- Born
- DiedJune 28, 1914 · Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary [now Bosnia and Herzegovina] (assassination by gunshot)
- Birth nameFranz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Joseph von Habsburg-Lothringen
- Born on December 18, 1863, the eldest son of Archduke Karl-Ludwig von Habsburg and his wife, Princess Annunziata di Borbone, Franz Ferdinand was third in line to the thrown of the Austro-Hungarian Empire upon his birth. After his cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide in 1889 and his father died in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir of his aging uncle Emperor Franz Josef. He eloped with Countess Sophie Chotek in 1900, but this marriage was considered unequal and they were forced to renounce rights of rank and succession for their three children. A radical reformist, Franz Ferdinand had a number of new ideas he planned to implement when he became Emperor, one of them giving Slavs an equal voice in the empire. After the annexation of Bosnia by Austria, he decided to go on a tour of his new province in 1914 in hopes of fostering good will with his new subjects. A Serbian terrorist group called The Black Hand sent three of its members to murder Franz Ferdinand and his wife as they visited Sarajevo. Their first assassination attempt, throwing a bomb at the Archduke's car, failed, though a number of bystanders were wounded. The assassins almost gave up their plans, and one of them, Gavrilo Princip, wandered off down the street. Meanwhile, the Archduke and Archduchess decided to visit the wounded in the hospital, but their driver took a wrong turn and they ended up on the same street as Princip. Seizing his chance, Princip stepped forward and fired several times into the car, fatally wounding both Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. They were raced to the governor's mansion where they were pronounced dead. Not only did this act of violence orphan their three young children, it also set off a series of events that led directly to World War I.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Nichol
- SpouseDuchess Sophie von Hohenberg(July 1, 1900 - June 28, 1914) (her death, 3 children)
- RelativesEmperor Karl(Niece or Nephew)Emperor Franz Josef(Aunt or Uncle)Nikolaus Hohenberg(Great Grandchild)Georg von Hohenberg(Grandchild)Princess Sophie von Hohenberg(Great Grandchild)Anita Hohenberg(Great Grandchild)Markus Habsburg Lothringen(Great Grandchild)Michael Habsburg-Lothringen(Great Grandchild)Gerhard von Hohenberg(Grandchild)Fürst Franz Joseph von und zu Liechtenstein(Niece or Nephew)
- His murder set off a chain of events that led to World War I.
- Children - Sophie (b. 1901), Maximillian (b. 1902) and Ernst (b. 1904).
- His wife was killed only moments before him.
- Was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time of his death.
- [as his wife lay dying from an assassin's bullet that he himself would die from moments later] Sophie dear, Sophie dear, don't die! Stay alive for our children.
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