Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909), king of the Belgians (1865-1909). The son of King Leopold I, he was born in Brussels and originally named Louis Philippe Marie Victor. At an early age he entered the Belgian army, and in 1853 he married Maria Henrietta, daughter of Joseph, Archduke of Austria. In 1876 Leopold organized an international association to develop central Africa, and he later financed the expedition (1879-1884) to the River Congo led by the British-American explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley. At the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, Leopold was recognized as sovereign of the Congo Free State, annexed to Belgium as the Belgian Congo in 1908, and now Zaïre. Leopold incurred widespread criticism for his exploitation of the Congo, and, after international protests he was forced to institute reforms. He was succeeded by his nephew Albert I.