The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand occurred on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. He was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. A group of Serbian nationalists, seeking independence from Austro-Hungarian rule, plotted to kill him. When the first assassination attempt failed, the Archduke's car route changed, leading them directly to one of the assassins, Gavrilo Princip, who shot him and his wife. This event set off a chain reaction among European powers, leading to World War I, as alliances triggered declarations of war and escalated tensions that had been building for years.