The king who wanted World War I to begin: Who is Franz Joseph?
He declared war on Serbia after the Austrian crown prince Franz Ferdinand was killed by the Serbs (1914). Thus, it caused World War I to break out. But he died two years after the war broke out before he could see the disasters that this war brought to the world.
Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. During the 1848 Revolution that ended Habsburg rule, Austrian Emperor Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his nephew at the age of 18. Thus, Franz Joseph became Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary (1848).
When Franz Joseph became emperor, the empire was awash in turmoil. Czechs, Italian states, and Hungarians revolted. Hungarians had established a republic.
Sardinian King Charles Albert occupied Lombardy and Venice. Franz Joseph suppressed these uprisings in a short time. From 1859 to 1866, he had to fight with the Sardinians and Prussians. In 1866, the Austrian army was defeated by the Prussians in Sadova. It lost its superiority in Germany. Governments affiliated with Austria in Italy entered the Italian union.
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his death in 1916. In the early part of his reign, his realms and territories were referred to as the Austrian Empire, but were reconstituted as the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866, he was also president of the German Confederation.
In the face of this situation, Franz Joseph had to declare that Hungary and Austria were united and that they were two kingdoms equal to each other (1867). Thus, the dual state was established.
However, Franz Joseph endeared himself to the nations living within the empire with his clean politics, sympathy, and generosity. But his misfortune bothered him from time to time. His son killed himself, his wife died as a result of an assassination. He made an alliance with the German Empire. After the Austrian crown prince Franz Ferdinand was killed by the Serbs, he declared war on Serbia (1914). Thus, it caused World War I to break out.
But he died two years after the war broke out before he could see the disasters this war brought to the world.