Francis IV
Portrait by Adeodato Malatesta, 1831
Duke of Modena and Reggio
Reign14 July 1814 – 21 January 1846
PredecessorErcole III d'Este, Duke of Modena
SuccessorFrancis V, Duke of Modena
Born(1779-10-06)6 October 1779
Milan, Duchy of Milan
Died21 January 1846(1846-01-21) (aged 66)
Modena, Duchy of Modena
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1812; died 1840)​
Issue
HouseHabsburg-Este
FatherFerdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este
MotherMaria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa
ReligionRoman Catholicism

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, Reggio, and Mirandola (from 1815), Duke of Massa and Prince of Carrara (from 1829), Archduke of Austria-Este, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Biography

Francis was born in Milan. 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 and, through her mother, of the House of Cybo-Malaspina.

He was a grandson of Maria Theresa of Austria, head of the House of Habsburg, 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. Francis's mother was not entitled to inherit due to the Salic law 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 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. The couple had four children:

Ancestry

See also

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