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Albert I, (born April 8, 1875, Brussels, Belg.—died Feb. 17, 1934, Marche-les-Dames, near Namur), king of the Belgians (1909–34), who led the Belgian army during World War I and guided his country’s postwar recovery.

Albert was an avid mountain climber and known as a benevolent ruler. His wife, Elisabeth, grew up watching and assisting her parents. Her father was an ophthalmologist, and her mother assisted as a nurse. Before the war hit Belgium, Albert refused to allow the Germans to march through his territory.

Albert I, the third king of the Belgians, played a leading role as supreme commander of the Belgian army during the First World War. For four years he defended the last piece of unoccupied Belgium behind the Yser River, refusing to sacrifice his troops in bloody attacks and hoping that the war could be ended through negotiations.

1934 On 17 February, the King died tragically following a fatal fall in the rocks of Marche-les-Dames. A large number of veterans of the Front accompanied their Commander to his final resting place.

Albert I (1875-1934) was king of the Belgians from 1909 to 1934. He was especially concerned with the social welfare of his subjects and the development of commerce and industry in Belgium. Albert was born in Brussels on April 8, 1875, the son of Philip, Count of Flanders, and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern.