Leopold I (Leopold George Christian Frederick), King of the
Begians, died October 11, 1850 in Laken, Belgium. He was
born December 16, 1790 in Coburg, Belgium. He was the
youngest son of Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-CoburgSaalfeld and Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf. He was
married to the late Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales and the
late Louise-Marie of France, and his children include Leopold II
and Empress Carlota of Mexico.
In 1795 Leopold was appointed colonel of the Izmaylovsky
Imperial Regiment in Russia. He later because a major general.
At the age of 25 he became a lieutenant general in the Imperial
Russian Army. He because “King of the Belgians” on June 26,
1831.
One of King Leopold’s greatest hopes was to build the first railway in continental Europe. This
became a reality when a railway line opened between Brussels and Mechelen on May 5, 1835.
He was a firm believer in regulating female and child labor. He tried unsuccessfully to pass laws
to regulate them.
King Leopold will be buried in the Royal vault at the Church of Our Lady in Laken Cemetery in
Brussels, Belgium.