born Nov. 13, 1504, Marburg, Hesse
died March 31, 1567, Kassel, Ger.
German nobleman, landgrave of Hesse, and champion of the Reformation .
His skillful management made Hesse a sovereign state. Won to the cause of Martin Luther , Philip became a Reformation leader in Germany. In 1529 he founded the first Protestant university at Marburg (1529), and in 1531 he united several princes and towns to form the Schmalkaldic League . However, his folly in contracting a bigamous second marriage damaged his reputation. After the emperor crushed the league, Philip was imprisoned (154752). Long imprisonment undermined his influence and his health, though he finally saw Lutheranism gain a position of legal equality with Catholicism in the Peace of Augsburg (1555). In the year of his death, he divided Hesse among his four sons.