Francis IV Joseph Charles Ambrose Stanislaus (Italian: ''Francesco IV Giuseppe Carlo Ambrogio Stanislao d'Asburgo-Este''; 6 October 1779 – 21 January 1846) was Duke of

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

, Reggio, and

Mirandola Mirandola ( Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the provincial capital by railway. History Mirandola originated as a Renaissance city-fortress. For four centuries it was ...

(from 1815), Duke of

Massa Massa may refer to: Places *Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara. *Massa (river), river in Switzerland * Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...

and Prince of

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, west-northwest o ...

(from 1829), Archduke of Austria-Este, Royal Prince of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Biography

Francis was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. His father was

Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

and Duke of

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

, his mother

Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa Maria Beatrice d’Este ( it, Maria Beatrice Ricciarda; 7 April 1750 – 14 November 1829) was the last descendant of the House of Este, of the Cybo-Malaspina, House of Cybo-Malaspina and, through her maternal grandmother , also of the House of Go ...

and Princess of Carrara, who was the last descendant of the

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

and, through her mother, of the

House of Cybo-Malaspina A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

. He was a grandson of

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' ( ...

, head of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

, and was heir to the Este states through his father, who had been invested with the succession in the imperial fies of the Este by the

Perpetual Imperial Diet The Perpetual Diet of Regensburg or the Eternal Diet of Regensburg, (german: Immerwährender Reichstag) also commonly called in English the perpetual Diet of Ratisbon,Jean Berenger, C.A. Simpson, ''The Habsburg Empire 1700-1918'' (2014), p. 134 fr ...

in 1771, just before his marriage to Maria Beatrice, although he could never actually ascend the throne during the

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative ...

. Francis's mother was not entitled to inherit due to the

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Du ...

in force in Modena and Reggio (but not applied in Massa and Carrara). He thus became the first member of the House of Habsburg-Este to rule the Este inheritance in Northern Italy. Francis is distinguished for his stern and tyrannic rule by which he repressed all the democratic movements appearing during his reign, particularly following a major revolt in 1830. The harshness of the Ducal policies are illustrated by the hanging of

Ciro Menotti Ciro Menotti (22 January 1798 – 23 May 1831) was an Italian patriot. Biography Menotti was born in Migliarina, near Carpi, then part of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. A member of the Carboneria since 1817, he was a fervent democratic and pa ...

for an attempted insurrection against the Duke (1831).

Family

In 1812, Francis married his niece the Princess

Maria Beatrice of Savoy Maria Beatrice of Savoy (Maria Beatrice Vittoria Giuseppina; 6 December 1792 – 15 September 1840) was Duchess of Modena by marriage to Francis IV, Duke of Modena. Biography Early life She was the eldest daughter of Victor Emmanuel, Duke of Aos ...

, who was the daughter of his sister Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este and King

Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel I (Vittorio Emanuele; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia (1802–1821). Biography Victor Emmanuel was the second son of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda o ...

. The couple had four children: *

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

(1817–1886), married

Henri, comte de Chambord Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (french: Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois, duc de Bordeaux, comte de Chambord; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883) was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Hen ...

. *

Francis V, Duke of Modena Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

(1819–1875), married

Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria (german: Adelgunde Auguste Charlotte Caroline Elisabeth Amalie Marie Sophie Luise von Bayern; 19 March 1823 – 28 October 1914) was a daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. She was Du ...

. * Ferdinand Karl (1821–1849), married

Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska Maria of Austria (17 January 1831 – 14 February 1903) was born in Ofen (Buda), Hungary, the daughter of Palatine Joseph of Hungary (1776–1847) and his third wife Maria Dorothea of Württemberg (1797–185 ...

. Father of

Maria Theresia, Archduchess of Austria-Este Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

. * Maria Beatrix (1824–1906), married Infante Juan de Bourbon, Count of Montizón.

Ancestry

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis 04 Of Modena, Duke

Francesco IV d'Este Francis IV Joseph Charles Ambrose Stanislaus (Italian: ''Francesco IV Giuseppe Carlo Ambrogio Stanislao d'Asburgo-Este''; 6 October 1779 – 21 January 1846) was Duke of Duchy of Modena, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Reggio, and Mirandola (from 1815), D ...

Dukes of Reggio Austria-Este Nobility from Milan Roman Catholic monarchs 1779 births 1846 deaths Modenese princes Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)

Biography

Family

Ancestry

See also

External links