 |
|
| Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg |
|
|---|---|
Assassination illustrated in the Italian newspaper Domenica del Corriere, 12 July 1914 by Achille Beltrame
|
|
| Location | Near the Latin Bridge, Sarajevo (43°51′29″N 18°25′44″E / 43.857917°N 18.42875°E / 43.857917; 18.42875) |
| Date | 28 June 1914 |
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, happened on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo. They were shot dead by Gavrilo Princip.
Princip was one of a group of six assassins (five from Serbia and one from Bosnia). The leader was Danilo Ilić, a member of the Black Hand secret society. The political reason for the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary's South Slav provinces so they could be combined into a new country, Yugoslavia.
This soon led to the outbreak of war in Europe at the end of July 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Both country's allies became involved in the war, and soon most of Europe became involved.
