Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was born on November 20, 1629, in Herzberg am Harz, Germany. He became the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1679 and was elected Elector in 1692. He was known for his military prowess and fought in several wars, including the Thirty Years' War and the Franco-Dutch War. In 1681, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Holy Roman Empire's armies. He was a patron of the arts and sciences and founded the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences in Hanover in 1700. He died on January 23, 1698, in Vienna, Austria, and was succeeded by his son, George I of Great Britain.