General Notes

Leopold II (Holy Roman Empire) (1747-92), Holy Roman emperor (1790-92), son of
Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa and brother of Emperor Joseph II and Queen
Marie Antoinette of France. He was born in Vienna. On the death of his father
in 1765, he became the grand duke of Tuscany. Imbued with the ideas of the
Enlightenment, he reformed the government of the grand duchy, dismantling
feudal institutions and rationalizing taxation and finances. In 1790 he
succeeded his brother as emperor. During his brief reign, his sister was
deposed by the French revolutionists, and he formed (1792) a military alliance
with Prussia against France. He was succeeded by his son Francis II.