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 634 WILLIAM I. (WCRTEMBEEG) WILLIAM AND MARY (COLLEGE OF) the throne, he faithfully carried out and ex- tended the liberal reforms initiated in 1848, and he reduced his civil list from 1,200,000 to 800,000 florins. The abolition of slavery in the West India colonies was decreed in 1802. In 1866 the Dutch province of Limburg, which since 1815 had formed a part of the Germanic confederation, was fully incorporated with his dominions; and on May 11, 1867, the neutral- ity of the grand duchy of Luxemburg was rec- ognized, and it was placed under the absolute sovereignty of his dynasty. During the Franco- German war of 1870-'71 the king maintained a strict neutrality. In 1873 he became engaged in warfare with Acheen, in Sumatra, which continued down to 1876. His wife, Sophia, a daughter of King William I. of Wurtemberg (born June 17, 1818), is distinguished for scholarly attainments. Their eldest son, Wil- liam, prince of Orange, was born Sept. 4, 1840. WILLIAM I. (FRIEDRICH WILHELM KARL), king of Wurtemberg, born at Luben, Silesia, Sept. 27, 1781, died in the palace of Rosenau, near Stuttgart, June 25, 1804. He was a son of Frederick I., first king of Wurtemberg, and of his first wife, the princess Augusta of Brunswick -Wolfenbut- tel. Ho distinguished himself in the Aus- trian army at Hohen- linden, and lived in re- tirement at Stuttgart aa crown prince from 1806 to 1812. He then took command of the Wurtemberg 'contin- gent in Russia against the French, but became disabled by illness. His father joined the allies after the battle of Leip- sic, and William com- manded the 7th corps, including Austrian and Russian regiments, in the campaigns of 1814- '15. On the death of his father, Oct. 80, 1816, he succeeded to the throne. He promulgated a constitution in 1819, and improved the na- tional prosperity. The country was not dis- turbed by the revolutions of 1848. In 1814 he was divorced from the princess Charlotte of Bavaria, who became the fourth wife of Francis I. of Austria. His second wife, the grand duchess Catharine of Russia, bore him the present queen of Holland and another daughter, and died in 1819. (See CATHAKIXE PAULOVXA.) His third wife, his cousin Pauline of Wurtemberg (died 1873), bore two daugh- ters and a son, the present king Charles I. WILLIAM, duke of Brunswick- Wolfenbuttel. See BRUNSWICK, HOUSE OF. WILLIAM L and II., electors of Hesse-Cas- sel. See HESSE-CASSEL. WILLIAM AND MART, College of, the oldest seat of learning, except Harvard college, in the United States, near the city of Williamsbnrg, Va. An effort had been made as early as 1619 to establish a college at Henrico, near the present city of Richmond. An endowment of 1,500 and 15,000 acres of land was pro- cured, but George Thorpe, who came from England to take the preliminary steps, and the settlers who accompanied him, were massacred in 1622, and the project was relinquished. In 1660-'61 the general assembly passed an act providing for the establishment and endow- ment of a college. In 1693 a charter for a college was obtained from England, through the efforts of the Rev. James Blair and of Nicholson, lieutenant governor of the colony. It took its name from the reigning king and queen, who appropriated lands, funds, a duty on tobacco, and the office of surveyor general of. the colony, for its support. Buildings de- signed by Sir Christopher Wren were soon erected, and Blair was appointed the first pres- ident. The first college edifice was destroyed William and Mary College. by fire in 1705, and rebuilt shortly after. In 1691 Robert Boyle, the English philosopher, left his personal estate to trustees with the recommendation that it should bo expended for " charitable and pious uses." The trustees directed that the annual proceeds, excepting 90 to be given to Harvard college, should be paid to the college of William and Mary for the maintenance and education of Indian stu- dents. Prior to the revolution the college re- ceived liberal gifts from the general assembly and from individuals for the foundation of scholarships and other purposes. In 1770 it was the wealthiest college in America. The revolution deprived it of its richest chartered and other endowments, including the Boyle benefaction, and reduced its resources to $2,500 in money and the then unproductive land