Ginkel, Godart van, 1st earl of Athlone

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Godart van Ginkel, 1st earl of Athlone (gō´därt vän gĬng´kəl), 1644–1703, Dutch general in the service of William III of England. He accompanied (1688) William to England and took part in William's victory over James II in the battle of the Boyne. He then (1690) became commander in chief of the army in Ireland, capturing Ballymore and Athlone, winning a decisive, bloody victory at Aughrim, and taking Limerick, where peace was made (1691). In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14) he commanded the Dutch wing of the forces under the duke of Marlborough.