Maximilian II. Joseph König von Bayern
(28.11.1811 - 10.03.1864)
place of birth:  München, Bayern  (Bavaria)
Königreich Bayern:  Seine Majestät der König

                            

Maximilian II. Joseph ruled as the Kingdom of Bavaria's third king. His father Ludwig I., having had enough of Bavarian revolutionaries and general political unrest, abdicated his throne in 1848 in favor of son Maximilian. Young Max let it be known that he preferred a university professorship over royal rule, spending much of his time at Hohenschwangau castle focused on the study of science and history with a close-nit group of like-minded friends from academia. He had been named an honorary member of Bavaria's Academy of Sciences in 1830. 

Maximilian I. was married to Marie Friedrike, the granddaughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm II. of Prussia. Their marriage produced two subsequent Bavarian Kings, Ludwig II. and Otto I., both of whom suffered from various degrees of insanity. On this point, Maximilian's younger brother Luitpold would later play an important role.

	König von Bayern	20.03.1848  -  10.03.1864
	Schwarzer Adler-Orden