John George III

▪ elector of Saxony

born June 20, 1647, Dresden, Saxony

died Sept. 12, 1691, Tübingen, Württemberg

      elector of Saxony (1680–91).

      He forsook the vacillating foreign policy of his father, John George II, and in June 1683 joined an alliance against France. Having raised the first standing army in the electorate, he helped to drive the Turks from Vienna in September 1680, leading his men with great gallantry; but, disgusted with the attitude of the emperor Leopold I after the victory, he returned at once to Saxony. However, he sent aid to Leopold in 1685. When Louis XIV's armies invaded Germany in September 1688, John George was one of the first to take up arms against the French; and, after sharing in the capture of Mainz, he was appointed commander in chief of the imperial forces. He had not, however, met with any notable success when he died at Tübingen.

      Like his father, he was very fond of music, but he appears to have been less extravagant. His wife was Anna Sophia, daughter of Frederick III, king of Denmark, and both his sons, John George and Frederick Augustus, became electors of Saxony, the latter also becoming king of Poland as Augustus II.

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