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Leopold II, Holy Roman emperor, king of Bohemia and Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Leopold II, 1747–92, Holy Roman emperor (1790–92), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1790–92), as Leopold I grand duke of Tuscany (1765–90), third son of Maria Theresa. Succeeding his father, Holy ...

Persephone

(Encyclopedia)Persephone prōsûrˈpənē [key], in Greek and Roman religion and mythology, goddess of fertility and queen of the underworld. She was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. When she was still a beautiful...

Milo, Roman partisan leader

(Encyclopedia)Milo (Titus Annius Papianus Milo), 95 b.c.–47 b.c., Roman partisan leader. As tribune of the people (57 b.c.) he obtained the recall from exile of Cicero. At the insistence of Pompey, Milo hired a g...

Otto III, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Otto III, 980–1002, Holy Roman emperor (996–1002) and German king (983–1002), son of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and the Byzantine princess Theophano. On Otto's accession Henry the Wrangler, the ...

Louis IV, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Louis IV or Louis the Bavarian, 1287?–1347, Holy Roman emperor (1328–47) and German king (1314–47), duke of Upper Bavaria. After the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII the Luxemburg party amo...

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand III, 1608–57, Holy Roman emperor (1637–57), king of Hungary (1626–57) and of Bohemia (1627–57), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. After the dismissal and assassin...

Neptune, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Neptune, in astronomy, 8th planet from the sun at a mean distance of about 2.8 billion mi (4.5 billion km) with an orbit lying between those of Uranus and the dwarf planet Pluto; its period of revolut...

Maximilian I, 1459–1519, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Maximilian I, 1459–1519, Holy Roman emperor and German king (1493–1519), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. As emperor, he aspired to restore forceful imperial leadership and i...

Castor and Pollux

(Encyclopedia)Castor and Pollux pŏlˈəks [key], in classical mythology, twin heroes called the Dioscuri; Castor was the son of Leda and Tyndareus, Pollux the son of Leda and Zeus. They were brothers to Helen and ...

Barlaam and Josaphat

(Encyclopedia)Barlaam and Josaphat bärˈläəm, jōˈsəfăt [key], legend popular in medieval times. It corresponds in part to the legend of Buddha. Versions of the story have been found in nearly every language....