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Frederick William IV

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William IV, 1795–1861, king of Prussia (1840–61), son and successor of Frederick William III. A romanticist and a mystic, he conceived vague schemes of reform based on a revival of the m...

John of Brienne

(Encyclopedia)John of Brienne brēĕnˈ [key], c.1170–1237, French crusader. He was a count and in 1210 married Mary, titular queen of Jerusalem. Mary died in 1212, and their daughter, Yolande (1212–28), succee...

Sophia Alekseyevna

(Encyclopedia)Sophia Alekseyevna sôˈfyə əlyĭksyāˈyəvnə [key], 1657–1704, regent of Russia (1682–89); daughter of Czar Alexis by his first wife and sister of Czar Feodor III. Supported by the streltsi (...

Yüan Shih-kai

(Encyclopedia)Yüan Shih-kai yüänˈ shēˈ-kīˈ [key], 1859–1916, president of China (1912–16). From 1885 to 1894 he was the Chinese resident in Korea, then under Chinese suzerainty. He supported the dowager...

Magnus VII

(Encyclopedia)Magnus VII (Magnus Ericsson), b.1316, d.1373 or 1374, king of Norway (1319–43) and Sweden (1319–63). He succeeded his grandfather, Haakon V, in Norway; at the same time he was elected king by the ...

Maria II

(Encyclopedia)Maria II (Maria da Glória), 1819–53, queen of Portugal (1834–53), daughter of Peter IV (Pedro I of Brazil). Pedro, having succeeded to the Portuguese throne on the death (1826) of his father, Joh...

Sebastian

(Encyclopedia)Sebastian, 1554–78, king of Portugal (1557–78), grandson and successor of John III. He was under the regency first of his grandmother (until 1562) and then of his uncle Henry (a cardinal and later...

Beaton, David

(Encyclopedia)Beaton or Bethune, David both: bēˈtən [key], 1494–1546, Scottish churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was made cardinal in 1538 and succeeded his uncle, James Beaton, as archbisho...

Christian IV

(Encyclopedia)Christian IV, 1577–1648, king of Denmark and Norway (1588–1648), son and successor of Frederick II. After assuming (1596) personal rule from a regency, he concentrated on building the navy, indust...

Hunyadi, John

(Encyclopedia)Hunyadi, John ho͝onˈyŏdĭ [key], Hung. Hunyadi János, c.1385–1456, Hungarian national hero, leader of the resistance against the Ottomans. He was chosen (1441) voivode [governor] of Transylvania...