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Breitenfeld

(Encyclopedia)Breitenfeld brīˈtənfĕltˌ [key], village, Saxony, S central E Germany. It gave its name to two battles of the Thirty Years War. Gustavus Adolphus (Gustavus II) of Sweden there defeated the imperia...

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...

Louis XVIII, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XVIII, 1755–1824, king of France (1814–24), brother of King Louis XVI. Known as the comte de Provence, he fled (1791) to Koblenz from the French Revolution and intrigued to bring about forei...

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...

Talleyrand, Charles Maurice de

(Encyclopedia)Talleyrand or Talleyrand-Périgord, Charles Maurice de tălˈērăndˌ, Fr. shärl mōrēsˈ də tälāräNˈ-pārēgôrˈ [key], 1754–1838, French statesman and diplomat. Born into the high nobilit...

Christian II

(Encyclopedia)Christian II, 1481–1559, king of Denmark and Norway (1513–23) and Sweden (1520–23), son and successor of King John. After several unsuccessful attempts, he asserted claim to Sweden by force. How...

Kalmar Union

(Encyclopedia)Kalmar Union, combination of the three crowns of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, effected at Kalmar, Sweden, by Queen Margaret I in 1397. Because the kingship was elective in all three countries, the uni...

Laughton, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Laughton, Charles, 1899–1962, Anglo-American actor, b. Scarborough, England. A large, versatile character actor, Laughton was successful both in films and on the stage. In The Private Life of Henry ...

Lawrence, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, Charles, 1709–60, governor of Nova Scotia, b. England. A soldier, he accompanied his regiment to Nova Scotia in 1747 and later became lieutenant governor (1754–56) and governor (1756–6...

Kemble, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Kemble, Charles: see under Kemble, Roger. ...