Sigismund III Vasa

Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Religiously zealous, he imposed Roman Catholicism across the vast realm, and his crusades against neighbouring states marked Poland's largest territorial expansion. As an enlightened despot, he presided over an era of prosperity and achievement, further distinguished by the transfer of the country's capital from Kraków to Warsaw.

20 June 1566

Born on the same birth day (20 June): Alexander Winton • Claire Tomalin • Geoffrey Baker (British Army officer) • Pancho Segura • Paulo Bento • Robert Rodriguez • Thomas Jefferson (musician)

Born in the same month (June 1566): James VI and I