| Prince August | |
|---|---|
 August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg by Ernst Christian Specht, 1795 | |
| Born | (1747-08-14)14 August 1747 Gotha,Thuringia,Germany |
| Died | 28 September 1806(1806-09-28) (aged 59) Gotha, Thuringia, Germany |
| House | Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
| Father | Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
| Mother | Princess Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen |
Prince August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (14 August 1747, inGotha – 28 September 1806, in Gotha) was a German prince of the Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg line of theErnestine Wettins and a patron of the arts during theAge of Enlightenment.
He was the youngest child ofFrederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and his wifePrincess Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen. Their mother made sure both August and his brotherErnest received a good education in literature, science andcameralism. He and Ernest also travelled to the Netherlands and England between 1768 and 1769.
August's parents had planned a military career for him, but he gave this up in 1769, handing over his Gotha infantry regiment in's-Hertogenbosch to his nephewFrederick. August then took aGrand Tour to Italy from 1771 to 1777 and got to knowVoltaire inGeneva. In 1777 he was also in London as one of three godparents toPrincess Sophia of the United Kingdom, his first cousin once removed (Sophia's father's motherAugusta was August's father's younger sister).
Considered to be an enlightened, open-minded and progressive prince, he gathered a witty circle around him at his palace inGotha from 1778 onwards. He was also considered as one of the most important translator of French literature intoWeimar Classicism.[1] He also had a lively correspondence withJohann Wolfgang von Goethe,Johann Gottfried Herder andChristoph Martin Wieland, being considered a particular supporter of Wieland, to whoseOberon he was especially devoted.
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