- 1914 – Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo by Bosnia Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip, the casus belli of World War I.
- Franz Ferdinand(18 December1863 – 28 June 1914) was anArchduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince ofHungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne.His assassination in Sarajevoprecipitated Austria-Hungary'sdeclaration of war against Serbia. This caused the Central Powers(including Germany and Austria-Hungary) and the Allies of World War I (countries allied with Serbia or Serbia's allies) to declare war on each other, starting World War I.
Assassination
On Sunday, 28 June 1914, at approximately 10:45 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Gavrilo Princip, 19 at the time, a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized by the Black Hand. The event led to a chain of events that eventually triggered World War I.Earlier in the day, the couple had been attacked by Nedeljko Čabrinović, who had thrown a grenade at their car. However, the bomb detonated behind them, hurting the occupants in the following car. On arriving at the Governor's residence, Franz angrily shouted, "So this is how you welcome your guests — with bombs?!"After a short rest at the Governor's residence, the royal couple insisted on seeing all those who had been injured by the bomb at the local hospital. However, no one told the drivers that the itinerary had been changed. When the error was discovered, the drivers had to turn around. As the cars backed down the street and onto a side street, the line of cars stalled. At this same time, Princip was sitting at a cafe across the street. He instantly seized his opportunity and walked across the street and shot the royal couple. He first shot Sophie in the abdomen and then shot Franz Ferdinand in the neck. Franz leaned over his wife crying. He was still alive when witnesses arrived to render aid. His dying words to Sophie were, 'Don't die darling, live for our children.' Princip's weapon was the pocket-sized FN model 1910 pistol chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge, a relatively low-power round,. The archduke's aides attempted to undo his coat but realized they needed scissors to cut it open. It was too late; he died within minutes. Sophie also died en route to the hospital.
The Latest from David C Wallace, author /historian. Writer of the British Chronology Series.
Friday 27 June 2014
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