Ivan VI Antonovich, also known as Ioann Antonovich, was Emperor of Russia from October 1740 until he was overthrown by his cousin Elizabeth Petrovna in December 1741. He was only two months old when he was proclaimed emperor and his mother, Anna Leopoldovna, named regent, but the throne was seized in a coup after little more than a year. Ivan and his parents were imprisoned far from the capital, and spent the rest of their lives in captivity.
After more than twenty years as a prisoner, Ivan was killed by his guards when some army officers (unknown to Ivan) attempted to free him. His surviving siblings, who had been born in prison, were then released into the custody of their aunt, the Danish queen dowager Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.