Austria-Hungary
Franz Joseph I
1830–1916 Emperor of Austria, 1848–1916; crowned King of Hungary, 1867
Franz Joseph became Emperor of Austria on 2 December 1848, aged 18, when his uncle Ferdinand abdicated during the revolutions, and he reigned for almost 68 years. After defeat by Prussia in 1866 he accepted the Compromise of 1867, which created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. His brother Maximilian was executed in Mexico that year, his son Rudolf died by suicide in 1889, and his wife Elisabeth was assassinated in 1898. In 1908 he signed the proclamation annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina. Though hesitant, he approved war on Serbia, declared on 28 July 1914, a month after his nephew and heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was killed at Sarajevo. He died on 21 November 1916, in the middle of the war.