[December 27] George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Sobriquet: "The Pious" (Der Fromme)
Parents: Frederick I, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and Sophia of Poland
Date of Birth: 4 March 1484
House: Hohenzollern
Spouse(s): (1) Beatrice, daughter of Bernardin, prince of Krk & Modrus, and Donna Luisa Marzano d'Aragona, then (2) Hedwig, daughter of Charles I, duke of Münsterberg-Oels, and Anna of Sagan, then (3) Emilie, daughter of Henry IV, duke of Saxony, and Catherine of Mecklenburg
Predecessor: Frederick I
Reign: 1536 – 1543
Brief: Young and a third son of his father, Frederick, George decided early on to enter the service of his uncle, King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, at the age of twenty-two. He rose in ranks quickly and was placed in charge of the duchy of Oppeln in 1515. The next year, we was elected to the Hungarian council of state and became tutor for the future King Louis II. George became the leader of one of the political factions within Hungary, fighting against the faction of the Magyar. Within a few years of the preachings of Martin Luther, George became a convert to Lutheranism and began allowing its spread in northern Hungary (Slovakia) and within his own home of Ansbach. He fought with his elder brother, Casimir, for many years until 1536, when Casimir died and George could spread Lutheranism without resistance. George remained a close friend of Luther and wrote to him frequently. In 1529, he met John of Saxony and they agreed to form a German league of Protestants in the north. George attended numerous meetings between imperial and Protestant delegates, as well as councils between the church and Lutherans, but he died leaving much undone. His legacy in the Reformation is nearly as strong as that of John of Saxony, though he is much less remembered.

Date of Death: 27 December 1543

Successor: George Frederick

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Zosimus, pope of Rome (418)
• Svyatoslav II, grand prince of Kiev (1076)