AMALIA, Anna, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, was born at Wolfenbüttel on the 24th October 1739, and married Duke Ernest of Saxe-Weimar in 1756. Her husband died in 1758, leaving her regent for their infant son, Karl August. During the protracted minority she administered the affairs of the duchy with the greatest prudence, strengthening its resources and improving its position in spite of the troubles of the Seven Years’ War. She was a warm patroness of art and literature, and attracted to Weimar many of the most eminent men in Germany. Wieland was appointed tutor to her son; and the names of Herder, Goethe, Knebel, Böttiger, Musaeus, and Schiller shed an undying lustre on her court. In 1775 she retired into private life, her son having attained his majority. In 1788 she set out on a lengthened tour through Italy, being accompanied by Goethe. She died on the 10th April 1807. A memorial of the duchess is included in Goethe’s works under the title Zum Andenken der Fürstin Anna-Amalia.