Francis Joseph I

Franz Joseph I (German: Franz Joseph Karl; Hungarian: Ferenc József Károly; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and ruler of the other states of the Habsburg Monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his death in 1916. At the beginning of his reign, his kingdoms and territories were called the Austrian Empire, but were reconstituted as the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866, he was also President of the German Confederation.
Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary
(and also…)
Reign
December 2, 1848–November 22, 1916
Coronation
June 8, 1867
Matthias Church
(as King of Hungary)
Predecessor
Fernando I & V
Successor
Charles I, III and IV
King of Lombardy-Veneto
Reign
December 2, 1848–October 12, 1866
Predecessor
Ferdinand I
Successor
Position abolished
(Annexation to Italy)
Head of the Präsidilmacht of Austria
Mandate
May 1, 1850–August 24, 1866
Predecessor
Ferdinand I
Successor
William I
(as Head of the North German Confederation)

Birth
August 18, 1830

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austrian Empire
Death
November 21, 1916 (age 86)

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Buried in
Imperial Crypt of Vienna
Full name

Francisco Jose Carlos
Franz Joseph Karl (in German)
Spouse
Isabella of Bavaria (c. 1936; d. 1937)
Offspring
Archduchess Sofia
Gisela, Princess of Bavaria
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria
Archduchess Maria Valeria
Home
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father
Archduke Franz Charles of Austria
Mother
Princess Sofia of Bavaria
Religion
Roman Catholicism

In December 1848, Franz Joseph's uncle, Emperor Ferdinand I, abdicated the throne in Olomouc as part of Minister-President Felix zu Schwarzenberg's plan to put down the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Franz Joseph then ascended the throne. In 1854, he married his cousin, Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria, with whom he had four children: Sophie, Gisela, Rudolph, and Maria Valeria. Widely regarded as a reactionary, Franz Joseph spent the early part of his reign resisting constitutionalism in his domains. The Austrian Empire was forced to cede its influence over Tuscany and most of its claim to Lombardy-Venezia to the Kingdom of Sardinia after the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859 and the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866. Although Franz Joseph did not cede any territory to the Kingdom of Prussia after the Austrian defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, the Peace of Prague (23 August 1866) resolved the German Question in Prussia's favor, preventing the unification of Germany under the House of Habsburg. Franz Joseph was plagued by nationalism throughout his reign. He concluded the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which granted greater autonomy to Hungary and created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. He ruled peacefully for the next 45 years, but suffered personally the tragedies of the execution of his brother, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, in 1867, the suicide of his son Rudolf in 1889, and the assassinations of his wife Isabella in 1898 and his nephew and heir presumptive, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in 1914. After the Austro-Prussian War, Austria-Hungary turned its attention to the Balkans, which were a flashpoint of international tension due to Austria's conflicting interests with not only the Ottoman Empire but also the Russian Empire. The Bosnian Crisis was a result of Franz Joseph's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, which was already occupied by his troops.

After the Austro-Prussian War, Austria-Hungary turned its attention to the Balkans, which were a flashpoint of international tension due to Austria's conflicting interests with not only the Ottoman Empire but also the Russian Empire. The Bosnian Crisis resulted from Franz Joseph's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, which had already been occupied by his troops since the Congress of Berlin (1878). On 28 June 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo resulted in Austria-Hungary declaring war on the Kingdom of Serbia, which was an ally of the Russian Empire. This activated a system of alliances that declared war on each other, which resulted in World War I. Franz Joseph died in 1916, after ruling his domains for almost 68 years. He was succeeded by his great-nephews Charles I and IV.

Franz Joseph was born on 18 August 1830 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna (on the 65th anniversary of the death of Francis of Lorraine), as the eldest son of Archduke Francis Charles (the youngest son of Francis I) and his wife Sophia , princess of Bavaria. As his uncle, who reigned from 1835 as Emperor Ferdinand, was incapacitated by convulsions, and his father was unambitious and reserved, the young Archduke "Franzi's" mother raised him as a future emperor, with an emphasis on devotion, responsibility and diligence.For this reason, Francisco José was constantly considered a potential successor to the imperial throne by his politically ambitious mother from childhood.Until he was seven years old, little "Franzi" was raised under the care of his nanny ("Aja") Louise von Sturmfeder. Then "state education" began, the central contents of which were the "sense of duty", religiosity and dynastic consciousness. The theologian Joseph Othmar von Rauscher transmitted to him the inviolable understanding of government of divine origin (divine grace) and thus the belief that no participation of the population in government in the form of parliaments was necessary. The educators Heinrich Franz von Bombelles and the Colonel Johann Baptist Coronini-Cronberg ordered Archduke Franz to study an enormous amount of time, which initially comprised 18 hours a week and was expanded to 50 hours a week at age 16. One of the main focuses of the classes was language acquisition: in addition From French, the diplomatic language of the time, Latin and ancient Greek, Hungarian, Czech, Italian and Polish were the most important national languages ​​of the monarchy. In addition, the archduke received a general education, as was customary at the time (including mathematics, physics, history, geography), which was later supplemented by law and political science. Various forms of physical education completed the extensive program.

On his 13th birthday, Francisco José was appointed Colonel-Inhaber of the No. 3 Dragoon Regiment and the focus of his training changed to imparting basic strategic and tactical knowledge. From that point on, military style dictated his personal fashion—for the rest of his life, he typically wore the uniform of a military officer. Francisco José was soon joined by three younger brothers: Archduke Fernando Maximiliano (born 1832, the future Emperor Maximilian of Mexico); Archduke Carlos Luís (born 1833, father of Archduke Francisco Ferdinando of Austria) and Archduke Luís Vitor (born 1842), and a sister, Archduchess Maria Ana (born 1835), who died at the age of four.