German Friedrich Wilhelm
born Sept. 25, 1744, Berlin, Prussia
died Nov. 16, 1797, Berlin
King of Prussia from 1786.
He succeeded his uncle Frederick II . Prussia expanded under his rule, adding territories it gained in the second (1793) and third (1795) partitions of Poland and acquiring additional German lands. He entered into an Austro-Prussian alliance, chiefly in opposition to the French Revolution, but signed a separate treaty with France and withdrew from the alliance in 1795 after defeat in the French Revolutionary Wars . Cultural activities, especially music, flourished in his reign; both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven visited the king and dedicated music to him.