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Louis IX, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis IX or Saint Louis, 1214–70, king of France (1226–70), son and successor of Louis VIII. His mother, Blanche of Castile, was regent during his minority (1226–34), and her regency probably la...

Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of, 1593–1641, English statesman. Regularly elected to Parliament from 1614 on, he became one of the critics of George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham, and of ...

Frederick William II

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William II, 1744–97, king of Prussia (1786–97), nephew and successor of Frederick II (Frederick the Great). He had the power but lacked the ability of his distinguished predecessors. He ...

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

(Encyclopedia)Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), international organization that came into being in 1961. It superseded the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, which had been ...

Ferdinand I, king of Naples

(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 ...

Gaveston, Piers

(Encyclopedia)Gaveston, Piers pērz găvˈəstən [key], d. 1312, favorite of Edward II of England. Son of a Gascon knight at the court of Edward I, he was a boyhood playmate of the future Edward II and acquired gr...

Charles III, king of Spain, and of Naples and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Charles III, 1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the duc...

Ferdinand II, king of the Two Sicilies

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand II, 1810–59, king of the Two Sicilies (1830–59), son and successor of Francis I. Although initially he sought to improve the wretched conditions of his kingdom, he soon relapsed into the...

John III, king of Poland

(Encyclopedia)John III (John Sobieski) sôbyĕˈskē [key], 1624–96, king of Poland (1674–96), champion of Christian Europe against the Ottomans. Born to an ancient noble family, he was appointed (1668) command...

James II, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona

(Encyclopedia)James II, c.1260–1327, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1291–1327), king of Sicily (1285–95). He succeeded his father, Peter III, in Sicily and his brother, Alfonso III, in Aragón. James...
 

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