Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, died at the age of 51 on the 28th of June. He and his wife shared three children and were expecting another. ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand was killed in an assassination plot conducted by the Serbian group known as the “Black Hand”. ArchDuke’s assassination was the spark of the World War I.

ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand was visiting Sarajevo, the capitol of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was going to be driving through the city in an open roofed car to City Hall. His wife Sophie had never traveled with him but on this day he granted her permission because it was their anniversary. The “Black Hand” did not like the Arch Duke and they felt that they needed to end his life because they knew when Franz Ferdinand became emperor he would be making changes. A group of seven young men gathered in Saravejo to kill the Arch Duke. Each carrying a weapon they were strategically placed along the Arch Duke’s car route. The two youngest terrorists were unable to throw their grenades because of the crowds where as the third terrorist Cabrinovic had his explode under the car. The Arch Duke was not harmed however some of his attendants were hurt.

After lunch the Arch Duke insisted on visiting his attendants in the hospital. On his way the driver of his car made a wrong turn onto the street that Black Hand member Gavrilo Princip just so happened to be on. The driver soon realized his mistake and put the car into