GUSTAV III
1746 - 1792
Pic: University of Uppsala

Sweden's king Gustav III had a love affair with the Enlightenment and was married to Sofia Magdalena, the daughter of Denmark's king Frederick V.

Gustav was the founder of the Swedish Academy.

The big subject of the day was the power of the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament. Gustav thought the king should have more power than the parliament, switched laws around, and made it happen.

That was in the year 1772.

Gustav was a modern man and ready for many reforms. But the Riksdag was sulking and the nobility hated Gustav's guts. Good thing Gustav had an adviser he could trust, Gustaf Armfelt.

In 1788, Gustav declared war on Russia but lost it. A large contributing factor to Gustav's defeat might or might not have been the backstabbing and scheming weasels of the Swedish nobility.

They were one ruthless bunch. On March 16, 1792 they assassinated Gustav in the Stockholm opera. Many people were involved in the conspiracy. The name of the man who shot Gustav down was Jacob Johan Anckarström. Gustav didn't die on the spot but two weeks later.