Catherine I (April 15, 1684 - May 17, 1727), the second wife of Peter the Great, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death. She also functioned as co-ruler with her husband from 1724 until his death early in the next year. There are no documents that confirm the descent of Catherine. The commonly accepted version is that Catherine was born in Jakobstadt. (Jēkabpils), in present-day Latvia. Originally named Marta Skavronska, she was the daughter of Samuel Skavronski, a Lithuanian peasant. She was adopted by Ernst Glьck, the Lutheran pastor and educator who first translated the Bible into Latvian, in Marienburg. At the age of seventeen, she married a Swedish dragoon. Russian forces captured Marienburg and forced Marta to work in the laundry of the victorious regiment.