John Frederick
duke of Saxony
Also known as: Johann Friedrich der Mittlere
John Frederick (II) (born Jan. 8, 1529, Torgau, Saxony—died May 9, 1595, Steyr, Austria) was an Ernestine duke of Saxony, or Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach, whose attempts to regain the electoral dignity, lost by his father to the rival Albertine branch of the House of Wettin, led to his capture and incarceration until his death. On the imprisonment of his father, the former elector John Frederick the Magnanimous, John Frederick II and his brothers John William and John...