Curated playlist
Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria
- Francis II, Holy Roman EmperorOn August 6, 1806, Francis II ended the Holy Roman Empire with a single signed declaration. He was its last emperor.
- Maximilian I of MexicoFacing a firing squad in 1867, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico handed each executioner a gold coin.
- Victor Emmanuel IIItalian politicians called Victor Emmanuel II an imbecile, yet he became Italy's first king.
- Joseph II, Holy Roman EmperorEmperor Joseph II issued over 6,000 edicts and 11,000 new laws, yet many subjects came to loathe him.
- Leopold II, Holy Roman EmperorLeopold II abolished the death penalty in Tuscany in 1786. Historians call it the first permanent abolition.
- Leopold II of BelgiumLeopold II of Belgium was the second king of the Belgians, and in 1908 he lost the Congo. The entire archive of the Congo Free State was then burned. Leopold told an aide that, although the colony had been taken from him, "they have no…
- Archduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaArchduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was shot in Sarajevo wearing a coat that his own aides could not open. When they tried to loosen it, they discovered that they needed scissors. The outer lapel had been sewn to the inner front of the…
- Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-EsteFerdinand Karl founded a noble house even though he never held the duchy he was promised.
- Franz Joseph IOn the evening of the 21st of November 1916, inside Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Emperor Franz Joseph I gave his valet a final instruction. "Tomorrow morning, at half past three." Those were his last words. He was 86 years old. Franz…
- Otto von HabsburgOtto von Habsburg, born to be emperor, spent nearly half a century in exile from Austria.
- Archduke Charles, Duke of TeschenArchduke Charles of Austria beat Napoleon in 1809 at Aspern-Essling. It was Napoleon's first big pitched-battle loss.