Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The Archduke Franz Ferdinand 

 Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, on December 18, 1863. He was a member of a prestigious group who ruled the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Spanish Empire. His early life was spent in the military. Beginning at age 12 he worked hard to receive the rank of major general by 31. After his father's death from typhoid fever and the suicide of the emperor's son Franz was in line to take the throne. After some complications because of her background he married Countess Sophia Chotek under the agreement that his successors could not take the throne because they  would be related to her.
   Franz was a cold, sharp-tongued and short-tempered leader. Despite this, he had many important contributions to the country. He advocated giving equal treatment to the country made up of a variety of races and nationalisms. He continued to work toward improvements and tried his best to ignore those who threatened and went against him. Then in the summer of 1914, Franz and his wife Sophia accepted an invitation to visit the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. He had been warned before hand of terrorist activity but he ignored the warnings. The couple arrived by train and were driven through town in a car with the top rolled down to give the crowds a good view. As they were driving a grenade was thrown at the car, this assassination attempt angered Franz and he yelled at the spectators in disgust. On the route back to the palace the archduke's driver took a wrong turn where nationalist Gavrilo Princip was waiting. He shot the couple and they both died before they could reach the hospital.
    The assassination of Franz Ferdinand gave the people of Austria-Hungary an excuse to take action against serbia and put an end to their fight for independence. In July of 2014 the situation escalated after demands were not meant by the serbians. War was declared and the web of alliances formed before were activated. As Russia declared was on Austria-Hungary, Germany did the same to Russia. France,Britain and later the U.S declared war on Germany. World War I had officially begun. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand would be known as the spark that lead to the war.


Source: http://www.biography.com/people/franz-ferdinand-9300680?page=2