King James II, also known as King James VII of Scotland was born in Westminster, England on October 14, 1633. A Catholic, he succeeded his brother Charles II to the throne in 1685. His reign was cut short by the Glorious Revolution in 1688 when James' daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange arrived in England and claimed the British throne for Protestantism. James was the last Catholic British monarch. He died in France on September 16, 1701.