Władysław IV of Poland

Władysław IV Vasa
Władysław IV, by Rubens
King of Poland Grand Duke of Lithuania
Reign	8 November 1632 – 20 May 1648
Coronation	6 February 1633
Predecessor	Sigismund III Vasa
Successor	John II Casimir Vasa
Tsar of All Russia
Reign	19 July 1610 – 21 February 1613
Predecessor	Vasili IV
Successor	Michael I
Born	9 June 1595 Łobzów, near Kraków, Poland
Died	20 May 1648(1648-05-20) (aged 52) Merkinė, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Burial	Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland
Spouse	Cecilia Renata of Austria Marie Louise Gonzaga
Issue more...	Sigismund Casimir Maria Anna Isabella Władysław Konstanty (Illegitimate)
House	Vasa
Father	Sigismund III Vasa
Mother	Anne of Austria
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

Władysław IV Vasa (Polish: Władysław IV Waza; Russian: Владислав IV Ваза, tr. Vladislav IV Vaza; Latin: Vladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV Vasa; Lithuanian: Vladislovas Vaza; 9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was a Polish prince from the Royal House of Vasa. He reigned as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 8 November 1632 to his death in 1648.

Władysław IV was the son of Sigismund III Vasa (Polish: Zygmunt III Waza) and his wife, Anna of Austria (also known as Anna of Habsburg). In 1610 the teen-aged Władysław was elected Tsar of Russia by the Seven Boyars, but did not assume the Russian throne due to his father's opposition and a popular uprising in Russia. Nevertheless, until 1634 he used the title of Grand Duke of Muscovy.

Elected king of Poland in 1632, Władysław was fairly successful in defending the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against invasion, most notably in the Smolensk War of 1632–34, in which he participated personally. He supported religious tolerance and carried out military reforms, such as the founding of the Commonwealth Navy. He was also a renowned patron of the arts and music. He failed, however, to realize his dreams of regaining the Swedish crown, gaining fame by conquering the Ottoman Empire, strengthening royal power, and reforming the Commonwealth.