Ferdinand III(; ; English: ''Ferdinand Joseph John Baptist''. (6 May 1769 – 18 June 1824) was

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

from 1790 to 1801 and, after a period of disenfranchisement, again from 1814 to 1824. He was also the

Prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

and Grand Duke of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

(1803–1805) and Duke and Elector (to 1806, Grand Duke from 1806) of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

(1805–1814).

Biography

Ferdinand was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Tuscany, into the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

on 6 May 1769. He was the second son of Leopold, then Grand-Duke of Tuscany, and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. As the Grand Duchy was a secundogeniture, when his father was elected

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, Ferdinand succeeded him as

Grand Duke of Tuscany Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), se ...

, officially taking the office on 22 July 1790. In 1792, during the French Revolution, Ferdinand became the first monarch to recognize the new

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

formally, and he attempted to work peacefully with it. As the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

commenced, however, the rulers of Britain and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

persuaded him to join their side in the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...

. Ferdinand provided his allies with passive support but no enthusiasm, and after he witnessed a year of resounding victories by the French, he became the first member of the coalition to give up. In a proclamation dated 1 March 1795, he abandoned the alliance and declared Tuscany's neutrality in the war. His normalization of relations with France helped stabilize his rule for several years, but by 1799, he was compelled to flee to Vienna for protection when republicans established a new government in Florence. He was forced to renounce his throne by the Treaty of Aranjuez (1801):

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

brushed him aside to make way for the Kingdom of Etruria, created as compensation for the Bourbon Dukes of Parma, dispossessed by the Peace of Lunéville in that same year. Ferdinand was compensated with the Electorate of Salzburg, the secularized former territory of the

Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (; ) was an Prince-bishop, ecclesiastical principality and Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the m ...

. He was also made a

of the Holy Roman Empire (a role which expired with the empire's dissolution in 1806), receiving the title and land on 26 December 1802. On 25 December 1805, Ferdinand had to give up Salzburg as well, which by the Treaty of Pressburg was annexed by his older brother, Emperor Francis II. Ferdinand was then made duke of Würzburg, a new state created for him from the old Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, while remaining an elector. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, he took the new title of Grand Duke of Würzburg. On 30 May 1814, after Napoleon's fall, Ferdinand was restored as grand duke of Tuscany. Ferdinand died on 18 June 1824 in Florence and was succeeded by his son Leopold.

Family and children

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

on 15 August 1790 by proxy and in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

on 19 September 1790 in person, Ferdinand married firstly his double first cousin,

Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily Luisa of Naples and Sicily (Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa; 27 July 1773 – 19 September 1802) was List of Tuscan consorts, Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. She was born a princess of Naples and Sic ...

(1773–1802), daughter of

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand I ...

and Maria Carolina of Austria. They had five children: * Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda of Austria (2 August 1793 – 5 January 1802) died in childhood. * Francis Leopold, Grand Prince of Tuscany (15 December 1794 – 18 May 1800) died in childhood. * Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) * Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria (30 August 1798 – 15 June 1857) * Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria (21 March 1801 – 12 January 1855) Their first two children, Carolina and Francis, died at very young ages (eight and five respectively) but the later three prospered under their father's care. Luisa died when they were all quite young, on 19 September 1802, together with a stillborn son who was unnamed. Two decades later, in

on 6 May 1821, Ferdinand married again, this time to the much younger Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony (1796–1865). She was the daughter of Maximilian, Prince of Saxony, and Caroline of Parma; she was also his first cousin once removed, as well as the first cousin once removed of the dead Luisa, and the sister of his daughter-in-law Princess Maria Anna of Saxony. Though Ferdinand was likely hoping to produce another male heir, there were no children born of this second marriage.

Ancestry

Notes

References

External links

House of Habsburg, Tuscan Branch
family tree by Ferdinand Schevill in ''A Political History of Modern Europe'' (1909) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand 03 of Tuscany, Grand Duke 1769 births 1824 deaths 18th-century Italian nobility 19th-century Italian nobility 18th-century grand dukes of Tuscany 19th-century grand dukes of Tuscany Austrian princes Tuscan princes House of Habsburg-Lorraine Tuscan nobility Italian Roman Catholics 18th century in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany 19th century in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany 18th-century monarchs in Europe 19th-century monarchs in Europe Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Grand Masters of the Order of Saint Joseph Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Burials at San Lorenzo, Florence Sons of emperors Children of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Sons of kings People of the War of the First Coalition People from the Grand Duchy of Würzburg Sons of counts Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire