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William II, prince of Orange

(Encyclopedia)William II, 1626–50, prince of Orange, stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (1647–50), son and successor of Frederick Henry. He married (1641) Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I ...

Cleves, duchy of

(Encyclopedia)Cleves, duchy of, former state, W Germany, on both sides of the lower Rhine, bordering on the Netherlands. Cleves was the capital. A county from late Carolingian times, it acquired (late 14th cent.) t...

Catherine of Braganza

(Encyclopedia)Catherine of Braganza brəgănˈzə [key], 1638–1705, queen consort of Charles II of England, daughter of John IV of Portugal. She was married to Charles in 1662. As part of her dowry England secure...

Francis I, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Francis I, 1494–1547, king of France (1515–47), known as Francis of Angoulême before he succeeded his cousin and father-in-law, King Louis XII. The king also had some notable political achievem...

Constantine, Donation of

(Encyclopedia)Constantine, Donation of, Lat. Constitutum Constantini, forged document, probably drafted in the 8th cent. It purported to be a grant by Roman Emperor Constantine I of great temporal power in Italy an...

Lapointe, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Lapointe, Ernest läpwăNtˈ [key], 1876–1941, Canadian political leader, b. Quebec prov. A lawyer, he was from 1904 to 1941 a Liberal member of the Canadian House of Commons. After the death of Wil...

Henrietta of England

(Encyclopedia)Henrietta of England (Henrietta Anne), 1644–70, duchesse d'Orléans, called Madame; sister-in-law of King Louis XIV of France. The daughter of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria of England, sh...

Simons, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Simons, Walter välˈtər zēˈmôns [key], 1861–1937, German jurist and statesman. He served (1919) as commissioner general to the German delegation at Versailles, but resigned in opposition to the...

Devolution, War of

(Encyclopedia)Devolution, War of, 1667–68, undertaken by Louis XIV for the conquest of the Spanish Netherlands. On her marriage to Louis, Marie Thérèse, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, had renounced her rights ...

George II, king of Greece

(Encyclopedia)George II, 1890–1947, king of the Hellenes (1922–23, 1935–47), successor and eldest son of King Constantine I. When Constantine I was forced by the Allies to abdicate in 1917, George, also suspe...