Frederick III

Frederick III. (1415-1493), son of Ernest, Duke of Austria, was elected King of the Romans in 1440, and crowned Emperor and King of Lombardy twelve years later. In the course of a long and apparently disastrous reign he lost Hungary, Bohemia, and Milan. Notwithstanding this, he laid the foundation of the future greatness of the Hapsburg house by marrying his son Maximilian to Mary of Burgundy, their descendants almost realising his device, "Austria est Imperare Orbi Universe" (" It is the fate of Austria to rule the world").