William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids William IV |
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Portrait by Kaspar van der Borcht, 1577
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| Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel | |
| Reign | 31 March 1569 – 25 August 1592 |
| Successor | Maurice |
| Born | 24 June 1532 Kassel |
| Died | 25 August 1592 (aged 60) |
| Spouse |
Sabine of Württemberg
(m. 1566; died 1581) |
| Issue More... |
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| House | Hesse-Kassel (founder) Hesse (by birth) |
| Father | Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse |
| Mother | Christine of Saxony |
William IV of Hesse-Kassel (born June 24, 1532 – died August 25, 1592) was also known as William the Wise. He was the very first ruler, or Landgrave, of a place called the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. William started an important family line that continues even today.
Contents
Life as a Ruler
Becoming Landgrave
William was born in a city called Kassel. He was the oldest son of Philip the Magnanimous and Christine of Saxony. When his father died in 1567, the large area of Hesse was split among Philip's four sons. William received the part around the capital city of Kassel. This area became known as the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel.
Protecting Protestantism
William played a big role in protecting the Lutheran faith, which was part of the Protestant Reformation. He worked hard to bring different Protestant groups together. He wanted them to stand strong against Catholicism. However, William preferred to solve problems peacefully and did not like using military force.
Smart Leadership
As a ruler, William was very active and smart. He created many new rules and hired skilled officials to help him. He was especially good at managing the money of his region. William also made a special law about who would inherit the land. This law helped keep his territory together and strong. It prevented it from being divided up again, which had happened after his father's death.
William's Love for Astronomy
William is most famous for supporting arts and sciences. When he was young, he made friends with many smart scholars. As a ruler, he continued to support them. His interest in studying the stars might have come from a book called Astronomicum Caesareum.
Pioneer in Astronomy
William was a pioneer in studying astronomy. This means he was one of the first to do important work in this field. Many of the clever tools used by the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe were also used in Kassel around 1584. From that time on, the observations made in Hesse-Kassel were almost as accurate as Tycho's.
The Hessian Star Catalogue
The most important result of William's astronomical work was the Hessian star catalogue. This was a list of about a thousand stars and their locations. The positions of the stars were figured out using methods common in the 1500s. They would connect a main star to the sun using the planet Venus. This helped them find its position in the sky. Other stars could then be measured based on this main star.
Clocks were used in Kassel to measure the time difference between Venus and the sun before sunset. This was a different method from what Tycho Brahe often used. The Hessian star catalogue was later published in a book called Historia coelestis in 1666. Other observations were also published in another book in 1618.
Family and Children
William was married to Sabine of Württemberg. She was the daughter of Christoph, Duke of Württemberg. They had several children together:
- Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel (1567–1626), who married Louis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg.
- Hedwig of Hesse-Kassel (1569–1644), who married Ernst of Schaumburg.
- Agnes of Hesse-Kassel (born and died in 1569).
- Sofie of Hesse-Kassel (1571–1616).
- Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1572–1632). He became the Landgrave after William IV passed away in 1592.
- Sabine of Hesse-Kassel (born and died in 1573).
- Sidonie of Hesse-Kassel (born and died in 1574–1575).
- Christian of Hesse-Kassel (1575–1578).
- Elisabeth of Hesse-Kassel (1577–1578).
- Christine (1578–1658), who married John Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach.
- Juliane (born and died in 1581).
William also had a few other children. One of the most important was Philipp von Cornberg (1553–1616). Philipp was given a special title by his father and became the ancestor of the current Barons von Cornberg family.
