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Charles IX, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Charles IX, 1550–74, king of France. He succeeded (1560) his brother Francis II under the regency of his mother, Catherine de' Medici. She retained her influence throughout his reign. After 1570, ho...

King, Charles Bird

(Encyclopedia)King, Charles Bird, 1785–1862, American portrait painter, b. Newport, R.I. He studied under Edward Savage and with Benjamin West in London. His work, executed in Washington, D.C., included Native Am...

New Sweden

(Encyclopedia)New Sweden, Swedish colony (1638–55), on the Delaware River; included parts of what are now Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. With the support of Swedish statesman Axel Oxenstierna, Admiral Kl...

Bridget of Sweden, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Bridget of Sweden, Saint, c.1300–1373, Swedish nun, one of the great saints of Scandinavia. She was a noblewoman at court and the mother of eight children. After her husband's death she founded (134...

Innocent XII

(Encyclopedia)Innocent XII, 1615–1700, pope (1691–1700), a Neapolitan named Antonio Pignatelli; successor of Alexander VIII. He was frequently employed by his predecessors as a nuncio, and Innocent XI created h...

Pius XII

(Encyclopedia)Pius XII, 1876–1958, pope (1939–58), an Italian named Eugenio Pacelli, b. Rome; successor of Pius XI. Ordained a priest in 1899, he entered the Vatican's secretariat of state. He became (1912) und...

Gregory XII

(Encyclopedia)Gregory XII, c.1327–1417, pope (1406–15), a Venetian named Angelo Correr; successor of Innocent VII. As a condition of election, Gregory promised to do everything possible to end the Great Schism,...

Frederick III, king of Denmark and Norway

(Encyclopedia)Frederick III, 1609–70, king of Denmark and Norway (1648–70), son and successor of Christian IV. He at first made great concessions to the powerful nobles but later asserted his own power. In 1657...

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