Louis XIV, also known as the "Sun King," is known for constructing the Palace of Versailles and using absolutism to exercise his complete control over France. He ruled France from 1643 until his death in 1715 and is considered one of the most powerful French kings in history. He built the Palace of Versailles as a symbol of his power and a way to centralize the French government and nobility under his rule. He also used the principles of absolutism, which held that the monarch held complete and unchallenged authority over the government and people, to exert his control over France and its territories.