Titles:
King of France (1226 - 1270)

Louis sent a mission to the Mongolian court.

Louis gave several spectacular presents to his brother-in-law, Henry III of England. The zoo in the Tower of London grew out of the necessity of providing lodging for two of these gifts, a lion and the first elephant seen in England since Emperor Claudius' victory procession.

Louis was so preoccupied with eliminating prostitution in Paris that some historians consider his concentration on diplomacy and domestic politics to have been affected. Despite setting up alternative accommodations and offering very generous pensions to prostitutes who wanted to retire, Louis and his ministers could induce only about 200 of an estimated 12,000 to leave the business.

Louis died of the plague. During the journey to pick up his body, Queen Isabel of Aragon, and his brother Alphonso and his wife, all died.

Louis' feast day is August 25, the anniversary of his death.

Visitors to Paris can still see Saint-Chapelle, the incredible stained glass chapel Louis built to house the relics he brought back from Crusade.

St. Louis, Missouri, was named after Louis in 1765.