John (archduke of Austria)

John (archduke of Austria) (1782-1859), archduke of Austria, nominal leader of Austrian armies during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) and regent of Germany during the widespread revolutionary unrest of 1848 and 1849 (see Revolutions of 1848). Born in Florence, Italy, John was the 9th son and 13th child of Leopold, grand duke of Tuscany (later Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II). John lived his early adulthood during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, in which he figured three times as nominal commander of the Austrian armies (1800, 1805, 1809-1810). He was most active as inspector general of fortifications and as organizer of Landwehrs (people's militias) in Austria in 1805 and 1808. In the latter capacity he gained wide attention and popularity for his democratic spirit and his devotion to the German people.

During these years John’s brother, Austrian emperor Francis I (who was also Holy Roman Emperor Francis II), consulted him frequently, but in the winter of 1812-1813 John became implicated in a piece of political intrigue that caused him to fall into disgrace with Francis. After forbidding John to leave Vienna, Francis finally allowed his brother to settle in the Austrian province of Steiermark (Styria), where John founded many scientific and charitable associations and did much to raise the cultural and material standards of the inhabitants. In 1823 John married Anna Plochl, the daughter of a postmaster, in a morganatic arrangement according to which none of their children would have the right of succession.

Francis was succeeded on the Austrian throne by his son Ferdinand I in 1835, but in 1848 an outbreak of revolutionary activity in Vienna forced Ferdinand to retreat from his capital to Innsbruck. He appointed John, as the most popular member of his family, to act as his representative in Vienna. Immediately afterwards John was obliged to go to Frankfurt, as the parliament there had elected him regent (Reichsverweser) of Germany. He was able to do little in this post, since the parliament soon lost all influence over German affairs. John resigned on December 12, 1849, and died 10 years later.