Johann Baptist Joseph Fabian Sebastian Österreich (1782 - 1859)

Born 20 Jan 1782 in Firenze, Granducato di Toscana

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 11 May 1859 at age 77 in Graz, Graz Stadt, Steiermark, Österreich

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Biography

Erzherzog Johann Österreich is Notable.

Archduke John of Austria (German: Erzherzog Johann von Österreich; 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and German Imperial regent (Reichsverweser) during the Revolutions of 1848.

John was born in Florence, the thirteenth child of the Habsburg grand duke Leopold of Tuscany and Maria Louisa of Spain. He was baptized with the name of John Baptist Joseph Fabian Sebastian,[1] after the patron saint of the Tuscan capital. In 1790, Leopold succeeded his brother Joseph II as Holy Roman Emperor and his family moved from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to the Imperial court in Vienna. Only two years later, John's elder brother Francis II ascended the Imperial throne.

John's native language was Italian, he learned to speak French and German fluently. Educated by the Swiss historian Johannes von Müller, he developed wide-ranging skills and interests, especially in the history and geography of the Alpine countries.

During the Napoleonic Wars, John was given command of the Austrian army in September 1800, despite his personal reluctance to assume the position. He showed personal bravery in the War of the Second Coalition, but his troops were crushed at the Battle of Hohenlinden on 3 December. Demoralized by defeat, the army nearly disintegrated in the subsequent retreat, which was only stopped by an armistice arranged on 22 December. After the Peace of Lunéville in 1801, Archduke John was made General Director of the Engineering and Fortification Service, and later commander of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt.

Even though Johann did not consider himself a liberal, he promoted some liberal ideas. He was often in conflict with the Habsburg court, especially because of his morganatic marriage, though he never openly rebelled. He had earned great recognition in the Styrian lands, moreover he gained general acceptance by his jovial manners and his marriage with a middle-class woman.

Upon the March Revolution of 1848, the Frankfurt Parliament discussed the appointment of an all-German government replacing the Federal Convention . On a proposal by the liberal politician Heinrich von Gagern, the assembly voted for the establishment of a central authority and on 29 June 1848 elected Archduke John regent of the realm.

As head of state, his political office did not offer many opportunities, though all laws had to be signed by him and he appointed the ministers Anton von Schmerling, Johann Gustav Heckscher and Eduard von Peucker to office, completed by Prince Carl of Leiningen as minister president and head of government. Archduke John did not take part in the draft of the Frankfurt Constitution, which was adopted on 28 March 1849, and pronounced against the strong position of Prussia.

In December 1848 the government headed by Schmerling lost its majority in parliament and Archduke John appointed Heinrich von Gagern minister president. When in April 1849 King Frederick William IV of Prussia openly rejected the Constitution, he remained passive and Gagern handed in his resignation on May 10. John insisted that he would exert central authority, nevertheless after the final failure of the March Revolution, John resigned from his office on 20 December 1849.

Archduke Johann died in 1859 in Graz, where the fountain erected in his honour (illustration) dominates the central square. He is buried in Schenna near Meran. He was the great-grandfather of noted conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia [1]

• Edward L. Burlingame (1879). "John (Johann Baptist Joseph), archduke of Austria". The American Cyclopædia [2].
• https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_von_%C3%96sterreich