… was assassinated in Sarajevo on this date in 1914, igniting what we know as World War I. Before the war had ended as many as 16 million or more had died, about 40% of them civilians.
Franz Ferdinand was the nephew of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary. After the Emperor’s son had committed suicide and Ferdinand’s own father had died, Ferdinand was first in succession to the 83-year-old Emperor (Franz Josef had been emperor for 65 years).
Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia Herzegovina in 1909. Serbian radicals believed that Franz Ferdinand, once he became emperor, would move to strengthen the empire’s Balkan control. That would diminish, of course, Serbia’s own plans to dominate the area.
In all, there were seven assassins along the route of the Archduke’s car, all Bosnian. The third of the seven, Nedelko Cabrinovic
threw a bomb, but failed to see the car in time to aim well: he missed the heir’s car and hit the next one, injuring several people. Cabrinovic swallowed poison and jumped into a canal, but he was saved from suicide and arrested. He died of tuberculosis in prison in 1916.
The seventh assassin was 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip.
Princip heard Cabrinovic’s bomb go off and assumed that the Archduke was dead. By the time he heard what had really happened, the cars had driven by. By bad luck, a little later the returning procession missed a turn and stopped to back up at a corner just as Princip happened to walk by. Princip fired two shots: one killed the archduke, the other his wife. Princip was arrested before he could swallow his poison capsule or shoot himself. Princip too was a minor under Austrian law, so he could not be executed. Instead he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and died of tuberculosis in 1916.
It was the Archduke and Sophie’s fourteenth wedding anniversary. The Archduke’s last words were, “Sophie dear, Sophie dear, don’t die! Stay alive for our children.”
In the aftermath of the assassination, diplomatic efforts failed, as both Austria and Serbia feared loss of national prestige. Austria declared war on Serbia. Germany sided with Austria. Russia supported Serbia as required by treaty. France was obligated to support Russia in any war with Germany or Austria-Hungary. Britain was obligated to support France in any war with Germany.
Source for quotes and some background: The Balkan Causes of World War One.