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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_England

William I (1027[1] – 9 September 1087), better known as William the Conqueror (French: Guillaume le Conquérant), was Duke of Normandy from 1035 and King of England from 1066 to his death. William is also referred to as "William II" in relation to his position as Duke of Normandy. In particular, before his conquest of England, he was known as "William the Bastard" because of the illegitimacy of his birth.[2]
To claim the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson (who died in the conflict) at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.[3]
His reign, which brought Norman culture to England, had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages. In addition to political changes, his reign also saw changes to English law, a programme of building and fortification, changes to the vocabulary of the English language, and the introduction of continental European feudalism into England.