I
born Jan. 2/12, 1751, Naples
died Jan. 4, 1825, Naples
King of the Two
He became king of Naples in 1759, as Ferdinand IV, when his father ascended the Spanish throne as Charles III . A weak ruler, he was greatly influenced by his wife, Maria Carolina of Austria (1752–1814). He engaged Naples in the Austro-English coalition against the French Revolution in 1793. The French then invaded Naples, and he fled to Sicily (1798–99, 1806–16). He returned to Naples in 1816 after the fall of Napoleon , as king of the united Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. His despotic rule led to an uprising in 1820, after which he was forced to grant a constitution. With Austria's aid, he overthrew the constitutional government in 1821.
II
born March 10, 1503, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
died July 25, 1564, Vienna, Hapsburg domain
Holy Roman emperor (1558–64).
The brother of Emperor Charles V , he was Charles's deputy in the Habsburg German lands (1522–58). In 1526 he took possession of Bohemia without difficulty, but he faced rival claimants in Hungary and fought periodically against the Ottoman Empire, finally agreeing in 1562 to pay tribute to the Ottoman sultan for Austria's share of Hungary. Ferdinand helped Charles defeat the Protestant Schmalkaldic League , and he later compromised on the Protestant issue and signed the Peace of {{link=Augsburg, Peace of">Augsburg (1555), ending the era of religious strife in Germany. Elected emperor after Charles's abdication, which separated the Habsburg domains into Spanish and Austrian parts, Ferdinand centralized the imperial administration.
Ferdinand I, engraving by Barthel Beham, 1531
Archiv fur Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin