Leopold I, prince of Anhalt-Dessau

Leopold I, 1676–1747, prince of Anhalt-Dessau (1693–1747). He served as field marshal in the Prussian army and was nicknamed "the Old Dessauer." As chief military adviser to King Frederick William I of Prussia, he reorganized the Prussian infantry, making it the best in Europe. A stern disciplinarian, Leopold was an able commander. He also helped introduce administrative reform in Prussia. In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48) his victory at Kesseldorf (1745) helped bring about the Treaty of Dresden between Prussia and Austria.

Leopold I, king of the Belgians

Leopold I, 1790–1865, king of the Belgians (1831–65); youngest son of Francis Frederick, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After serving as a page at the court of Napoleon I and as a general of the Russian army, he married (1816) Princess Charlotte, daughter of the English prince regent (later King George IV) and heiress presumptive to the English throne. After her death (1817) Leopold remained in England. In 1830 he rejected the throne of Greece, but in 1831 he accepted election as king of newly formed Belgium. Though his primary concern was with maintaining the unity and independence of his kingdom, his reign was notable for such improvements as the introduction of ministerial responsibility, a reformed electoral law, and a national bank. He married (1832) a daughter of King Louis Philippe of France, and he brought about the marriage of his niece Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (ăl'ĭgzăndrē`nə)
..... Click the link for more information. of England to his nephew Prince Albert Albert, 1819–61, prince consort of Victoria of Great Britain, whom he married in 1840. He was of Wettin lineage, the son of Ernest I, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and first cousin to Victoria.
..... Click the link for more information. . He was succeeded by his son, Leopold II Leopold II, 1835–1909, king of the Belgians (1865–1909), son and successor of Leopold I . His reign saw great industrial and colonial expansion. In 1876 he organized, with the help of H. M.
..... Click the link for more information. . He was also the father of Carlotta Carlotta, Span. Carlota (kärlō`tä)
..... Click the link for more information. , empress of Mexico.

Leopold I, grand duke of Tuscany

Leopold I, grand duke of Tuscany: see Leopold II 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.
..... Click the link for more information. , Holy Roman emperor.

Leopold I, Holy Roman emperor

Leopold I, 1640–1705, Holy Roman emperor (1658–1705), king of Bohemia (1656–1705) and of Hungary (1655–1705), second son and successor of Ferdinand III. Upon his elder brother's death (1654), Leopold, who had been educated for the church, became Ferdinand's heir. During his reign the Holy Roman Empire was menaced by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in the east and by King Louis XIV of France in the west. The Turkish invasions of Hungary were temporarily checked by the imperial commander Montecucculi Montecucculi or Montecuccoli, Raimondo, conte di
..... Click the link for more information. , but by the Treaty of Vasvar (1664) the Turks kept their conquests and their suzerainty over Transylvania. In the west, Leopold joined the anti-French coalition in the third (1672–78) of the Dutch Wars Dutch Wars, series of conflicts between the English and Dutch during the mid to late 17th cent. The wars had their roots in the Anglo-Dutch commercial rivalry, although the last of the three wars was a wider conflict in which French interests played a primary role.
..... Click the link for more information. . A revolt in Hungary against Hapsburg rule reopened war with the Ottomans, who supported the rebel leader Thököly Thököly, Imre (ĭm`rĕ tö`kölyə), 1656–1705, Hungarian rebel, of a noble family of N Hungary.
..... Click the link for more information. . The Turks besieged Vienna (1683), which Leopold saved with the aid of King John III of Poland and the imperial general Charles V of Lorraine. Other victories followed. However, Leopold's attempts to stop French aggression divided his energies and postponed the successful conclusion of war with the Turks. In 1686 he formed a defensive alliance against France known as the League of Augsburg. In 1688, Louis XIV invaded the Palatinate and war broke out (see Grand Alliance, War of the Grand Alliance, War of the, 1688–97, war between France and a coalition of European powers, known as the League of Augsburg (and, after 1689, as the Grand Alliance).
..... Click the link for more information. ). The Treaty of Ryswick Ryswick, Treaty of, 1697, the pact that ended the War of the Grand Alliance . Its signers were France on one side and England, Spain, and the Netherlands on the other. It was a setback for Louis XIV , who kept Strasbourg but lost most other conquests made after 1679.
..... Click the link for more information. with Louis XIV temporarily halted French expansion. In the east the triumph of Eugene of Savoy Eugene of Savoy, 1663–1736, prince of the house of Savoy, general in the service of the Holy Roman Empire. Born in Paris, he was the son of Eugène, comte de Soissons of the line of Savoy-Carignano, and Olympe Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin .
..... Click the link for more information. over the Turks at Zenta (1697) led to the Treaty of Karlowitz Karlowitz, Treaty of (kär`lōvĭts), 1699, peace treaty signed at Sremski Karlovci (Ger. Karlowitz), N Serbia.
..... Click the link for more information. by which Leopold obtained nearly all of Hungary. War with France over the succession to the Spanish throne ensued in 1701 (see Spanish Succession, War of the Spanish Succession, War of the, 1701–14, last of the general European wars caused by the efforts of King Louis XIV to extend French power. The conflict in America corresponding to the period of the War of the Spanish Succession was known as Queen Anne's War
..... Click the link for more information. ). After Leopold's death the war continued under Joseph I, his son and successor. During Leopold's reign Vienna became a cultural center. His particular interest was music, and he was a fair composer.

Leopold I

orig. Léopold-Georges-Chrétien-Frédéric

(born Dec. 16, 1790, Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld—died Dec. 10, 1865, Laeken, Belg.) First king of the Belgians (1831–65). The son of Francis, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, he married Charlotte, daughter of the future English king George IV in 1816. After her death in 1817 Leopold continued to live in England until elected king of the newly formed Belgium. He helped strengthen the country's new parliamentary system and scrupulously maintained Belgian neutrality. Highly influential in European diplomacy, he used marriages to strengthen his ties. In 1832 he married the daughter of Louis-Philippe. In 1840 he helped arrange the marriage of his niece, Victoria, to his nephew, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1857 he arranged the marriage of his daughter to Maximilian, archduke of Austria.

Leopold I

(born June 9, 1640 Vienna, Austria—died May 5, 1705, Vienna) Holy Roman emperor (1658–1705). Son of Ferdinand III, Leopold was a devout Catholic destined for the church, but, when his elder brother died unexpectedly (1654), he became heir apparent to the Austrian Habsburg lands. He was crowned successively king of Hungary (1655) and of Bohemia (1656), and with his father's death Leopold became emperor in 1658. During his lengthy reign Austria emerged from a series of struggles to become a great European power. In 1683 the Turks besieged Vienna and were repulsed; war continued until the Turks were defeated and ceded control of Hungary in the Treaty of Carlowitz (1699). Leopold also entered into the War of the Grand Alliance, but the unfavourable peace treaty ceded Strasbourg to France. He was drawn into the War of the Spanish Succession, and he died before its end. His third marriage, to Eleonore of Palatinate-Neuburg, was a happy union that produced 10 children, including the future emperors Joseph I and Charles VI.

Leopold I

1. 1640--1705, Holy Roman Emperor (1658--1705). His reign was marked by wars with Louis XIV of France and with the Turks

2. 1790--1865, first king of the Belgians (1831--65)