Photo: Ferdinand Schmutzer - Österreichische Nationalbibliothek/Wikipedia • Believed to be in the Public Domain
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
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Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 - 28 June 1914) was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo is considered the most immediate cause of World War I.
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Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His courtship of Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting, caused conflict within the imperial household, and their marriage in 1900 was only allowed after he renounced his descendants' rights to the throne. Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces.
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On Sunday, 28 June 1914, at about 10:45 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The perpetrator was 19 year old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized and armed by the Black Hand.
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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, injuring 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!"
Photo: Trampus - Biblioteca Nacional de España/Wikipedia • Believed to be in the Public Domain
The strange coincidence of the
car registration plate
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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated on June 28th 1914, an event which led to the beginning of the war. Strangely, the Archduke's number plate read: A 111 118, a series that can be read as, Armistice 11 November '18. 18
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Ferdinand had survived an assassination attempt earlier that same day, escaping a bomb, but was shot when he went to visit some of the men who were injured in hospital. He and his wife Sophie travelled in a car bearing the number plate "AIII 118", which some have read as the date the eventual Armistice was signed.
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Germany signed an armistice agreement with
the Allies on November 11, 1918.
Source: Wikipedia/Sky News
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