General Notes

Francis Ferdinand (German Franz Ferdinand), (1863-1914), archduke of Austria,
born in Graz, son of Archduke Charles Louis and nephew of Emperor Francis
Joseph. In 1875 he inherited the title archduke of Austria-Este. After the
deaths of his cousin, Crown Prince Rudolf, in 1889, and of his father, in
1896, Francis became heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown. Because of his
morganatic marriage in 1900 to Countess Sophie Chotek, duchess of Hohenberg,
Francis relinquished all claim to the throne for his children. Although he was
favorably inclined toward the aspirations of the Slavs, he and his wife were
assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina), on June 28,
1914, by a Serb nationalist. The incident precipitated World War I.