Cesare Borgia Resigns Cardinalate

Date: August 17, 1498 • Location: Rome, Italy

Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, becomes the first person in history to resign the cardinalate; later that same day, King Louis XII of France names him Duke of Valentinois.

Cesare Borgia was a Spanish-Italian cardinal deacon and condottiero from the House of Borgia. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and sibling to Lucrezia Borgia.