Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Stanislaus I, 1677–1766, king of Poland (1704–1709, 1733–35) and duke of Lorraine (1735–66). He was born Stanislaus Leszczynski. Early in the Northern War (1700–1721), Charles XII of Sweden ...

(Encyclopedia) Angoulême, Charles de Valois, comte d'Auvergne, duc d' shärl də välwäˈ kôNt dōvĕrnˈyə dük däNgo͞olĕmˈ [key], 1573–1650, illegitimate son of King Charles IX of France. He turned again...

(Encyclopedia) Louis XVI, 1754–93, king of France (1774–92), third son of the dauphin (Louis) and Marie Josèphe of Saxony, grandson and successor of King Louis XV. In 1770 he married the Austrian archduchess Ma...

(Encyclopedia) Baltic Shield, the continental core of Europe, composed of Precambrian crystalline rock, the oldest of Europe. The tectonically stable region was not affected by the Caledonian, Hercynian, and Alpine ...

(Encyclopedia) Everdingen, Allart van älˈärt vän āˈfərdĭngən [key], 1621–75, Dutch painter and etcher. Although he worked primarily in Haarlem and Amsterdam, the scenery of Sweden and Norway forms the sub...

(Encyclopedia) Cleveland, Barbara Villiers, duchess of vĭlˈərz, vĭlˈyərz [key], 1641–1709, mistress of King Charles II of England. She became Charles's mistress at Breda in 1660 and returned with him to Engl...

(Encyclopedia) Rockingham, Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2d marquess of rŏkˈĭng-əm [key], 1730–82, British statesman. In the early years of the reign of George III he became a leading opponent of the “king's fri...

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand VI, b. 1712 or 1713, d. 1759, king of Spain (1746–59), son of Philip V by his first queen, Marie Louise of Savoy. When Ferdinand succeeded his father, his stepmother, Elizabeth Farnese, lo...

(Encyclopedia) Triple Alliance, in European history, any of several coalitions. 1 The Triple Alliance of 1668 was formed by the Netherlands, England, and Sweden against France after Louis XIV had invaded the Spanish...

(Encyclopedia) Gustavus V, 1858–1950, king of Sweden (1907–50), son and successor of Oscar II. During his reign Sweden evolved toward political equality and economic prosperity and avoided military involvement i...