Military careerįranz Ferdinand, like most males in the ruling Habsburg line, entered the Austro-Hungarian Army at a young age. About 100,000 trophies were on exhibit at his Bohemian castle at Konopiště which he also stuffed with various antiquities, his other great passion. In his diaries he kept track of 272,511 game kills, 5,000 of which were deer. After sailing across the Pacific on the RMS Empress of China from Yokohama to Vancouver he crossed the United States, arriving at the World's Columbian Exposition 1893 on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad on a private Pullman car named Mascotte, and staying at the Lexington Hotel, before continuing through to New York and returning to Europe.įranz Ferdinand had a fondness for trophy hunting that was excessive even by the standards of European nobility of this time. After visiting India he spent time hunting kangaroos and emus in Australia in 1893, then travelled on to Nouméa, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Sarawak, Hong Kong and Japan. įranz Ferdinand posing in front of a killed elephant, 1893ĭespite this burden, he did manage to find time for travel and personal pursuits, such as his circumnavigation of the world between 18. Henceforth, Franz Ferdinand was groomed to succeed to the throne. Karl Ludwig died of typhoid fever in 1896. This left Franz Ferdinand's father, Karl Ludwig, as first in line to the throne. His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling. In 1889, Franz Ferdinand's life changed dramatically. Franz Ferdinand thus became one of the wealthiest men in Austria. In 1875, when he was eleven years old, his cousin Francis V, Duke of Modena, died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name "Este" to his own. Biography Early lifeįranz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (the younger brother of Franz Joseph and Maximilian) and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Franz Ferdinand's assassination led to the July Crisis and precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia, which in turn triggered a series of events that eventually led – four weeks after his death – to Austria-Hungary's allies and Serbia's allies declaring war on each other, starting World War I. On 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo by the 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia. Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. His courtship of Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting, caused conflict within the imperial household, and their morganatic marriage in 1900 was only allowed after he renounced his descendants' rights to the throne. Following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.įranz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two SiciliesĪrchduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary.
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