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Henry VIII, king of England

(Encyclopedia)Henry VIII, 1491–1547, king of England (1509–47), second son and successor of Henry VII. Henry was a supreme egotist. He advanced personal desires under the guise of public policy or moral rig...

Bol, Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Bol, Ferdinand fĕrˈdĭnänt bôl [key], 1616–80, Dutch painter. He studied with Rembrandt in Amsterdam, and his early work (e.g., Elizabeth Bas, Amsterdam) has sometimes been confused with that of...

Cohn, Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Cohn, Ferdinand fĕrˈdĕnänt kōn [key], 1828–98, German botanist. He is considered a founder of the science of bacteriology. From his early studies of microscopic life he developed theories of th...

Freiligrath, Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Freiligrath, Ferdinand fĕrˈdēnänt frīˈlĭkhrät [key], 1810–76, German poet. In 1844 he expressed radically liberal sentiments in his collection of political verse Ein Glaubensbekenntnis [a co...

John II, king of Hungary and prince of Transylvania

(Encyclopedia)John II (John Sigismund Zapolya), 1540–71, king of Hungary and prince of Transylvania, son of John I. Through his mother, Isabel (daughter of Sigismund I of Poland), he was related to the Jagiello d...

Leo VI, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Leo VI (Leo the Wise or Leo the Philosopher), 862?–912, Byzantine emperor (886–912), son and successor of Basil I. He added to the work of his father by the publication (887–93) of the Basilica,...

Alexander III, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Alexander III, 1241–86, king of Scotland (1249–86), son and successor of Alexander II. He married a daughter of Henry III of England and quarreled with Henry, and later Henry's son Edward I, over ...

Martin, 1356–1410, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona

(Encyclopedia)Martin, 1356–1410, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (c.1395–1410) and, as Martin II, king of Sicily (1409–10). He succeeded his brother, John I, in Aragón and became king of Sicily on the...

Francis I, king of the Two Sicilies

(Encyclopedia)Francis I, 1777–1830, king of the Two Sicilies (1825–30), son and successor of Ferdinand I. He continued the ruthless and reactionary policy of his father, and his court was notorious for waste an...

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand II, 1578–1637, Holy Roman emperor (1619–37), king of Bohemia (1617–37) and of Hungary (1618–37); successor of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias. Grandson of Ferdinand I, son of Archduke Ch...