Home > Franz Joseph of Austria

Archduke Franz was the eldest son of Archduke Franz Karl (and Sophie, Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Bavaria), who was brother and heir of Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I. Because his father renounced his claim to the throne, Franz became emperor as Franz Joseph I when Ferdinand abdicated near the end of the Revolution of 1848.

In 1854Events January 13 The accordion is patented by Anthony Faas. February 11 Major streets lit by coal gas for first time. February 14 Texas is linked by telegraph with the rest of the United States, when a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas i Franz Joseph married Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria (also Princess of Bavaria through her mother's side of the family), who became Elisabeth of AustriaElisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Duchess in Bavaria and Princess of Bavaria ( December 24, 1837 September 10, 1898), of the House of Wittelsbach, was Empress-Consort of Austria and Queen consort of Hungary due to her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph. Her father ("Sisi" or "Sissi"). Their only son, Crown Prince RudolfCrown Prince Rudolf of Austria ( 21 August 1858 30 January 1889) was the son and heir of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and Elisabeth of Austria. His death, apparently through suicide, along with that of his mistress, Baroness Marie Vetsera at Mayerling h, committed suicideSuicide (from Latin sui caedere to kill oneself) is the act of ending one's own life. It is considered a sin in many religions, and a crime in some jurisdictions. On the other hand, some cultures have viewed it as an honorable way to exit certain shameful in 1889 in the famous Mayerling episode with his young mistress Baroness Marie Vetsera. Rudolf's killing of the Baroness Vetsera was an extremely grim chapter in the long line of outbreaks of mental instability in the Habsburg Dynasty caused by their long history of inbreeding. The younger brother to Emperor Franz Joseph, the Archduke Viktor Ludwig, spent most of his life exiled on the island of Capri, following a series of scandals involving dressing up in women's clothes and molesting his military aides.

Notwithstanding the scandals there were times when Franz Joseph took strong moral stands. When Pope Pius IX kidnapped the six year old Jewish child Edgardo Mortara on account of the claim that a housekeeper had secretly baptized him, Emperor Franz Joseph sent the Pope a humanitarian plea to return the poor child to his heart-broken parents. The Pope refused his request.

Their three other children were Sophie, Archduchess of Austria ( 1855 - 1858), Gisela, Archduchess of Austria ( 1856 - 1932) and Marie-Valerie, Archduchess of Austria ( 1868 - 1924).

See Otto von Habsburg for a photograph of Franz Joseph with his great-grandnephew Otto, the current head of the Habsburg family.

The archipelago Franz Josef Land in the Russian high arctic was named in his honor in 1873.

Names in other languages: German: Franz Josef,Italian Francesco Giuseppe, Czech: František Josef, Hungarian: I. Ferenc József, Slovak: František Jozef I, Polish: Franciszek Józef, Croatian: Franjo Josip, Slovenian: Franc Jo?ef