I
born April 17, 1573, Munich
died Sept. 27, 1651, Ingolstadt, Bavaria
Duke of Bavaria (1597–1651) and elector from 1623.
Succeeding his father as duke, he restored the duchy to solvency, revised the law code, and built an effective army. Opposed to the Protestant cause, he established the Catholic League (1610). In the Thirty Years' War he gave military aid to Austria against the Palatine elector Frederick V and, with military victories by count von Albrecht W.E. von Wallenstein , he forced the general's dismissal in 1630. Maximilian later fought unsuccessfully against France and Sweden and made a separate peace to retain the electorship.
II
born March 22, 1459, Wiener Neustadt, Austria
died Jan. 12, 1519, Wels
German king and Holy Roman emperor (1493–1519).
The eldest son of Emperor Frederick III and a member of the Habsburg dynasty , he gained Burgundy 's lands in the Netherlands by marriage in 1477 but was later forced to give Burgundy to Louis XI (1482). He retook most of the Habsburg lands in Austria from the Hungarians by 1490, and, after being crowned Holy Roman emperor, he drove the Turks from the empire's southeastern borders. He fought a series of wars against the French, helping to force them out of Italy in 1496 but losing Milan to them in 1515. He lost Switzerland as well but acquired the Tirol peacefully. He acquired Spain for the Habsburgs through his children's marriages, gained influence in Hungary and Bohemia, and built an intricate network of European alliances. A popular monarch, he encouraged culture and the arts.
III
orig. Maximilian Joseph
born May 27, 1756, Mannheim, Palatinate
died Oct. 13, 1825, Munich
First king of Bavaria (1806–25).
A member of the house of Wittelsbach , in 1799 he inherited its territories as Maximilian IV Joseph, elector of Bavaria. Forced by Austria to enter the war against France, he signed a separate peace in 1801. Distrustful of Austria, he supported the French war effort (1805–09) through Bavaria's membership in the {{link=Confederation of the Rhine">Confederation of the Rhine . He received territories by which he crowned himself king of Bavaria (1806). After 1813 he allied with Austria to guarantee the integrity of his kingdom and gave up sections of western Austria in return for territories on the western bank of the Rhine. Aided by his chief minister, count von Montgelas (1759–1838), Maximilian made Bavaria into an efficient, liberal state under a new constitution (1808) and charter (1818) that established a bicameral parliament.