Franz Joseph I of Austria
1830 – 1916 · Generation XX · Emperor of Austria (r. 1848–1916)
Franz Joseph (1830 – 1916). Emperor of Austria (r. 1848–1916). Married Elisabeth in 1854. Reigned 68 years; his death came two years before the empire's fall. Raised to the throne at eighteen amid the upheavals of 1848, he spent his early years resisting constitutionalism, and defeats in Italy and against Prussia cost the empire Lombardy–Venetia and its claim to lead Germany. With the Compromise of 1867 he remade his realm as the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which then knew forty-five years of peace under him. Few sovereigns bore so much private grief: a brother executed in Mexico, a son dead by suicide, a wife assassinated, and at last his heir Franz Ferdinand murdered at Sarajevo in 1914 — the killing that led him to declare war on Serbia and set Europe’s alliances tumbling into the First World War.
Line of descent: Rudolf I of Germany → Albert I of Germany → Albert II, Duke of Austria → Leopold III, Duke of Austria → Ernest, Duke of Austria → Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor → Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor → Philip I of Castile → Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor → Charles II, Archduke of Austria → Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor → Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor → Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor → Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor → Maria Theresa → Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor → Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor → Archduke Franz Karl of Austria → Franz Joseph I of Austria.
Parents
- Archduke Franz Karl of Austria (1802 – 1878)
- Princess Sophie of Bavaria (1805 – 1872)
Siblings
- Maximilian I of Mexico (1832 – 1867)
- Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (1833 – 1896)
Partners
- Married Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1837 – 1898) in 1854 — one child together
Children
- Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (1858 – 1889)
Life
- 1830 — Born
- 1854 — Married Elisabeth
- 1916 — Died