Alexander (Alexander Karadjordjević) [key], 1806–85, prince of Serbia (1842–58), son of Karageorge (Karadjordje). He was elected to succeed the deposed Michael of Serbia. Weak and vacillating, he did not send troops to aid the Slavic minorities in Hungary during the revolution of 1848–49. He later submitted to Turkish and Austrian pressure in withholding his support from Russia in the Crimean War of 1854–56. Discontent with his ineffective government finally led his subjects to depose him and to recall Miloš as king. In 1868, Alexander was condemned to death in absentia by a Serbian court for his alleged part in the assassination of Michael, who had succeeded Miloš. Alexander was the father of Peter I of Yugoslavia.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Yugoslavian History: Biographies
