John III of Sweden

John III was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomously, the Duke of Finland from 1556 to 1563. In 1581 he assumed the title Grand Prince of Finland. He attained the Swedish throne after a rebellion against his half-brother Eric XIV. He is mainly remembered for his attempts to close the gap between the newly established Lutheran Church of Sweden and the Catholic Church, as well as his conflict with and murder of his brother.

20 December 1537

Born on the same birth day (20 December): Alan Parsons • Bill O'Reilly (cricketer) • Cahit Külebi • Charlie Callas • David Tavaré • David Wright • Dick Wolf • Don Sunderlage • Elsie de Wolfe • Guy Babylon • James Thomson (cell biologist) • Jonah Hill • Judy LaMarsh • Lissy Arna • Olavi Salonen • Sandra Cisneros • Sivakant Tiwari • Veronica Pershina

Born in the same month (December 1537): Albert, Count of Nassau-Weilburg • Ashikaga Yoshiaki • Willem IV van den Bergh