Johann August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (17 February 1704 – 8 May 1767), was a German prince, member of the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was born in

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 ...

, the fifth but second surviving son of

Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (28 July 1676 – 23 March 1732), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was born in Gotha, the fifth child and first son of Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-W ...

and

Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (13 October 1679 – 11 October 1740) was, by birth, a Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst and, by marriage, a Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. She was the maternal grandmother of George III of the United Kingdo ...

Life

In 1725 he entered in the Imperial army and fought in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. In the

Battle of Grocka The Battle of Grocka, also known as Battle of Krotzka, ( tr, Hisarcık Savaşı) was fought between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire on July 21–22, 1739, in Grocka, Belgrade. The Ottomans were victorious and took the city of Belgr ...

he was wounded and then spent some time in Altenburg to recover. Later he resumed his military duties and fought in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, Bohemia,

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 ...

and the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. He eventually became Imperial Field Marshal and received his own dragoon regiment. He lived with his family in

Stadtroda Stadtroda (Roda until 1925) is a town of 6,653 people (2017), located in Thuringia, Germany. Stadtroda lies on the river Roda, a tributary of the Saale. The former municipalities Bollberg and Quirla were merged into Stadtroda in January 2019. H ...

, where shortly before his death he received a visit from King

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

of Prussia. He was awarded the Polish Order of the White Eagle.

Marriage and issue

On 6 January 1752 at Roda (Stadtroda after 1925), Johann August married Louise Reuss of Schleiz, co-Countess of Limpurg-Gaildorf since 1734

s her mother's only surviving child S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

ref name="heraldica
The Limpurg Inheritance in: heraldica.org
etrieved 17 August 2016 ( Staffelstein, 3 July 1726 – Stadtroda, 28 May 1773), widow of his younger brother Christian Wilhelm. They had four children: * Augusta (b. Stadtroda, 30 November 1752 – d. Rudolstadt, 28 May 1805), co-Countess of Limpurg-Gaildorf (1773–1780) in succession of her mother jointly with her younger sister; married on 28 November 1780 to Frederick Charles, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. * Stillborn child (Stadtroda, 18 November 1753). * Stillborn child (Stadtroda, 27 December 1754). * Louise (b. Stadtroda, 9 March 1756 – d. Ludwigslust, 1 January 1808), co-Countess of Limpurg-Gaildorf (1773–1780) in succession of her mother jointly with her older sister; married on 1 June 1775 to Frederick Francis I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Grand Duke since 1815). She was a direct ancestress of

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861. Albert was born in the Saxon duch ...

, later Prince Consort of the United Kingdom, and, through him, a direct ancestress of the present British Royal Family.

Ancestors

Notes

References

*August Beck
''Johann August, Prinz von Sachsen-Gotha''
In: '' Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB)''. vol. 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, p. 376. *Johann Samuel Ersch (Hrsg): ''Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste'', 2. Sektion, Leipzig, 1842, p. 24
online
etrieved 25 September 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:John August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Prince House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 1704 births 1767 deaths People from Gotha (town) Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Sons of monarchs