Franz I Holy Roman Emperor Full name François Stephen Titles Duke of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany Born 8 December 1708 Nancy Died 18 August 1765 Innsbruck Predecessor Charles VII Successor Joseph II Royal House Lorraine

Austrian Royalty House of Habsburg-Lorraine Armorial of the Holy Roman Empire Maria Theresa & Francis I Children include    Joseph II    Archduchess Maria Christina    Archduchess Marie Amalie    Leopold II    Archduchess Marie Caroline    Archduke Ferdinand    Archduchess Marie Antoinette    Archduke Maximilian Grandchildren include    Francis IV of Modena    Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph II Leopold II Children include    Archduchess Maria Theresia    Francis II    Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany    Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen    Archduke Alexander Leopold    Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary    Archduke Johann    Archduke Rainer    Archduke Louis    Archduke Rudolph Grandchildren include    Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany    Archduchess Maria Theresa    Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen    Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska    Archduke Joseph Karl Francis II

Francis I (8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765)^[1] (born as François Stephen, also known as Franz Stefan and Francis III Stephen, Duke of Lorraine) was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.

Silver coin of Francis I, dated 1754. The Latin inscription reads on the obverse FRANCISCVS D[EI] G[RATIA] ROM[ANORVM] IMP[ERATOR] SEMP[ER] AVG[VUSTVS], or in English, "Francis, by the Grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, forever Augustus" and on the reverse MONETA REIP[VBLICAE] RATISBON[AE] or in English, "Mint of the Republic of Ratisbon."

He was born in Nancy, Lorraine (now in France), the oldest surviving son of Leopold Joseph, duke of Lorraine, and his wife Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of Philippe I, duc d'Orléans and Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine. He was connected with the Habsburgs through his grandmother Eleanore, daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III, and wife of Charles Leopold of Lorraine, his grandfather.

Emperor Charles VI favored the family, who, besides being his cousins, had served the house of Austria with distinction. He had designed to marry his daughter Maria Theresa to Francis' older brother Clement. On Clement's death, Charles adopted the younger brother as his future son-in-law. Francis was brought up in Vienna with Maria Theresa on the understanding that they were to be married, and a real affection arose between them.

At the age of 15, when he was brought to Vienna, he was established in the Silesian Duchy of Cieszyn, which had been mediatized and granted to his father by the emperor in 1722. He succeeded his father as Duke of Lorraine in 1729, but the emperor, at the end of the War of the Polish Succession, agreed to compensate the French candidate Stanislaus Leszczynski for the loss of his crown in 1735 and persuaded Francis to exchange Lorraine for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Francis I

On 12 February 1736 Francis and Maria Theresa were married, and they went for a short time to Florence, when he succeeded to the grand duchy on the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici, the last of the ruling house of Medici. His wife secured his election to the Empire on 13 September 1745, in succession to Charles VII, and she made him co-regent of her hereditary dominions.

Francis was well content to leave the wielding of power to his able wife. He had a natural fund of good sense and some business capacity and was a useful assistant to Maria Theresa in the laborious task of governing the complicated Austrian dominions, but his functions appear to have been primarily secretarial. He also took a great interest in the natural sciences. He was a member of the Freemasons.^[2]

He died suddenly in his carriage while returning from the opera at Innsbruck on 18 August 1765. He is buried in tomb number 55 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

Maria Theresa and Francis I had sixteen children--their youngest daughter was the future queen consort of France, Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). He was officially succeeded by his eldest son Joseph II although the real power remained with his wife. Another son was the Emperor Leopold II. See Children of Francis Stephen and Maria Theresa for a full list.

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Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

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