Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse
1868–1937 (age 69)·Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1892 to 1918·Birthday: November 25·The Gilded Age
Biography
Ernest Louis became the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine in 1892, inheriting a minor German state whose significance lay in its blood ties to Europe's ruling houses. His sister Alix married Tsar Nicholas II, another married into the British royal family, and his brother-in-law was Kaiser Wilhelm II. The 1903 marriage of his niece, Princess Alice of Battenberg, to Prince Andrew of Greece produced Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Ernest Louis's reign was marked by artistic patronage and personal tragedy, including the deaths of his daughter, wife, and brother from illness. He abdicated on November 9, 1918, as revolution swept Germany. His legacy is often overshadowed by his relatives' fates, but his family connections made the House of Hesse a crucial nexus in the doomed continental aristocracy. The dynasty's extinction in the male line with his death in 1937 closed a chapter of European history.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Ernest was born in 1868, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ernest Was Born
The biggest hits of 1868
Ernest's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1868Born
President: Andrew Johnson
1873Started school
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1881Became a teenager
President: Chester A. Arthur
1884Could drive
President: Chester A. Arthur
1886Could vote
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
President: Grover Cleveland
1889Turned 21
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1898Turned 30
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1908Turned 40
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1918Turned 50
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1928Turned 60
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1937Died at 69
Hindenburg disaster; Golden Gate Bridge opens
Gas: $0.20/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" — Ella FitzgeraldBest Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
“The well-being of my people is my highest law.”
