi…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Frederick the Great

Frederick the Great
said
It is disgusting to notice the increase in the quantity of coffee used by my subjects, and the amount of money that goes out of the country as a consequence.
1777; quoted by Bert L. Vallée, Alcohol in the Western World, Scientific American, Vol. 278, No. 6 (June), 1998, pp. 80-85
Frederick the Great
said
But a prince, when he binds himself, does not bind himself alone, otherwise he would be in the same position as a private individual.
Historie vom Jahre 1746, quoted in W. W. Coole (ed.), Thus Spake Germany (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1941), p. 82
Frederick the Great
said
Truth to tell, treaties are only oaths of deception and faithlessness. The jurisprudence of sovereigns is customarily the law of the strongest.
Preface to “Histoire de mon temps”, Works (1743), quoted in W. W. Coole (ed.), Thus Spake Germany (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1941),
Frederick the Great
saidundated
I think it better to keep a profound silence with regard to the Christian fables, which are canonized by their antiquity and the credulity of absurd and insipid people.
Letters of Voltaire and Frederick the Great (New York: Brentano's, 1927), trans. Richard Aldington, letter 37 from Frederick to Voltaire
Frederick the Great
saidundated
A single Voltaire will do more honor to France than a thousand pedants, a thousand false wits, a thousand great men of inferior order.
Letters of Voltaire and Frederick the Great (New York: Brentano's, 1927), trans. Richard Aldington, letter 48 from Frederick to Voltaire
Deep cuts

Era & geography

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By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Falling
72.0
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum0.1
Historical29.1
Now attention10.6
Source confidence60.0
Completeness70.0
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence