Facts: - issue: prince princess albert of prussia georg , hereditary prince of saxe-altenburg marie , - death place: altenburg - succession: duke of saxe-altenburg - reign: 1853 -- 1908 - successor: ernst ii - spouse: agnes of anhalt-dessau - predecessor: george - mother: marie luise of mecklenburg-schwerin - death date: 7 february 1908 - house: house of wettin - father: georg , duke of saxe-altenburg - birth date: 16 september 1826 - name: ernst i - image size: 170px - image: ernstiofsaxealtenburg.jpg - birth place: hildburghausen - religion: lutheranism Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of ernst i , duke of saxe-altenburg .
ernst i , duke of saxe-altenburg -lrb- german : ernst i. friedrich paul georg nikolaus von sachsen-altenburg -rrb- -lrb- hildburghausen , 16 september 1826 -- altenburg , 7 february 1908 -rrb- , was a duke of saxe-altenburg .he was the first son of georg , duke of saxe-altenburg and marie luise of mecklenburg-schwerin .in 1853 he succeeded his father as duke of saxe-altenburg .he was of a retiring disposition and he took little active part in running the country .after a reign that lasted fifty five years , he died without a living direct male heir ; because of this , he was succeeded by his nephew , ernst .