Karl August, sometimes anglicised as Charles Augustus (3 September 1757 – 14 June 1828), was the sovereign Duke of Saxe-Weimar and of Saxe-Eisenach (in personal union) from 1758, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach from its creation (as a political union) in 1809, and grand duke from 1815 until his death. He is noted for the intellectual brilliance of his court.
Biography
Born in Weimar, he was the eldest son of Ernst August II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach (Ernest Augustus II), and Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
His father died when he was only nine months old (28 May 1758), and the boy was brought up under the regency and supervision of his mother. His governor was the Count Johann Eustach von Görtz and in 1771, Christoph Martin Wieland was appointed his tutor. In 1774 the poet Karl Ludwig von Knebel came to Weimar as tutor to his brother, the young Prince Frederick Ferdinand Constantin, and in the same year the two princes set out, with Count Görtz and Knebel, for Paris. At Frankfurt, Knebel introduced Karl August to the young Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
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|1= 1. Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
|2= 2. Ernest Augustus II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
|3= 3. Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|4= 4. Ernest Augustus I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
|5= 5. Princess Sophie Charlotte of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
|6= 6. Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|7= 7. Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia
|8= 8. John Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
|9= 9. Princess Sophie Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst
|10= 10. George Frederick Charles, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
|11= 11. Princess Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
|12= 12. Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|13= 13. Duchess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|14= 14. Frederick William I of Prussia
|15= 15. Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover
Children
thumbnail|right|200px|The children of Karl August and Luise Auguste's: Charles Frederick, Caroline Louise and Bernhard. Portrait by [[Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, 1798.]]
thumbnail|right|200px|Statue of Karl August in [[Weimar.]]
Karl August and Luise Auguste had seven children:
- Luise Auguste Amalie (b. Weimar, 3 February 1779 – d. Weimar, 24 March 1784).
- a daughter (b. and d. Weimar, 10 September 1781).
- Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (b. Weimar, 2 February 1783 – d. Schloss Belvedere, near Weimar, 8 July 1853).