Pope Alexander II

Born Anselm of Baggio in Milan sometime between 1010 and 1015, he threw himself into the Pataria reform movement before rising through the church. In 1061 he was elected under the terms laid down by his predecessor's bull, In nomine Domini — a new model that handed the choice to cardinals and no one else. He led the Roman Catholic Church and the Papal States for twelve years. In 1066 he gave his blessing to the Norman Conquest, a decision that tied Rome's authority to the remaking of England. He died on 21 April 1073.