John George, Elector of Brandenburg

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John George
John George, Elector of Brandenburg (Oil on canvas by Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1564)
Elector of Brandenburg
Reign	3 January 1571 – 8 January 1598
Predecessor	Joachim II Hector
Successor	Joachim Frederick
Born	(1525-09-11)11 September 1525 Cölln, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire
Died	8 January 1598(1598-01-08) (aged 72) Cölln, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire
Burial	Berlin Cathedral
Spouses	Sophie of Legnica ​ ​ (m. 1545; died 1546)​ Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach ​ ​ (m. 1548; died 1575)​ Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst ​ ​ (m. 1577)​
Issue among others…	Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg Erdmuthe, Duchess of Pomerania Anna Maria, Duchess of Pomerania Sophie, Electress of Saxony Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth Magdalena, Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach Agnes, Duchess of Pomerania and Saxe-Lauenburg Frederick IX, Margrave of Brandenburg Elisabeth Sophia, Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg George Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg
House	Hohenzollern
Father	Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
Mother	Magdalena of Saxony
Religion	Lutheran

John George of Brandenburg (German: Johann Georg von Brandenburg; 11 September 1525 – 8 January 1598) was a prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1571–1598).

Born as a member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the son of Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, and his first wife Princess Magdalena of Saxony.

Faced with large debts of 2.5 million guilder accumulated during the reign of his father, John George instituted a grain tax which drove part of the peasantry into dependence on a nobility that was exempt from taxation. He had Jews expelled from Brandenburg in 1573, stripped of their assets and prohibited from returning. Though a staunch Lutheran opposed to the rise of Calvinism, he permitted the admission of Calvinist refugees from the wars in the Spanish Netherlands and France. On 13 July 1574, he founded the Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, the first humanistic educational institution in Berlin. He was succeeded by his son Joachim Frederick.

Upon the death of his kinsman Albert I, Duke of Prussia in 1568, the Duchy of Prussia was inherited by the latter's underage son Albert Frederick. John George's father was a co-inheritor of the Duchy of Prussia. In 1577 the Brandenburg electors became co-regent with Duke Albert Frederick of Prussia.

John George was married three times.

His first wife was Princess Sophie of Legnica (ca. 1525 – 6 February 1546), whom he married in 1545. They had one child together:

1. Joachim Frederick (27 January 1546 – 18 July 1608)

Secondly, he married Margravine Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach (12 May 1529 – 2 November 1575), daughter of George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, in 1548. They had the following children:^[1][2]

1. George Albert (19 February 1555 – 8 January 1557) died in early childhood.
2. John (1 March 1557), died at birth, twin with Albert.
3. Albert (1 March 1557), died at birth, twin with John.
4. Magdalena Sabina (9 September 1559) died at birth.
5. Erdmuthe (26 June 1561 – 13 November 1623), married in 1577 to Duke John Frederick of Pomerania
6. Marie (13 September 1562) died at birth.
7. Hedwig (19 August 1563) died at birth.
8. Magdalena (31 July 1564) died at birth.
9. Margaret (September 19 1565) died at birth.
10. Anna Maria (3 February 1567 – 4 November 1618), married in 1581 to Duke Barnim X of Pomerania
11. Sophie (6 June 1568 – 7 December 1622), married in 1582 to Elector Christian I of Saxony

Thirdly, he married Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst (15 September [O.S. 5 September] 1563 – 5 October 1607) in 1577. They had the following children:

1. Christian (30 January 1581 – 30 May 1655)
2. Magdalena (7 January 1582 – 4 May 1616), married in 1598 to Landgrave Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt
3. Joachim Ernest (22 June 1583 – 7 March 1625)
4. Agnes (17 July 1584 – 26 March 1629), married:
   1. in 1604 Duke Philipp Julius of Pomerania;
   2. in 1628 Duke Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg
5. Frederick (22 March 1588 – 19 May 1611)
6. Elisabeth Sophia (13 July 1589 – 24 December 1629), married:
   1. in 1613 to Reichsfürst (Prince) Janusz Radziwiłł;
   2. on 27 February 1628 to Duke Julius Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg
7. Dorothea Sibylle (19 October 1590 – 9 March 1625), married in 1610 to Duke John Christian of Brieg
8. George Albert (20 November 1591 – 29 November 1615)
9. Sigismund (20 November 1592 – 30 April 1640) died aged 47 unmarried with no issue.
10. John (13 July 1597 – 23 September 1627), Bishop of Havelberg died unmarried with no issue.
11. John George (4 August 1598 – 27 January 1637) died unmarried with no issue.

• A portrait with ducal title