Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
![](/Images/godic/202501/14/Ferdinand_Schmutzer_-_Franz_Ferdinand_von_Österreich-Este,_um_19142639.jpg")
![Archduke Franz Ferdinand with his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, and their three children (from left), Prince Ernst von Hohenberg, Princess Sophie, and Maximilian, Duke of Hohenburg, in 1910](/Images/godic/202501/14/The_Austro_Hungarian_Empire_Before_the_First_World_War_Q818102639.jpg")
![Château Konopiště in Bohemia – summer residence of Franz Ferdinand and his family](/Images/godic/202501/14/Konopiste_CZ_022639.jpg")
![Map of the federalization of Austria-Hungary planned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the member states with separate governments](/Images/godic/202501/14/Greater_austria2639.png")
Franz Ferdinand (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia and, from 1896 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia. This caused the Central Powers (including Germany and Austria-Hungary) and Serbia's allies to declare war on each other, starting World War I.