Magnus II Eriksson

(born 1316, Norway—died Dec. 1, 1374, Sweden) King of Sweden (1319–63, as Magnus II) and Norway (1319–55, as Magnus VII). Grandson of Norway's Haakon V and nephew of the Swedish king, Magnus became ruler of both countries. Since he spent almost all his time in Sweden, Norwegian nobles arranged for his son Haakon's succession, and Magnus abdicated in 1355. He antagonized many Swedish nobles, raising taxes and curbing the economic power of the church and nobility. In 1356 he was forced to cede half his Swedish kingdom to his son Erik, and he began making concessions to the nobility. When he renewed his efforts to control the Swedish nobles, they deposed him.

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Eriksson is a common Swedish patronymic surname meaning "son of Erik", itself an Old Norse given name. There are other spelling variations of this surname such as Erikson, Ericson, Ericsson and Erixon. Erikson is uncommon as a given name.

Notable people with the surname include:

• Kenneth Eriksson (born 1956), Swedish rally driver
• Leif Eriksson (Leifr Eiríksson) (c. 970 – c. 1020), Icelandic-born Norse explorer, son of Erik the Red
• Lena Eriksson (born 1972), Swedish breaststroke swimmer
• Sven-Göran Eriksson (born 1948), Swedish football manager
• Erik Homburger Erikson (born 1902), developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst

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