Ferdinand

Ferdinand, Prussian field marshal

Ferdinand, 1721–92, Prussian field marshal, a prince of the house of Brunswick, known as Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick. He served King Frederick II of Prussia brilliantly in the Seven Years War, notably by his victories at Krefeld (1758) and Minden (1759).

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Ferdinand, king of Romania

Ferdinand, 1865–1927, king of Romania (1914–27), nephew of Carol I. The second son of the Prussian prince, Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, he was designated successor to the heirless Carol I in 1880. In 1893 he married Marie, daughter of Alfred, duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (and granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Czar Alexander II.) Although related to the German imperial family, Ferdinand took Romania (1916) into World War I on the Allied side, and in 1922 he was crowned king of the enlarged Romania established by the peace treaties. Ferdinand annexed (1918) Bessarabia from Russia and in 1919 ordered the Romanian military intervention in Hungary that broke up the Communist government of Béla Kun. During his reign, universal male suffrage and agrarian reforms were introduced. Ferdinand's son, Carol (see Carol II), renounced his succession in 1925, and Carol's son Michael succeeded in 1927.

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Ferdinand, emperor of Austria

Ferdinand, 1793–1875, emperor of Austria (1835–48), son and successor of Emperor Francis I (who also, as Francis II, had been the last Holy Roman emperor). A well-meaning monarch in his lucid moments, he was subject to fits of insanity. A council of state that included Metternich governed in his name. After revolution broke out in Vienna in 1848 the emperor promulgated (April) a constitution, but it failed to satisfy the revolutionists. He fled from Vienna in May and—after the recapture of Vienna by Windischgrätz—was persuaded by Felix zu Schwarzenberg to abdicate (Dec. 2, 1848) in favor of his nephew, Francis Joseph.

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Ferdinand, czar of Bulgaria

Ferdinand, 1861–1948, czar of Bulgaria (1908–18), after being ruling prince (1887–1908). A grandnephew of Ernest I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, he was chosen prince of Bulgaria after the enforced abdication of Prince Alexander. He was, however, opposed by Russia, and it was not until 1896 that he was recognized by the European powers. In 1908, taking advantage of the Young Turk revolution in Constantinople and the annexation of nominally Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria, Ferdinand proclaimed the full independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire and proclaimed himself czar. Having then gained Russia's favor, Ferdinand concluded (1912) an alliance with Serbia, later joined by Greece and Montenegro. The four allies, attacking the Ottomans, were victorious in the first of the Balkan Wars (1912–13), but in the second Balkan War (1913) Bulgaria suffered a humiliating defeat by Serbia, Greece, Romania, and the Ottomans. In the hope of recovering most of Macedonia, lost to Serbia and Greece by the Treaty of Bucharest (1913), Ferdinand in 1915 joined the Central Powers in World War I. In 1917 the tide of war turned against Bulgaria, and in 1918, Ferdinand was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Boris III. Ferdinand left Bulgaria to spend most of the rest of his life at Coburg, Germany.

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Ferdinand

(born April 19, 1793, Vienna, Austria—died June 29, 1875, Prague, Bohemia) Emperor of Austria (1835–48). He was the eldest son of Emperor Francis II, who sought to protect the principle of succession and insisted that Ferdinand be the heir, despite Ferdinand's feeblemindedness and epilepsy. Ferdinand was crowned king of Hungary in 1830 and became emperor of Austria in 1835. Government affairs were controlled by a body of counselors, led by the chancellor, Klemens, prince von Metternich. He was the last Habsburg king of Bohemia (1836), and in 1838 he was crowned king of Lombardy and Venetia. In the revolution of 1848 hostility was directed against his counselors, and Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his nephew, Francis Joseph.

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Ferdinand (Karl Leopold Maria)

(born Feb. 26, 1861, Vienna, Austria—died Sept. 10, 1948, Coburg, Ger.) King of Bulgaria (1908–18). Elected prince of Bulgaria in 1887, he proclaimed Bulgaria's independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908 and assumed the title of king or tsar. He spearheaded the formation of the Balkan League (1912), which led to the first Balkan War. Bulgaria was defeated in the second Balkan War (1913), and Ferdinand's resentments against his former allies determined Bulgaria's participation in World War I on the side of the Central Powers. Following his country's military defeat in 1918, he was forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Boris III.

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Ferdinand

daydreaming bull who refuses to fight in ring. [Children’s Lit.: The Story of Ferdinand]

See : Bull

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Ferdinand

rogue drifter views all his experiences with profound cynicism. [Fr. Lit.: Journey to the End of the Night in Magill I, 453]

See : Cynicism