Francis Ferdinand

Francis Ferdinand (German Franz Ferdinand), (1863-1914), archduke of Austria, born in Graz, son of Archduke Charles Louis and nephew of Emperor Francis Joseph. In 1875 he inherited the title archduke of Austria-Este. After the deaths of his cousin, Crown Prince Rudolf, in 1889, and of his father, in 1896, Francis became heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown. Because of his morganatic marriage in 1900 to Countess Sophie Chotek, duchess of Hohenberg, Francis relinquished all claim to the throne for his children. Although he was favorably inclined toward the aspirations of the Slavs, he and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina), on June 28, 1914, by a Serb nationalist. The incident precipitated World War I.