Alexander III (pope)
1100 – 1181 Italian Pope (1159-1181)
Pope who outlasted Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and reformed papal elections.
- Religion
- Catholic; Bishop of Rome
- Affiliations
- The papacy
Alexander III fought a long struggle against Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who backed rival antipopes against him, and outlasted the emperor after the Lombard League beat him at Legnano. Alexander backed Thomas Becket against Henry II of England and canonized him after Becket's murder. His Third Lateran Council in 1179 set the rule that a two-thirds majority of cardinals elects the pope, a rule still in force.
In the timeline
- 1882 The May Laws tighten the screws on Russian Jews mentioned
- 1887 Alexander III declines to renew Three Emperors' League central figure