Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated on June 28, 1914, by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the nationalist group known as the Black Hand. Their murder was motivated by rising nationalist sentiments among Serbs who opposed Austro-Hungarian rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Ferdinand was seen as a symbol of oppression. The assassination set off a chain of events that ultimately led to the outbreak of World War I, as it exacerbated existing tensions between the major European powers.
Copyright © 2026 eLLeNow.com All Rights Reserved.