Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen

He was the second (but eldest surviving) son of Waldemar VI, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, by his wife Margarete, daughter of Günther XX, Count of Schwarzburg and Lord of Arnstedt.

In 1500, at just eight years of age, Wolfgang was admitted to the University of Leipzig, and in 1508, at sixteen, his father died.

With Luther's help, Wolfgang introduced the Reformation in Anhalt-Köthen (1525) and Anhalt-Bernburg (1526), which made them the second and third countries in the world (after the Electorate of Saxony) to adopt Protestantism officially.

In 1526 Wolfgang joined in a defensive alliance with other Evangelical states against the Emperor Charles V; this was a direct prelude to the later formation of the Schmalkaldic League.

Wolfgang was also one of the six princes who, on 19 April 1529, as representatives of the Protestant minority in the Imperial Diet, drew up the Protestation at Speyer and petitioned the Diet to remove the Imperial Ban (German: Reichsacht) against Luther, as well as the proscription of his works and teachings, and called for the unhindered spread of Evangelical belief.