Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was raised in a strict Catholic environment and educated in the military. In 1889, he joined the Austro-Hungarian army and served in various capacities, eventually rising to the rank of general.
In 1896, Ferdinand's father died and he became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. However, his succession was not assured due to his morganatic marriage to Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa, a member of the Bohemian nobility. The marriage caused a scandal within the Habsburg family and Ferdinand was forced to renounce his rights to the throne for his children.
Despite this setback, Ferdinand remained a popular figure among the Austro-Hungarian public. He was seen as a modernizer and a reformer, and he was known for his liberal views and his support for the rights of the empire's many ethnic minorities.
In 1914, Ferdinand and his wife visited Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which had been annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908. The visit was intended to demonstrate the strength of Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and to quell the growing unrest in the province. However, it had the opposite effect. On 28 June 1914, Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip.
Ferdinand's assassination triggered the July Crisis, a diplomatic crisis that led to the outbreak of World War I. The war lasted for four years and resulted in the deaths of millions of people.
Ferdinand's assassination is considered one of the most important events in world history. It marked the beginning of the First World War, which changed the course of human history.