Louis XIV

1638 – 1715 · died at about 77^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Louis XIV

• Louis XIV was an eager ballet dancer who performed 80 roles in 40 major ballets, a career approaching that of a professional dancer.^[1]
• Louis XIV is the longest-reigning monarch in history, with a reign of 72 years and 110 days.^[1]
• When Louis XIV was 12, an angry Paris mob broke into the royal palace demanding to see him. He pretended to be asleep, and the crowd left quietly.^[1]
• The Palace of Versailles began as a hunting lodge built for Louis XIII. Louis XIV turned it into a palace over four building campaigns.^[1]
• Louis XIV is believed to have secretly married Madame de Maintenon, the royal governess who had cared for his children by his mistress Madame de Montespan.^[1]
• Louis XIV was named Louis Dieudonné, meaning "God-given".^[1]
• Louis XIV was alive at the same time as Galileo Galilei — their lives overlapped for 4 years (1638–1642).^[1][2][3][4]
• Louis XIV shares a birthday with Freddie Mercury: both were born on September 5.^[1][2][5][6]

Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign lasted 72 years and 110 days, which is the longest of any monarch in history. An emblem of the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's legacy includes French colonial expansion, the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War involving the Habsburgs, and a controlling influence on the style of fine arts and architecture in France, including the transformation of the Palace of Versailles into a center of royal power and politics. Louis XIV's pageantry and opulence helped define the French Baroque style of art and architecture and promoted his image as supreme leader of France in the early modern period.^[1]

Contemporaries

Christopher Wren

77 yr overlap

Isaac Newton

72 yr overlap

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

69 yr overlap

John Locke

66 yr overlap

Matsuo Bashō

50 yr overlap

Peter the Great

43 yr overlap

Baruch Spinoza

39 yr overlap

Johannes Vermeer

37 yr overlap

Antonio Vivaldi

37 yr overlap

Molière

35 yr overlap

Rembrandt

31 yr overlap

Johann Sebastian Bach

30 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Louis XIV

When was Louis XIV born?

Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638, and died on September 1, 1715.

How old was Louis XIV at death?

Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638, and died on September 1, 1715, at age 76.

What was Louis XIV known for?

Louis XIV was known for: The Sun King of France. Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign lasted 72 years and 110 days, which is the longest of any monarch in history. An emblem of the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's legacy includes French colonial expansion, the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War involving the Habsburgs, and a controlling influence on the style of fine arts and architecture in France, including the transformation of the Palace of Versailles into a center of royal power and politics. Louis XIV's pageantry and opulence helped define the French Baroque style of art and architecture and promoted his image as supreme leader of France in the early modern period.

Who was alive at the same time as Louis XIV?

Louis XIV's closest contemporary was Christopher Wren. Their lives overlapped for 77 years.