STAN'ISLAS I. LESZCZYNSKI, lye'sli chinty'skt.) (1677-1766). King of Poland from 1704 to 1709, and again in 1733. He was born at Lemberg, Galicia, of one of the greatest among the old Polish noble families. He was Palatine of Posen at the time of the war between Augustus II (q.v.) of Saxony and Poland and Charles XII. (q.v.) of Sweden, which cost Augustus the Polish throne, and conducted negotiations be tween them in such a manner as to win the re gard of the Swedish King, who secured the elec tion of Stanislas to the Polish throne in 1704. In 1709, when Charles XII. was crushed by Peter the Great in the battle of Poltava, Augustus recovered Poland. The property of King Stanis las was confiscated and lie joined Charles at Bender, in Bessarabia. He was Governor of Zweibriicken, in the Palatinate, from 1714 until the death of Charles XII., when he took up his residence in Alsace. His daughter Maria be came the wife of Louis XV. of France in 1725,
and this alliance enabled Stanislas to obtain the election to the Polish throne on the death of Au gustus IL, in 1733. The latter's son, Augustus III., was, however, installed with the support of a Russian army. The War of the Polish Suc cession ensued, and by the preliminary treaty of Vienna, in 1735, Augustus 111. was recognized as King of Poland. Stanislas retained his estates and received the duchies of Lorraine and Bar, which after his death were to fail to France, together with a pension of I urn million francs. 1-le was also allowed to retain the title and dignity of King of Poland. lle maintained a court at Lune ville and Nancy, encouraged letters, established institutions of learning, and earned the title /c bicnfaisant. lie left four volumes, Wucrcs du ph ilosop he bicnfaisant 1767).