a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. He is known for his career in Habsburg Spain, as Viceroy of Catalonia (1698–1701), head of the Austrian army in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1705) and governor of Gibraltar in 1704. He was killed during the Siege of Barcelona the following year. Born in Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany in 1669, George Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt was the third son of Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. After the early death of his father, he was raised by his mother Elisabeth Dorothea of Sachsen-Gotha. In 1686 he undertook a "Grand Tour" through France and Switzerland. As youngest son, he had little chance of becoming Landgrave, and therefore he was destined for a military career.
