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 (, ; ; ; ; ) 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 Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

, Reggio, and

Mirandola Mirandola (Emilian language#Dialects, Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the Modena, provincial capital by railway. History Mirandola originated as a Renaissance Defensiv ...

(from 1815), Duke of Massa and Prince of

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

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

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Biography

Francis was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. His father was Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este and Duke of Breisgau, his mother Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa 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. He was a grandson of

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

, head of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

, 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 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 history of Europe, Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly (French Revoluti ...

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

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; ), also called the was the ancient Frankish Civil law (legal system), civil law code compiled around AD 500 by Clovis I, Clovis, the first Frankish King. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is deba ...

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 nationalist and liberal revolutionary who is known for his participation in the Revolution of 1830 in Italy, for which he was executed in 1831. Biography Menotti was born in Migl ...

for an attempted insurrection against the Duke (1831).

Family

In 1812, Francis married his niece the Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy, who was the daughter of his sister Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este and King

Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel I (; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from 4 June 1802 until his reign ended in 1821 upon abdication due to a liberal revolution. Shortly thereafter, hi ...

. The couple had four children: *

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

(1817–1886), married

Henri, comte de Chambord Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883), was the Legitimist pretender to the throne of France as Henri V from 1844 until his death in 1883. Henri was the only son of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of ...

. *

Francis V, Duke of Modena Francis V, Duke of Modena, Reggio and Guastalla, Archduke of Austria-Este, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Duke of Mirandola and of Massa, Prince of Carrara (; 1 June 1819 – 20 November 1875) was a reigning prince. He was Duke of Moden ...

(1819–1875), married Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria. * 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. She was the daughter of Palatine Joseph of Hungary (1776–1847) and his third wife Maria Dorothea of Württemberg ...

. Father of Maria Theresia, Archduchess of Austria-Este. * 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 Dukes of Reggio House of 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) Sons of duchesses regnant

Biography

Family

Ancestry

See also

External links