LEOPOLD II. (LEOPOLD LOUIS PHILIPPE MARIE VICTOR) (1835-1909), king of the Belgians, son of the preceding, was born at Brussels on April 9, 1835. In 1846 he was created duke of Brabant, and entered the army. On Aug. 22, 1853, Leopold mar ried Marie Henriette (1836-1902), daughter of the archduke Joseph of Austria, whose beauty gained for her the sobriquet of "The Rose of Brabant." Between the years 1854 and 1865 Leo pold travelled much abroad, visiting India and China as well as Egypt and the countries on the Mediterranean coast of Africa. On Dec. 1o, 1865, he succeeded his father. On Jan. 28, 1869, he lost his only son, Leopold (b. 1859), duke of Hainaut. The king's brother Philip, count of Flanders (1837-1905), then be came heir to the throne ; and on his death his son Albert (b. 1875) (see ALBERT I.) became heir-presumptive. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) the king of the Belgians pre served neutrality in a period of unusual difficulty and danger.
The most notable event in Leopold's career was the foundation of the Congo Free State (q.v.). He gave the first impulse towards the development of this idea by founding in 1876 the Association Internationale Africaine. He enlisted the services of H. M. Stanley (q.v.).
Leopold's exploitation of this vast territory, which he admin istered autocratically, and in which he associated himself per sonally with various financial schemes, brought him an enormous fortune; it was the subject of acutely hostile criticism (see CONGO FREE STATE), and in 1908 the territory was annexed to Belgium. On Nov. 15, 1902, King Leopold's life was attempted in Brussels by an Italian anarchist named Rubino.