Augustus II the Strong

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Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I (German: Friedrich August I) from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin. Augustus' great physical strength earned him the nicknames "the Strong", "the Saxon Hercules" and "Iron-Hand". He liked to show that he lived up to his name by breaking horseshoes with his bare hands and engaging in fox tossing by holding the end of his sling with just one finger while two of the strongest men in his court held the other end. He is also notable for fathering a very large number of children, with contemporary sources claiming a total of between 360 and 380. In order to be elected king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Augustus converted to Catholicism. As a Catholic, he received the Order of the Golden Fleece from the Holy Roman Emperor and established the Order...

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