Frederick (Middle High German: Friderich, Standard German: Friedrich; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach from 1420, and Elector of Brandenburg (as Frederick I) from 1415 until his death. He became the first member of the House of Hohenzollern to rule the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Biography Frederick was born in Nuremberg, the second-born son of Burgrave Frederick V (1333–1398) and the Wettin princess Elisabeth of Meissen. He entered early into the service of his brother-in-law, the Habsburg duke Albert III of Austria. After Albert's death in 1395, he fought on the side of the Luxembourg king Sigismund of Hungary against invading Ottoman forces. He and his elder brother John, husband of Sigismund's sister Margaret of Bohemia, fought in the 1396 Battle of Nicopolis where they suffered a disastrous defeat. After Frederick returned to Nuremberg, he divided the Franconian inheritance from his father with his brother John, who received the Principality of Bayreuth, while Frederick kept the Principality of Ansbach; the brothers ruled jointly in the Burgraviate of Nuremberg. At first Frederick tried to mediate in the imperial confusion between Sigismund's elder half-brother, the German king Wenceslaus, and the party of Elector Rupert III of the Palatinate, but from September 1399 he fought on the side of Rupert, husband of his sister Elizabeth, nonetheless. Wenceslaus was eventually deposed and Rupert elected King of the Romans on 21 August 1400. Frederick resumed his rule of Ansbach in 1409 and after heavy feuding, entered into the service of King Sigismund. In 1410, the death of Rupert, King of the Germans, left the throne of the Holy Roman Empire vacant. Sigismund enlisted Frederick's help in obtaining the throne. At the time, Jobst of Moravia ruled Brandenburg and thus was one of the prince-electors who had the right to vote for the new king. However, Sigismund disputed Jobst's claim to Brandenburg and his right to vote in the imperial election. Sigismund claimed these rights for himself and designated Frederick to represent him as elector of Brandenburg in the imperial election of 20 September 1410. While Sigismund won this initial vote, Jobst of Moravia won the support of a majority of electors in an election in October 1410 and himself claimed the imperial throne. Jobst's death under suspicious circumstances in January 1411 cleared the way