born June 27, 1462, Blois, France
died Jan. 1, 1515, Paris
King of France (1498–1515).
He became king on the death of his cousin Charles VIII . He annulled his marriage to marry Charles's widow, Anne of Brittany , and to reinforce the union of her duchy with France. He continued France's part in the Italian Wars , often with disastrous results. He conquered Milan in 1499, then lost it, but was later recognized as duke of Milan by Emperor Maximilian I . He concluded a treaty with Ferdinand V that partitioned Naples (1500), but the two kings went to war and Louis lost all of Naples (1504). In 1508 he consolidated the League of Cambrai , but when the league fell apart in 1510 its members joined England in a Holy League against France, invading it several times. Despite his failures, Louis was highly popular with the French, who called him the "Father of the People."