Definitions
XVI

Louis XVI

Louis XVI, oil on canvas by Antoine-François Callet, 1786; in the Musée Carnavalet, elipsis

(born Aug. 23, 1754, Versailles, France—died Jan. 21, 1793, Paris) Last king of France (1774–92) in the Bourbon line preceding the French Revolution. In 1770 he married Marie-Antoinette, and in 1774 he succeeded to the throne on the death of his grandfather, Louis XV. Lacking in power and strength of character, he was unable to give the necessary support to his ministers, including Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot and Jacques Necker, in their efforts to stabilize France's tottering finances. In 1774 he boosted the aristocracy by restoring the powers of the parlements. Aristocratic opposition to the radical economic reforms of Charles-Alexandre de Calonne forced the king to summon the Estates-General in 1788, setting the Revolution in motion. Influenced by the reactionary court faction, he defended the privileges of the clergy and nobility. He dismissed Necker in 1789 and refused to sanction the achievements of the National Assembly. His resistance to popular demands was one cause for the royal family's forcible transfer from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. He lost credibility further when he attempted to escape the capital in 1791 and was caught at Varennes and returned to Paris. Thereafter he was dominated by the queen, who encouraged him to a policy of subterfuge instead of implementing the constitution of 1791, which he had sworn to maintain. In 1792 the Tuileries was captured by the people and militia, and the First French Republic was proclaimed. When proof of his counterrevolutionary intrigues with foreigners was found, he was tried for treason. Condemned to death, he went to the guillotine in 1793. His dignity during his trial and execution only somewhat redeemed his reputation.

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Swedish Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus

(born April 30, 1946, Stockholm, Swed.) King of Sweden from 1973. Grandson of King Gustav VI Adolf (1882–1973), he became crown prince in 1950, his father having died in 1947. After studying at military schools, he became a naval officer. His accession occurred at a time when the role of the Swedish monarchy was being radically altered; the new constitutional laws of 1973 left the king with a solely symbolic function rather than a formal role in the country's administration.

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orig. Joseph Alois Ratzinger

Benedict XVI, 2005.

(born April 16, 1927, Marktl am Inn, Ger.) Pope from 2005. He was ordained in 1951 and received a doctorate in theology at the University of Munich in 1953. Thereafter he pursued a career as a theologian and teacher at various universities. During the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) he served as an expert adviser and an advocate of reform. In 1977 he was appointed archbishop of Munich; three months later he was made a cardinal. As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981 to 2005, he enforced doctrinal uniformity in the church and served as a close adviser of Pope John Paul II. He was faced with numerous challenges when he became pope, including a decline in church attendance and in the number of new priests, deep divisions over the direction of the church, and the lingering effects of a sexual-abuse scandal involving priests in various parts of the world.

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Stanisław Lubomirski
Noble Family Lubomirski
Coat of Arms Lubomirski
Parents Feliks Lubomirski
Beata
Consorts Laura de Effremis
Barbara Hruszowska
Children with Barbara Hruszowska
Sebastian Lubomirski
Katarzyna Lubomirska
Anna Lubomirska
Date of Birth 16th century
Place of Birth ?
Date of Death 1585
Place of Death ?
Stanisław Lubomirski (?-1585) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic) and owner of the Sławkowice and Zabłocie estates.

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