rederick III (1415-93), Holy Roman emperor, was born at Innsbruck, in Tyrol, being a member of the house of Hapsburg; was chosen emperor in 1440. His reign covered a difficult peroid, during which the Turks invaded Hungary and Italy, and the Hungarians occupied Vienna. Switzerland escaped from his control, and Sforza took Milan. But he duped Charles the Bold, who wished to secure the royal title; he defeated the schemes of his opponents in Germany; and he gradually reunited the family territories of the Hapsburgs. From this time, indeed, the imperial dignity was almost hereditary in the house of Austria, Hapsburg. See Chmel’s Geschichte Kaiser Friedrichs IV (III) (1840-3). [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

Frederick III (Holy Roman Empire) (1415-1493), Holy Roman emperor (1440-1493), and as Frederick IV, king of Germany (1440-1486). The son of Ernest of Habsburg, duke of Steiermark (Styria) and Kärnten (Carinthia), Frederick was elected Holy Roman emperor and king of Germany in 1440 and crowned by the pope in Rome in 1452, the last time an emperor was crowned in that city. Because he had sacrificed the liberty of the German church in order to secure papal support, he incurred the disfavor of the German princes. Frederick was an incapable ruler who ignored revolts and failed to defend the Habsburg domains against invasion. Nevertheless, by marrying his son and successor, Maximilian, to Mary of Bourgogne in 1477, he increased the wealth and power of his dynasty. In 1486, when Maximilian was elected German king, Frederick turned the government over to his son and settled in Linz, where he devoted himself to the study of sciences. [Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia]

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