FERDINAND

born Jan. 12, 1721, Wolfenbttel, Brunswick-Lneburg-Wolfenbttel died July 3, 1792, Vechelde, Brunswick duke of Brunswick-Lneburg and Prussian general field marshal who defended western Germany for his brother-in-law Frederick II the Great in the Seven Years' War (175663), protecting the Prussian flank from French attack, while Frederick fought the Austrians. Entering the Prussian army in 1740, Ferdinand participated in the victorious engagements of Mollwitz (1741), Chotusitz (1742), and Sohr (1745) during the Silesian Wars against Austria. In the Seven Years' War, he campaigned with Frederick in Saxony and Bohemia until given an independent command as head of the allied (Prussian and English) armies in western Germany (1757). There, though nearly always outnumbered, he defeated the French at Krefeld (1758) and Minden (1759). Ferdinand became estranged from Frederick in 1766 and retired from the Prussian service, accepting a field marshal's rank in the Austrian army that same year but never actively serving the Habsburgs. At the outbreak of war between England and its North American colonies, Ferdinand was offered the post of commander in chief by the English, but he declined the appointment. After his retirement, relations with Frederick improved once again, and Ferdinand visited the Prussian king several times between 1772 and 1782. born Feb. 26, 1861, Vienna, Austria died Sept. 10, 1948, Coburg, Ger. in full Ferdinand Karl Leopold Maria prince (18871908) and first king (190818) of modern Bulgaria. The youngest son of Prince Augustus (August) I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Ferdinand was elected prince of Bulgaria on July 7, 1887, as successor to the first ruler of that autonomous principality, Alexander I, who had abdicated the preceding year. Though dominated by his prime minister, Stefan Nikolov Stambolov, during the early years of his reign, he became the unquestioned master of national affairs after his minister's humiliating fall from power (1894). Ferdinand's dynastic position, which long suffered from lack of recognition by the Great Powers, was strengthened by his marriage to the Bourbon princess Maria Louisa of Parma (April 1893) and later by his infant son Boris' reception into the Greek Orthodox church (February 1896). The assurance of a Greek Orthodox successor to the Bulgarian throne prompted Russia to seek a diplomatic rapprochement, and in March 1896 Ferdinand finally received international confirmation of his rule. Through the following years Ferdinand maintained a tight hold on Bulgarian domestic politics by the operation of a spoils system. On Oct. 5, 1908, he used the occasion of the eve of the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia-Hercegovina to proclaim the full independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire and assumed the title of king, or tsar. Possessed of imperialistic ambition, he spearheaded the formation of the Balkan League (1912), consisting of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro (associated informally), that pursued the partitioning of European Turkey (First Balkan War, October 1912May 1913). Ferdinand's territorial ambitions were thwarted when the victorious allies could not agree on the disposition of captured Turkish territory, causing Serbia and Greece to form an alliance against Bulgaria. Joined by the Turks and Romanians, they defeated the Bulgarians (Second Balkan War, JuneJuly 1913) and turned Ferdinand against his Balkan neighbours. His resentments largely determined Bulgaria's participation (191518) in World War I on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Following Bulgaria's military defeat in 1918, he was obliged to abdicate in favour of his son Boris III (Oct. 4, 1918). Thereafter he lived in Coburg. son of Alonso, the king of Naples in Shakespeare's The Tempest. At first an unlikely suitor for the innocent Miranda, Ferdinand's determination to prove himself worthy of her is inspiring. Though she is easily won, his dogged devotion serves to uncover his courageous, kind, and passionate nature. Because of his willingness to serve Prospero, Ferdinand becomes an interesting contrast to Ariel and Caliban. king of Navarre in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost. Ferdinand's vow to pursue three years of serious study, abstaining from the company of women, provides the central theme of the play. His foolish and vain denial of love is quickly undermined by the arrival of the Princess of France, whom he immediately admires. The ridiculous vow of Ferdinand and his lords and their subsequent silly attempts at courting are contrasted with the more balanced and mature behaviour of the princess and her attending ladies.