Leopold II

American  

noun

1. 1747–92, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 1790–92 (son of Francis I; brother of Joseph II and Marie Antoinette).

2. 1835–1909, king of Belgium 1865–1909 (son of Leopold I of Belgium).

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Leopold II British  

noun

1. 1747–92, Holy Roman Emperor (1790–92). He formed an alliance with Prussia against France (1792) after the downfall of his brother-in-law Louis XVI

2. 1835–1909, king of the Belgians (1865–1909); son of Leopold I. He financed Stanley's explorations in Africa, becoming first sovereign of the Congo Free State (1885)

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Example Sentences

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Leopold II

By the accession of Leopold II in 1790, an empire based on a “feudal hierarchy of status” found itself in the age of Romantic nationalism, democracy and “enlightened ridicule.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

However, Belgium’s second king, the constitutional monarch Leopold II, dreamed of establishing an empire in the Congo Basin of Central Africa and was not to be dissuaded.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

‘Kaneza Schaal: KLII’ The theater artist interrogates issues of racism and colonialism through the historic personage of Belgium’s rapacious 19th century monarch King Leopold II in this solo drama.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2022

In Belgium, the international protests against racism that followed the death of George Floyd in the United States gave a new momentum to activists fighting to have monuments to King Leopold II removed.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2022

Francis I, the son and successor of Leopold II, caused himself to be crowned in due form, and much was at first hoped from his reign.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 14 by Various