King of France Henry IV

Born in Pau on December 13, 1553, Henry IV began life as Henry of Navarre. He inherited the crown of Navarre in 1572 and, after years of conflict and dynastic struggle, became king of France in 1589—the first Bourbon ruler of the French throne.

His reign is closely tied to the effort to end the French Wars of Religion. Raised Protestant in a fiercely divided age, he eventually converted to Catholicism as he fought to secure the kingdom. In 1598 he issued the Edict of Nantes, a major step toward giving French Protestants limited rights and easing decades of bloodshed.

Henry IV also gained a lasting reputation as a practical, energetic ruler who worked to restore order and strengthen France after years of war. He was assassinated in Paris on May 14, 1610, but later generations often remembered him as a king of unusual warmth, courage, and common sense.