Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg (22 November 1536 – 8 October 1606) was the second son of William the Rich and the younger brother of

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

. He has a special place in the history of the Netherlands because he is the male-line forefather of the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

which ruled that country until 1948. John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg was a Count of Nassau in

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German- Dutch holiday road ...

. Other names he had were ''Jan VI'' or ''Jan de Oude'' ("John the Elder", to distinguish him from his 2nd son, "John the Middle", and his grandson "John the Younger"). John VI was born in

, the second son of Count William I of Nassau-Dillenburg and his second wife Juliane of Stolberg-Wernigerode and brother of

William I of Orange William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Rev ...

. He was the principal author of the Union of Utrecht.

Family and children

John VI was married three times and had a total of 24 children: First, he was married on 16 June 1559 with Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg (ca. March 1537 – 6 July 1579), who bore him 13 children: # Count Willem Lodewijk "Us Heit" (13 March 1560 – 31 May 1620) # Count John VII (7 June 1561 – 27 September 1623) # Count George (1 September 1562 – 9 August 1623) # Elisabeth (24 January 1564 – 5 May 1611), married: ## on 3 October 1583 to Count

Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg Philip IV of Nassau-Weilburg, also known as Philip III of Nassau-Saarbrücken (14 October 1542 in Weilburg – 12 March 1602 in Saarbrücken) was Count of Nassau-Weilburg from 1559 until his death and since 1574 also Count of Nassau-Saarbrü ...

## on 7 May 1603 to Count Wolfgang Ernst I of Isenburg-Büdingen # Juliana (6 October 1565 – 4 October 1630), married: ## on 24 April 1588 to Wild- and Rhinegrave Adolf Henry of Dhaun ## on 8 February 1619 to Count

John Albrecht I of Solms-Braunfels John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

(1 December 1566 – 3 September 1595) # Maria (12 November 1568 – 10 May 1625), married on 2 December 1588 to Count John Louis I of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein # Anna Sibylla (29 September 1569 – 19 December 1576) # Mathilde (27 December 1570 – 10 May 1625), married on 24 June 1592 to Count Wilhelm V of Mansfeld-Arnstein # Albert (born and died in 1572) # Count

Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz Ernest Casimir I (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography He was the 11th child of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Countess Elisabeth of Leuc ...

(22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632). It is through Ernest Casimir that the royal family of the Netherlands are descended. # Louis Gunther (15 February 1575 – 12 September 1604) # Stillborn son (6 July 1579) Voorzijde standbeeld, close-up - Utrecht - 20364219 - RCE

Voorzijde standbeeld, close-up - Utrecht - 20364219 - RCE

Secondly, he married on 13 September 1580 with Kunigunde Jakobäa of Simmern (9 October 1556 – 26 January 1586), daughter of

Frederick III, Elector Palatine Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (14 February 1515 – 16 October 1576) was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern- Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Pa ...

, who bore him 4 children: # Stillborn son (19 July 1581) # Maria Amalia (27 July 1582 – 31 October 1635), married on 23 August 1600 to Count Wilhelm I of Solms-Braunsfeld-Greiffenstein # Kunigunde (12 July 1583 – 4 April 1584) # Stillborn son (23 February 1585) Thirdly, he married on 14 June 1586 to Johannetta of Sayn-Wittgenstein (15 February 1561 – 13 April 1622), who bore him 7 children: # George Louis (12 April 1588 – 16 April 1588) # Prince

John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar, ( Dillenburg, 6 August 1590 – Hadamar, 10 March 1653) and also known in German as Johann Ludwig, was a German nobleman and member of the House of Nassau who is best known for his role as an aide to the head of the ...

(6 August 1590 – 10 March 1653) # Johannette Elisabeth (13 February 1593 – 13 September 1654), married on 16 December 1616 to Count Conrad Gumprecht of Bentheim-Limburg, son of

Arnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg Arnold III of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Steinfurt-Limburg (10 or 11 October 1554 in Neuenhaus – 11 January 1606 in Tecklenburg) was a German nobleman. He was Count of Bentheim, Tecklenburg and Steinfurt, and Count of Limburg. He ruled as Arn ...

# Anna (24 November 1594 – 11 February 1660), married on 19 June 1619 to Count Philipp Ernst of Isenburg-Birstein # Magdalene (13 November 1595 – 31 July 1633), married on 29 May 1624 to Count Georg Albrecht I of Erbach # Anna Amalie (19 July 1599 – 4 May 1667), married on 25 November 1648 to Count Wilhelm Otto of Isenburg-Birstein # Juliane (9 June 1602 – 26 August 1602). He died in his native city of

, aged 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John 06 of Nassau 1536 births 1606 deaths German Calvinist and Reformed Christians People from Dillenburg Counts of Nassau Eighty Years' War (1566–1609)