Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria themselves after him. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este (Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria; 18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was a member of the imperial Habsburg dynasty, and from 1896 until his death the heir presumptive ("Thronfolger") to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia, which in turn triggered a series of events that resulted in Austria-Hungary's allies and Serbia's declaring war on each other, starting World War I. Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
History of the Balkans war set the stage for the Balkan crisis of 1914 and thus was a "prelude to the First World War." The monumentally colossal World War I was ignited from a spark in the Balkans, when a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand. Princip was a member of a Serbian militant group called the Crna Ruka (Serbian for "Black Hand"). Following the assassination, Austria-Hungary sent Serbia an ultimatum in July 1914 with several provisions largely designed to prevent Serbian compliance. When Serbia only partially fulfilled the terms of the ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared war