The union was childless, and consequently in 1902 a law regulating the succession was passed. By this the landgrave Alexander Frederick (b. 1863), the representative of the family which ruled Hesse-Cassel until 1866, was declared the heir to Hesse in case the grand-duke died without sons. However, in 1905 Ernest Louis married Elenore, princess of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (b. 1871), by whom he had a son George (b. 1906). See L. Baur, _Urkunden zur hessischen Landes-, Orts- und Familiengeschichte_ (Darmstadt, 1846-1873); Steiner, _Geschichte des Grossherzogtums Hesse_n (Darmstadt, 1833-1834); Klein, _Das Grossherzogtum Hessen_ (Mainz, 1861); Ewald, _Historische Ubersicht der Territorialveranderungen der Landgrafschaft Hessen und des Grossherzogtums Hessen_ (Darmstadt, 1872); F. Soldan, _Geschichte des Grossherzogtums Hessen_ (Giessen, 1896); H. Heppe, _Kirchengeschichte beider Hessen_ (Marburg, 1876-1878); C. Hessler, _Geschichte von Hessen_ (Cassel, 1891), and _Hessische Landes- und Volkskunde_ (Marburg, 1904-1906); F. Kuchler, A. E. Braun and A. K. Weber, _Verfassungs- und Verwaltungsrecht des Grossherzogtums Hessen_ (Darmstadt, 1894-1897); H. Kunzel, _Grossherzogtum Hessen_ (Giessen, 1893); and W. Zeller, _Handbuch der Verfassung und Verwaltung im Grossherzogtum Hessen_ (Darmstadt, 1885-1893). See also _Archiv fur hessische Geschichte und Altertumskunde_ (Darmstadt, 1894 fol.) and _Hessisches Urkundenbuch_ (Leipzig, 1879 fol.). HESSE-HOMBURG, formerly a small landgraviate in Germany. It consisted of two parts, the district of Homburg on the right side of the Rhine, and the district of Meisenheim, which was added in 1815, on the left side of the same river. Its area was about 100 sq. m., and its population in 1864 was 27,374. Homburg now forms part of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, and Meisenheim of the province of the Rhine. Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by Frederick I. (d. 1638), son of George I., landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1768. By two of Frederick's sons it was divided into Hesse-Homburg and Hesse-Homburg-Bingenheim; but these parts were again united in 1681 under the rule of Frederick's third son, Frederick II. (d. 1708). In 1806, during the long reign of the landgrave Frederick V., which extended from 1751 to 1820, Hesse-Homburg was mediatized, and incorporated with Hesse-Darmstadt; but in 1815 by the congress of Vienna the latter state was compelled to recognize the independence of Hesse-Homburg, which was increased by the addition of Meisenheim. Frederick V. joined the German confederation as a sovereign prince in 1817, and after his death his five sons in succession filled the throne. The last of these, Ferdinand, who succeeded in 1848, granted a liberal constitution to his people, but cancelled it during the reaction of 1852. When he died on the 24th of March 1866, Hesse-Homburg was inherited by