Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand I or Ferrante fār-ränˈtā [key], 1423–94, king of Naples (1458–94), illegitimate son and successor (in Naples) of Alfonso V of Aragón. His succession was challenged by Pope Calixtus ...

(Encyclopedia) James II, 1633–1701, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1685–88); second son of Charles I, brother and successor of Charles II. James made an effort to restore himself by landing in Irel...

(Encyclopedia) Napoleon II, 1811–32, son of Napoleon I and Marie Louise, known as the king of Rome (1811–14), as the prince of Parma (1814–18), and after that as the duke of Reichstadt. Napoleon's abdication i...

(Encyclopedia) Leopold II, 1835–1909, king of the Belgians (1865–1909), son and successor of Leopold I. His reign saw great industrial and colonial expansion. In 1876 he organized, with the help of H. M. Stanley...

(Encyclopedia) Baliol, John de, 1249–1315, king of Scotland (1292–96), son of John de Baliol (d. 1269). He became head of the family after the death of his elder brothers in 1278. At the death of Margaret Maid o...

(Encyclopedia) Edinburgh, Prince Philip Mountbatten, duke of ĕdˈĭnbərə [key], 1921–2021, consort ...

(Encyclopedia) Bedford, John of Lancaster, duke of, 1389–1435, English nobleman; third son of Henry IV of England and brother of Henry V. At the death (1422) of his brother and succession of his 9-month-old nephew...

(Encyclopedia) Pérez, Antonio äntôˈnyō pāˈrĕth [key], b. 1534 or 1539, d. 1611, Spanish politician. Ambitious and unscrupulous, he became secretary to King Philip II and was, with the princesa de Éboli, a c...

(Encyclopedia) Frederick II or Frederick the Great, 1712–86, king of Prussia (1740–86), son and successor of Frederick William I. Frederick was tolerant in religious matters, personally professing atheism to h...

(Encyclopedia) Victor Amadeus II ămədēˈəs [key], 1666–1732, duke of Savoy (1675–1713), king of Sicily (1713–20), king of Sardinia (1720–30). Succeeding his father, Charles Emmanuel II, as duke of Savoy,...