WW1: Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand- Key Person, World War I

 The Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in late June of 1914. Ferdinand was visiting the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo at the time he was assassinated. The assassin Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian revolutionary, was a member of a Serbian nationalist group, called the "Black Hand." He rushed the Archbishop's open vehicle and shot Ferdinand and his wife to death. The group planned this event with the knowledge of Serbian Officials in hopes to bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This event sparked the beginning of the first World War.