Ferdinand III., emperor of Germany (1637-57), son of the preceding, born at Grätz; more tolerant in his views, would gladly have brought the war to a close, but found himself compelled to face the Swedes reinforced by the French; in 1648 the desolating struggle was terminated by the Peace of Westphalia; the rest of his reign passed in tranquillity (1608‒1657).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Ferdinand II. * Ferdinand I.