Johann von Sporck

Johann von Sporck (1595 – 6 August 1679) was a German nobleman and General of the cavalry. Sporck was born in 1595 and he began his military career at the start of the Thirty Years' War as a private. His personal bravery and mastery of cavalry tactics led to his steady advancement through the ranks as well as his ennoblement. He later fought in the Second Northern War, the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64) and the Franco-Dutch War. He retired in 1676, having received the rank of General of the cavalry and accumulating great riches. He died three years later. His son Franz Anton von Sporck became a publisher and a patron of arts.