Franciszek Ferdynand Habsburg (photo:public domain)
Franz Ferdinand Habsburg (1863-1914) - Austrian Archduke shot dead in Sarajevo by an assassin. Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz in 1863.
He was the nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph, and after the death of his son, Archduke Rudolf, and his own father, in 1896 he became the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. He received a comprehensive education. He joined the army early, in which he was promoted very quickly. He aimed at transforming Austria into a three-member state, united with the South Slavs.
In 1894 he met his future wife, Countess Zofia von Chotek. However, the emperor did not agree to the wedding. He allowed only a morganatic marriage, provided that Franz Ferdinand would not renounce his throne and promise that when he became emperor, he would not raise the position of his morganatic wife and descendants. The wedding took place in 1900 and the couple had four children (one of them died shortly after giving birth).
Franz Ferdinand was a staunch opponent of the war, while his death became the direct cause of the outbreak of the world conflict. The Archduke and his wife were killed by an assassin's bullet in Sarajevo in 1914.