Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

, 30 January 1745 – Gotha, 20 April 1804) was the reigning

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg () was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany. The extinction of the line in 1825 led to a major re-organisation of the Thuringian states. History In 1640 the sons of the l ...

from 1772 to 1804. He was the third but second surviving son of

Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (14 April 1699 – 10 March 1772), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Biography He was born in Gotha, the eldest son of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerb ...

and Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen. The death of his older brother Frederick in 1756 made him the heir to the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Early life

Luise Dorothea was intensely worried about the training of her surviving sons, Ernest and her youngest son August, and had them educated by a select group of teachers. In 1768 and 1769, both princes went on an educational journey to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, England and France, and Ernest met important people in politics, science and the arts.

Succession

In 1772 his father died, and Ernest inherited the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. As a liberal and enlightened prince, he was interested in the arts and sciences and used his reign to further them. He promoted the educational system, the economy, theatre, art collections and libraries as well as the natural sciences in his duchy, which was thereby ranked in the top place of the Saxon duchies in Thuringia. Privately, he was particularly interested in astronomy and physics. He appointed competent specialists in all of these areas like the mechanic and clockmaker Johann Andreas Klindworth to whom he granted the title of court mechanic. For his special interests, he employed the services of the important astronomer

Franz Xaver von Zach Baron Franz Xaver von Zach (''Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach''; 4 June 1754 – 2 September 1832) was a Hungarian astronomer born at Pest, Hungary (now Budapest in Hungary). Biography Zach studied physics at the Royal University of Pest, and s ...

for Gotha. With him, he established the

Observatory of Gotha Gotha Observatory (''Seeberg Observatory'', ''Sternwarte Gotha'' or ''Seeberg-Sternwarte'') was a German astronomical observatory located on Seeberg hill near Gotha, Thuringia, Germany. Initially the observatory was dedicated to astrometry, geode ...

(''Sternwarte Gotha''), which developed into a European centre of astronomy. His will stated that this institution should survive as the only visible indication of his existence. It was so successful that Gotha, despite its size, was thought of as a place that important people of the time should visit. One such person was

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

, who visited several times.

Freemasonry

From 1774 he was a Freemason in the Zinnendorf system and a member of the Gotha Lodge Zum Rautenkranz, which had been founded by

Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker, who was regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. He played a pivotal role in the dev ...

Konrad Ekhof Konrad Ekhof (12 August 1720 in Hamburg, Germany – 16 June 1778) was a German actor, widely regarded as one of the foremost actors of the German-speaking realm in the 18th century. He was noted for his collaboration with the theatre principal ...

and other members of the

Seyler Theatre Company The Seyler Theatre Company, also known as the Seyler Company (German: ''Seylersche Schauspiel-Gesellschaft'', sometimes ''Seylersche Truppe''), was a theatrical company founded in 1769 by Abel Seyler, a Hamburg businessman originally from Switzer ...

in the same year. In 1775, he was appointed Grand Master of the Landesloge of Germany (Zinnendorf system). In 1783, he became a member of the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n ''

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

'' under the name of ''Quintus Severus'' and/or ''Timoleon'', and in 1784, he was made Supervisor of ''Abessinien'' (a name for

Upper Saxony {{short description, Historic lands in Central Germany Upper Saxony (german: Obersachsen) was the name given to the majority of the German lands held by the House of Wettin, in what is now called Central Germany (''Mitteldeutschland''). Concept ...

). In 1787, he granted

Adam Weishaupt Johann Adam Weishaupt (; 6 February 1748 – 18 November 1830)''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'Vol. 41, p. 539Engel, Leopold. ''Geschichte des Illuminaten-ordens''. Berlin: H. Bermühler Verlag, 1906.van Dülmen, Richard. ''Der Geheimbund der Ill ...

, the founder of the secret society, asylum in Gotha. He was buried wrapped in a white cloth on the park island.

Descendants

In Meiningen on 21 March 1769, Ernest married

Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen , consort = yes , succession = Duchess consort of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , reign = 10 March 1772 – 20 April 1804 , image = Charlotte Amalie of Saxe-Meiningen.jpg , caption = Portrait by Johann Ernst Heinsius , spouse ...

, the half-first cousin of his mother. They had four sons: * Ernest (b. Gotha, 27 February 1770 – d. Gotha, 3 December 1779). *

Emil Leopold August, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (full name: ''Emil Leopold August'') (23 November 1772 — 17 May 1822), was a Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, and the author of one of the first modern novels to treat of homoerotic love. He was the maternal ...

(b. Gotha, 23 November 1772 – d. Gotha, 27 May 1822), known as ''Augustus''. *

Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Gotha, 28 November 1774 – Gotha, 11 February 1825), was the last duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was the third but second surviving son of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Charlotte ...

(b. Gotha, 28 November 1774 – d. Gotha, 11 February 1825). * Ludwig (b. Gotha, 21 October 1777 – d. Gotha, 26 October 1777).

Ancestors

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest 02 of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duke 1745 births 1804 deaths People from Gotha (town) House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Knights of the Garter People from Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Fellows of the Royal Society