Franz Joseph I

World Leader

Birthday August 18, 1830

Birth Sign Leo

Birthplace Austria

DEATH DATE Nov 21, 1916 (86)

#74,802 Most Popular

About

Austrian political leader and royal. He served as Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary from 1848 to 1916. From 1850 to 1866, he also served as President of the German Confederation.

Before Fame

He joined the Austrian Army at the age of thirteen. Soon thereafter, he served under the command of Field Marshal Radetzky in an 1848 Italian campaign.

Trivia

He was the object of an attempted assassination by Janos Libenyi, a Hungarian-born nationalist.

Family Life

He was the son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria. His marriage to Empress Elisabeth of Austria produced three daughters and one son.

Associated With

He formed one third of the League of Three Emperors, a group that also included Russia's Tsar Alexander II and Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm I.