ohn of Austria, Don (1546-78), Spanish general, natural son of the Emperor Charles V, was born at Ratisbon. Appointed when only twenty-two by Philip II commander of the forces against the rebel Moors of Granada, he triumphantly subdued them. As generalissimo of the combined fleets of Spain and Italy he gained a great naval victory over the Turkish fleet in the Gulf of Lepanto (1571). He commanded an expedition against the Moors in Africa, and took Tunis and Biserta. In 1576 he became governor of the Netherlands. [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

John of Austria, in Spanish, Juan de Austria (1547-78), Spanish general, an illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, born in Regensburg, Germany. Charles recognized his son, who was commonly called Don Juan, in his will and entrusted him to the care of his legitimate son King Philip II of Spain. In 1568 John was given the command of a squadron that operated against the Barbary pirates of North Africa, and in 1569-70 he suppressed a revolt of the Moors who were located in Granada. In 1571, when the pope, Spain, and Venice formed the Holy League to put down the Ottoman Turks, John was given supreme command of a large fleet of galleys, with which he won a great victory over the superior forces of the Turks at the naval Battle of Lepanto. He took Tunis from the Turks in 1573. In 1576 Philip II appointed him governor-general of the Netherlands, which at that time was rebelling against Spanish rule. In 1578 he defeated the Dutch in the Battle of Gembloux, but his campaign failed shortly before his death because of lack of Spanish support. [Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia]

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