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Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor

Francis I
Martin van Meytens 006.jpg
Francis I
(by Martin van Meytens)
Holy Roman Emperor
King in Germany
Reign 13 September 1745 – 18 August 1765
Coronation 4 October 1745, Frankfurt
Predecessor Charles VII
Successor Joseph II
Archduke of Austria
Reign 21 November 1740 – 18 August 1765
Predecessor Maria Theresa
Successor Joseph II
Co-monarch Maria Theresa
Grand Duke of Tuscany
Reign 12 July 1737 – 18 August 1765
Predecessor Gian Gastone
Successor Leopold I
Duke of Lorraine
Reign 27 March 1729 – 9 July 1737
Predecessor Leopold
Successor Stanisław I
Born (1708-12-08)8 December 1708
Ducal Palace of Nancy, Lorraine, HRE
Died 18 August 1765(1765-08-18) (aged 56)
Palace of Innsbruck, Austria
Burial Imperial Crypt, Vienna
Spouse Maria Theresa of Austria
Issue
Full name
Francis Stephen
House Lorraine
Father Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
Mother Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans
Religion Roman Catholicism
Full name
Francis Stephen

Francis I (German: Franz Stefan, French: François Étienne; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real powers of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. From 1728 until 1737 he was Duke of Lorraine. In 1737, Lorraine became managed by France under terms resulting from the War of the Polish Succession. Francis and the House of Lorraine received the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the peace treaty that ended that war. After taking the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, the return of the ancestral duchy of Lorraine went nominally to his brother Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (who was however engaged in ruling the Austrian Netherlands), until succession under derivate house alliances resulted in Lorraine's annexation to France in 1766.

Francis was born in Nancy, Lorraine (now in France), the oldest surviving son of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans. He was connected with the Habsburgs through his grandmother Eleonor, daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III. He was very close to his brother and sister Anne Charlotte.


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