Francis Joseph or Franz Joseph, 1830–1916, emperor of Austria (1848–1916), king of Hungary (1867–1916), nephew of Ferdinand Ferdinand, 1793–1875, emperor of Austria (1835–48), son and successor of Emperor Francis I (who also, as Francis II, had been the last Holy Roman emperor). A well-meaning monarch in his lucid moments, he was subject to fits of insanity.
..... Click the link for more information. , who abdicated in his favor. His long reign began in the stormy days of the revolutions of 1848 revolutions of 1848, in European history. The February Revolution in France gave impetus to a series of revolutionary explosions in Western and Central Europe. However the new French Republic did not support these movements.
..... Click the link for more information. and ended in the midst of World War I. In that troubled period of growing nationalism, he held the many peoples of his empire together. He subdued Hungary (1849) and in the same year defeated Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II, 1820–78, king of Sardinia (1849–61) and first king of united Italy (1861–78). He fought in the war of 1848–49 against Austrian rule in Lombardy-Venetia and ascended the throne when his father, Charles Albert, abdicated
..... Click the link for more information. of Sardinia. In the Italian War of 1859, in which he faced Napoleon III Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte), 1808–73, emperor of the French (1852–70), son of Louis Bonaparte (see under Bonaparte, family), king of Holland.
..... Click the link for more information. and Victor Emmanuel, he lost Lombardy to Sardinia by the Treaty of Villafranca di Verona Villafranca di Verona , town (1991 pop. 27,036), Venetia, NE Italy. In 1859, Napoleon III and Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria met there after the Austrian defeats at Magenta and Solferino and signed a preliminary peace treaty, which was formalized the same year by
..... Click the link for more information. . In the Austro-Prussian War Austro-Prussian War or Seven Weeks War, June 15–Aug. 23, 1866, between Prussia, allied with Italy, and Austria, seconded by Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, Hanover, Baden, and several smaller German states.
..... Click the link for more information. (1866) his only territorial loss was that of Venetia to Italy, but his crushing defeat resulted in the loss of Austrian influence over German affairs and in the ascendancy of Prussia. Constant pressure from Hungary led to the reorganization (1867) of the empire as a dual monarchy—the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Austro-Hungarian Monarchy or Dual Monarchy, the Hapsburg empire from 1867 until its fall in 1918. The Nature of Austria-Hungary

The reorganization of Austria and Hungary was made possible by the Ausgleich
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1879, Francis Joseph joined Germany in an alliance that later also included Italy (see Triple Alliance and Triple Entente Triple Alliance and Triple Entente , two international combinations of states that dominated the diplomatic history of Western Europe from 1882 until they came into armed conflict in World War I.
..... Click the link for more information. ). His reign, although it brought material prosperity, was disturbed by the discontent of the national minorities, notably the Slavs. When Russian Pan-Slavism backed Serbia, particularly after the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina , Serbo-Croatian Bosna i Hercegovina, country (2005 est. pop. 4,025,000), 19,741 sq mi (51,129 sq km), on the Balkan peninsula, S Europe.
..... Click the link for more information. (1908), a situation was created that helped bring on World War I. Francis Joseph's private life was beset by the tragedies falling on his wife, Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth, 1837–98, empress of Austria and queen of Hungary. A Bavarian princess, she was married (1854) to her cousin, Emperor Francis Joseph. Despite her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and kindness she led an unhappy domestic life, which was marred,
..... Click the link for more information. , his brother, Maximilian Maximilian, 1832–67, emperor of Mexico (1864–67). As the Austrian archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, he was denied a share in the imperial government by his reactionary brother, Emperor Francis Joseph.
..... Click the link for more information. of Mexico, and his son, Archduke Rudolf Rudolf, 1858–89, Austrian archduke, crown prince of Austria and Hungary; only son of Emperor Francis Joseph and Empress Elizabeth. Upon his mysterious death at Mayerling near Vienna (officially declared a double suicide with his mistress, Baroness Maria
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1914 his nephew, the heir apparent, Francis Ferdinand Francis Ferdinand, 1863–1914, Austrian archduke, heir apparent (after 1889) of his uncle, Emperor Francis Joseph. In 1900 he married a Czech, Sophie Chotek.
..... Click the link for more information. , was assassinated, and his death was the spark that set off World War I. Francis Joseph died before the empire actually fell apart under the impact of military defeat, as it did under his successor, Charles I Charles I, 1887–1922, last emperor of Austria and, as Charles IV, king of Hungary (1916–18); son of Archduke Otto and grandnephew and successor of Emperor Francis Joseph. He married Zita of Bourbon-Parma.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See biographies by J. Redlich (1928; tr. 1929, repr. 1965), K. Tschuppik (1928, tr. 1930), A. Murad (1968), and A. Palmer (1995); C. W. Clark, Franz Joseph and Bismarck (1934, repr. 1968); E. Crankshaw, Fall of the House of Habsburg (1963, repr. 1971); G. B. Marek, The Eagles Die (1974).

Francis Joseph

German Franz Josef

Francis Joseph, 1908.

(credit: Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.)

(born Aug. 18, 1830, Schloss Schönbrunn, near Vienna—died Nov. 21, 1916, Schloss Schönbrunn) Emperor of Austria (1848–1916) and king of Hungary (1867–1916). He became emperor during the Revolutions of 1848 after the abdication of his uncle, Ferdinand I. With his prime minister, Felix, prince zu Schwarzenberg, he achieved a powerful position for Austria, in particular with the Punctation of Olmütz convention in 1850. His harsh, absolutist rule within Austria produced a strong central government but also led to rioting and an assassination attempt. Following Austria's defeat by Prussia in the Seven Weeks' War (1866), he responded to Hungarian national unrest by accepting the Compromise of 1867. He adhered to the Three Emperors' League and formed an alliance with Prussian-led Germany that led to the Triple Alliance (1882). In 1898 his wife was assassinated, and in 1889 his son Rudolf, his heir apparent, died in a suicide love pact. In 1914 his ultimatum to Serbia following the murder of the next heir presumptive, Francis Ferdinand, led Austria and Germany into World War I.

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