Person

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

1863–1914 · 19th century · Also known as Franz Ferdinand

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph I and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne from 1896. He favoured army reform and greater rights for the empire's Slav peoples, and his morganatic marriage to Sophie Chotek strained relations at court. His assassination with his wife in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 by Gavrilo Princip set off the crisis that led to the First World War.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Image: Ferdinand Schmutzer · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Austro-Hungarian EmpireDecline, Summary

Mentioned in 1 state history

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian)

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/archduke-franz-ferdinand-of-austria
MLA
“Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/archduke-franz-ferdinand-of-austria. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/archduke-franz-ferdinand-of-austria.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/archduke-franz-ferdinand-of-austria (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻