Francesco Sforza seizes Milan
Francesco Sforza, the leading condottiere (mercenary captain) of 15th-century Italy, seized the Duchy of Milan in 1450 after the death of the last Visconti duke without a male heir. Sforza had cemented his claim by marrying Bianca Maria Visconti, the duke's illegitimate daughter, then converted his military position into a dynastic one by suppressing the briefly declared Ambrosian Republic. His accession established the Sforza dynasty, which ruled Milan for most of the next half-century and made it one of the principal patrons of Renaissance art and learning — most notably in the employment of Leonardo da Vinci from 1482.
- Year: 1450 CE
