Causes of World War I corrective." British Diplomat Arthur Nicolson wrote in May 1914, “Since I have been at the Foreign Office I have not seen such calm waters.” On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead, by two gun shots in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six assassins (five Serbs and one Bosniak) coordinated by Danilo Ilić, a Bosnian Serb and a member of the Black Hand secret society. The assassination is significant because it was perceived by Austria-Hungary as an existential challenge
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria Anna Juliana) became Holy Roman Empress Anna, consort of Emperor Mathias, who received his Further Austrian inheritance. He and his first wife Philippine Welser were parents of four children: On 14 May 1582, Ferdinand married his niece Anne Catherine. She was a daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua, and Eleonora of Austria, younger sister of Ferdinand. They were parents to three daughters: He had at least two illegitimate children: –With Anna von Obrizon: –With Johanna Lydl von Mayenburg: Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria (Linz, 14 June 1529 – 24 January 1595, Innsbruck) was