Results for Archduke Ferdinand
On this page:
 
Who2 Biography:

Archduke Ferdinand

, Political Figure
Archduke Ferdinand
Archduke Ferdinand
Click to enlarge

  • Born: 1863
  • Birthplace: Graz, Austria
  • Died: 28 June 1914 (assassination)
  • Best Known As: The man whose killing sparked WWI

Name at birth: Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef von Habsburg-Lothringen

Whatever else he may have done in life, Archduke Franz Ferdinand is known now as the man whose assassination touched off World War I. The nephew of the Hapsburg emperor Franz Josef, Ferdinand was first in line to the Austro-Hungarian throne when he visited Sarajevo in June of 1914. He and his wife Sophie were shot to death as they rode through the city in a motorcade on 28 June; the assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian nationalist group known as the Black Hand. The shooting led to war between Austria and Serbia, which escalated into World War I.

His name is sometimes translated to English as Francis Ferdinand... The Hapsburgs are also known as the Habsburgs.

 
 
Biography: Francis Ferdinand

Francis Ferdinand (1863-1914) was archduke of Austria and heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in 1914 was the immediate cause of World War I.

Born on Dec. 18, 1863, Francis Ferdinand (German, Franz Ferdinand) was the oldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, brother of Emperor Francis Joseph. He started a military career at the age of 15, serving in Hungary, Upper Austria, and Bohemia. The suicide of the crown prince Rudolf (1889) and his own father's death (1896) made him heir apparent.

Partly to cure a lung ailment and partly to enlarge his knowledge, Francis Ferdinand took several cruises during the 1890s, one of which brought him around the globe. Following his return he spent some time in Bohemia (1894-1895), but his illness soon forced him to spend several years on the Adriatic and the Mediterranean coasts. In the meantime he advanced in rank (becoming general of the cavalry in 1899), but this did not lessen his long-standing contempt for Viennese high society or his differences with the Emperor. He crowned his contempt by his morganatic marriage (July 1, 1900) to Countess Sophie Chotek.

Francis Ferdinand regarded the nationality question as the most serious problem of the empire. Initially he sought a solution in terms of "crownland federalism," with the historic borders more or less retained (except for Hungary). Later he favored the idea of the "United States of Greater Austria," which called for a thorough restructuring along ethnic lines. Simultaneously, Francis Ferdinand also toyed with the "trialistic" solution, which was to be achieved by granting the South Slavs an equal partnership with the Austrians and Hungarians in the empire. Finally, due largely to threatening Serbian irredentism, he returned to a modified dualism, calling for a special position for Bosnia-Herzegovina as the "Kingdom of Rama."

In foreign affairs Francis Ferdinand favored the pro-German orientation but also wished to restore understanding with Russia. This desire prevented him from advocating a policy of final solution against the growingly bellicose Serbia.

Francis Ferdinand's influence grew, and by 1913 he was inspector general of the combined armed forces. In this capacity on June 28, 1914, he visited Sarajevo and was assassinated by a group of Serbian conspirators. The fateful bullet, which unleashed the war, was fired by Gavrilo Princip.

Further Reading

The standard biography of Francis Ferdinand by Rudolf Kiszling, is available only in German. Fortunately there are also a number of good English-language works, most of which, however, place too much emphasis on the assassination and the "war guilt" questions. The best and most recent of these are Joachim Remak, Sarajevo: The Story of a Political Murder (1959); Hertha Pauli, The Secret of Sarajevo: The Story of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie (1965); and Vladimir Dedijer, The Road to Sarajevo (1966).

 

(born Dec. 18, 1863, Graz, Austria — died June 28, 1914, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) Archduke of Austria, whose assassination was the immediate cause of World War I. Nephew of Emperor Francis Joseph, he became heir apparent in 1896. His desire to marry Sophie, countess von Chotek, a lady-in-waiting, brought him into sharp conflict with the emperor, and the marriage was only allowed after he agreed to renounce his future children's rights to the throne. From 1906 he exerted influence in military matters and became inspector general of the army (1913). While on an official visit in Sarajevo in June 1914, he and his wife were assassinated by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. In July Austria declared war against Serbia, precipitating World War I.

For more information on Francis Ferdinand, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Francis Ferdinand,
1863–1914, Austrian archduke, heir apparent (after 1889) of his uncle, Emperor Francis Joseph. In 1900 he married a Czech, Sophie Chotek. She was made duchess of Hohenberg, but because she was of minor nobility their children were barred from succession. Laboring to transform the dual Austro-Hungarian Monarchy into a triple monarchy including a Slavic kingdom under Croatian leadership, he won the enmity of both the Pan-Serbians and the Pan-Germans, and his support of the Christian Socialist campaign for universal suffrage brought the hostility of the Hungarian magnates. In 1913 he became inspector general of the armies. On June 28, 1914, while at Sarajevo on an inspection tour, he and his wife were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist. Francis Ferdinand's death was the occasion for the Austrian ultimatum, addressed to Serbia by Count Berchtold, that led directly to World War I.

Bibliography

See S. Nickels, Assassination at Sarajevo (1969).

 
History Dictionary: Francis Ferdinand, Archduke

An Austrian prince, heir to the throne, whose assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 set off World War I.

 
Wikipedia: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria


Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria
Enlarge
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria

Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este (December 18, 1863June 28, 1914) was an Archduke of Austria, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, and from 1896 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated the Austrian declaration of war. This caused countries allied with Austria-Hungary (the Central Powers) and countries allied with Serbia (the Entente Powers) to declare war on each other, starting World War I.[1][2]

Birth and early life

Franz Ferdinand (Full Name: Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef von Habsburg-Lothringen), was born in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph and Maximilian I of Mexico) and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of the Two Sicilies. When he was only twelve years old, his cousin Duke Francis V of Modena died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name Este to his own. Franz Ferdinand thus became one of the wealthiest men in Austria.

When he was born, there was no reason to think that Franz Ferdinand would ever be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. He was given the normal strict education of an archduke with an emphasis on history and moral character. From 1876 to 1885 his tutor was the historian Onno Klopp. In 1883 Franz Ferdinand entered the army with the rank of third lieutenant.

As a young man, Franz Ferdinand developed two great passions: hunting and travel. It is estimated that he shot more than 5,000 deer in his lifetime. In 1883, he visited Italy for the first time in order to see the properties left to him by Duke Francis V of Modena. In 1885, he visited Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey. In 1889, he visited Germany.

In 1889, Franz Ferdinand's life changed dramatically. His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling, leaving Franz Ferdinand's father, Archduke Karl Ludwig, as first in line to the throne. Henceforth, Franz Ferdinand was groomed to succeed.

Ancestors

Franz Ferdinand's ancestors in three generations
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Father:
Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria
Paternal Grandfather:
Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies
Paternal Grandmother:
Princess Sophie of Bavaria
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Caroline of Baden
Mother:
Maria Annunciata of the Two Sicilies
Maternal Grandfather:
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Marie Caroline of Austria
Maternal Grandmother:
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg

Marriage and family

Archduke Franz Ferdinand (right) with his family.
Enlarge
Archduke Franz Ferdinand (right) with his family.

In 1895 Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek at a ball in Prague. To be an eligible marriage partner for a member of the House of Habsburg, one must be a member of one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe. The Choteks were not one of these families, although they did include among their ancestors, in the female line, princes of Baden, Hohenzollern-Hechingen, and Liechtenstein. Sophie was a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella, wife of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen. Franz Ferdinand began to visit Archduke Friedrich's villa in Pressburg (now Bratislava). Sophie wrote to Franz Ferdinand during his convalescence from tuberculosis when he went to the island of Lošinj in the Adriatic. They kept their relationship a secret for more than two years.

Archduchess Isabella assumed that Franz Ferdinand was enamored with one of her daughters. In 1898, however, he left his watch lying on a tennis court at her home. She opened the watch, expecting to find there a photograph of one of her daughters; instead, she found a photograph of Sophie. Sophie was immediately dismissed from her position.


Monarchical Styles of
Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este
Krone_Kaiser_Rudolf_II_Kaisertum_Österreich.jpg
Reference style His Imperial and Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Imperial and Royal Highness
Alternative style Sir

Franz Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else. Pope Leo XIII, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and the German Emperor Wilhelm II all made representations on Franz Ferdinand's behalf to the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, arguing that the disagreement between Franz Joseph and Franz Ferdinand was undermining the stability of the monarchy.

Finally, in 1899, the Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to permit Franz Ferdinand to marry Sophie, on condition that the marriage would be morganatic and that their descendants would not have succession rights to the throne. Sophie would not share her husband's rank, title, precedence, or privileges; as such, she would not normally appear in public beside him. She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage, or sit in the royal box.

The wedding took place on July 1, 1900, at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) in Bohemia; Franz Joseph did not attend the affair, nor did any archduke including Franz Ferdinand's brothers. The only members of the imperial family who were present were Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, Maria Theresia, and her two daughters. Upon the marriage, Sophie was given the title Princess of Hohenberg (Fürstin von Hohenberg) with the style Her Serene Highness (Ihre Durchlaucht). In 1909, she was given the more senior title Duchess of Hohenberg (Herzogin von Hohenberg) with the style Her Highness (Ihre Hoheit). This raised her status considerably, but she still took precedence at court after all the archduchesses. Whenever a function required the couple to gather with the other members of royalty, Sophie was forced to stand far down the line of importance, separated from her husband.

Franz Ferdinand's children were:

Assassination

1911 Gräf & Stift Rois De Blougne tourer in which the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was riding at the time of his assassination.
Enlarge
1911 Gräf & Stift Rois De Blougne tourer in which the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was riding at the time of his assassination.

On June 28, 1914, at approximately 11:00 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of several (seven) assassins organized by The Black Hand (Crna Ruka). The event, known as the Assassination in Sarajevo, was the trigger of World War I. Franz and Sophie had previously been attacked when a bomb was thrown at their car. It missed them, but many civilians were injured. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie both insisted on going to see all those injured at the hospital. As a result of this, Princip saw them and shot Sophie, who died instantly. Franz Ferdinand was shot in the jugular and was still alive when witnesses arrived to his aid. The famous Browning .32 ACP light round was to blame. His aids tried to undo his coat but by the time they realized they needed a scissors to cut the coat open, since Ferdinand had himself sewn in so he would not look so over weight, it was too late - he died within minutes of being shot. [3] The assassinations, along with the arms race, nationalism and the alliance system all contributed to the beginning of World War I, which began less than two months after Franz Ferdinand's death, with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia.

Franz Ferdinand is interred with his wife Sophie in Artstetten Castle, Austria.

A detailed account of the shooting can be found in 'Sarajevo' by Joachim Remak [4]

...one bullet pierced Franz Ferdinand's neck while the other pierced Sophie's abdomen.....As the car was reversing (to go back to the Governor's residence because the entourage thought the Imperial couple were unhurt) a thin streak of blood shot from the Archduke's mouth onto Count Harrach's right cheek (he was standing on the car's running board). Harrach drew out a handkerchief to still the gushing blood. The Duchess, seeing this, called: "For Heaven's sake! What happened to you?" and sank from her seat, her face falling between her husband's knees.

Harrach and Potoriek...thought she had fainted...only her husband seemed to have an instinct for what was happening. Turning to his wife despite the bullet in his neck, Franz Ferdinand pleaded: " Sopherl! Sopherl! Sterbe nicht! Bleibe am Leben fur unsere Kinder! - Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Having said this, he seemed to sag down himself. His plumed hat...fell off; many of its green feathers were found all over the car floor. Count Harrach seized the Archduke by the uniform collar to hold him up. He asked "Leiden Eure Kaiserliche Hoheit sehr? - Is Your Imperial Highness suffering very badly?" "Es ist nichts - It is nothing" said the Archduke in a weak but audible voice. He seemed to be losing consciousness, but, his voice growing steadily weaker, he repeated the phrase perhaps six or seven times more.

A rattle began to issue from his throat, which subsided as the car drew in front of the Konak (Town Hall). (Despite several doctors' efforts, the Archduke died shortly after being carried into the building while his beloved wife was almost certainly dead from internal bleeding before the motorcade reached the Konak.) - Les Gillard

External links

Commons-logo.svg
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

References

  1. ^ Marshall, S.L.A. (2001). World War I. Mariner Books, p.1. ISBN 0618056866. 
  2. ^ Keegan, John (2000). First World War. Vintage, p.48. ISBN 0375700455. 
  3. ^ THE LAST KAISER, p 351, by Giles MacDonogh
  4. ^ Remak, Joachim. "Sarajevo" (Wiedenfeld & Nicolson, 1959) (pp137 - 142)


Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Cadet branch of the House of Lorraine
Born: 18 December 1863 Died: 28 June 1914
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Francis V
Archduke of Austria-Este
1875-1914
Succeeded by
Archduke Charles
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Francis V
— TITULAR —
Duke of Modena
1875-1914
Succeeded by
Archduke Charles

 
 

Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "Archduke Ferdinand" at WikiAnswers.

 

Copyrights:

Who2 Biography. Copyright © 1998-2008 by Who2, LLC. All rights reserved. See the Archduke Ferdinand biography from Who2.  Read more
Biography. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
History Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria" Read more

Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar!  
Click here to download now. 

Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.

On this page:   E-mail   print Print  Link  

 

Keep Reading

Mentioned In: