High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, formerly Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (German: Ernst Anton Karl Ludwig Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) (Coburg, 2 January 1784 – Gotha, 29 January 1844) was the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and from 1826, the first sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.