Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Francis I (8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765)[1] (born as François Stephen, also known as Franz Stefan and Francis III Stephen, Duke of Lorraine) was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.
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[edit] Early life
He was born in Nancy, Lorraine (now in France), the oldest surviving son of Leopold Joseph, duke of Lorraine, and his wife Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of Philippe I, duc d'Orléans and Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine. He was connected with the Habsburgs through his grandmother Eleanore, daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III, and wife of Charles Leopold of Lorraine, his grandfather.
Emperor Charles VI favored the family, who, besides being his cousins, had served the house of Austria with distinction. He had designed to marry his daughter Maria Theresa to Francis' older brother Clement. On Clement's death, Charles adopted the younger brother as his future son-in-law. Francis was brought up in Vienna with Maria Theresa on the understanding that they were to be married, and a real affection arose between them.
At the age of 15, when he was brought to Vienna, he was established in the Silesian Duchy of Cieszyn, which had been mediatized and granted to his father by the emperor in 1722. He succeeded his father as Duke of Lorraine in 1729, but the emperor, at the end of the War of the Polish Succession, agreed to compensate the French candidate Stanislaus Leszczynski for the loss of his crown in 1735 and persuaded Francis to exchange Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
[edit] Marries and becomes Emperor
On 12 February 1736 Francis and Maria Theresa were married, and they went for a short time to Florence, when he succeeded to the grand duchy on the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici, the last of the ruling house of Medici. His wife secured in the Treaty of Füssen his election to the Empire on 13 September 1745, in succession to Charles VII, and she made him co-regent of her hereditary dominions.
Francis was well content to leave the wielding of power to his able wife. He had a natural fund of good sense and some business capacity and was a useful assistant to Maria Theresa in the laborious task of governing the complicated Austrian dominions, but his functions appear to have been primarily secretarial. He also took a great interest in the natural sciences. He was a member of the Freemasons.[2]
He died suddenly in his carriage while returning from the opera at Innsbruck on 18 August 1765. He is buried in tomb number 55 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.
Maria Theresa and Francis I had sixteen children--their youngest daughter was the future queen consort of France, Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). He was officially succeeded by his eldest son Joseph II although the real power remained with his wife. Another son was the Emperor Leopold II.
[edit] Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria | February 5, 1737 | June 6, 1740 | died in childhood, no issue |
| Archduchess Maria Anna | October 6, 1738 | November 19, 1789 | died unmarried, no issue |
| Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria | January 12, 1740 | January 25, 1741 | died in childhood, no issue |
| Joseph II | March 13, 1741 | February 20, 1790 | married 1) Infanta Isabel of Spain (1741-1763), married 2) Princess Marie Josephe of Bavaria (1739-1767) - second cousin, had issue from his first marriage (two daugthers, who died young) |
| Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria | May 13, 1742 | June 24, 1798 | married Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (1739-1822), her second cousin (1738-1822), had issue (one stillborn daughter) |
| Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria | August 13, 1743 | September 22, 1808 | died unmarried, no issue |
| Archduke Charles Joseph of Austria | February 1 1745 | January 18, 1761 | died of smallpox, no issue |
| Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria | February 26 1746 | June 9, 1804 | married Ferdinand, Duke of Parma (1751-1802), had issue. |
| Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II | May 5 1747 | March 1, 1792 | married Infanta Maria Louisa of Spain (1745-1792), had issue. Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 (abdicated 1790), Holy Roman Emperor from 1790, Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia from 1790. |
| Archduchess Maria Carolina | September 17, 1748 | September 17, 1748 | stillborn |
| Archduchess Maria Johanna of Austria | February 4, 1750 | December 23, 1762 | died of smallpox, no issue |
| Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria | March 19, 1751 | October 15, 1767 | died of smallpox, no issue |
| Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria | August 13, 1752 | September 7, 1814 | married King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily (1751-1825); had issue |
| Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, Duke of Breisgau | June 1, 1754 | December 24, 1806 | married Maria Beatrice d'Este, heiress of Breisgau and of Modena, had issue (Austria-Este). Duke of Breisgau from 1803. |
| Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, born Maria Antonia | November 2, 1755 | October 16, 1793 | married Louis XVI of France (1754-1793) and became the famous Queen Marie Antoinette. |
| Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria (1756-1801) | December 8, 1756 | July 27, 1801 | Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, 1784. |
[edit] See also
- Kings of Germany family tree. He was related to every other king of Germany.
[edit] References
- ^ Encyclopedia of Austria: Franz I
- ^ "In Mozart's Vienna, Freemasonry had flourished under the Habsburgs mainly due to the influence of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, who, himself, was a Freemason." Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart - Master Mason.
[edit] External links
Media related to Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor at Wikimedia Commons
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This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Born: 8 December 1708 Died: 18 August 1765 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Leopold |
Duke of Lorraine 1729-1737 |
Succeeded by Stanislaus Leszczynski I of Poland |
| Duke of Teschen 1729-1765 |
Succeeded by Joseph II |
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| Preceded by Gian Gastone de' Medici |
Grand Duke of Tuscany 1737-1765 |
Succeeded by Leopold II |
| Preceded by Charles VII |
King in Germany 1745–1764 |
Succeeded by Joseph II |
| Holy Roman Emperor 1745–1765 |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | François Stephen; Franz Stefan; Francis III Stephen, Duke of Lorraine |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 8 December 1708 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nancy |
| DATE OF DEATH | 18 August 1765 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Innsbruck |
