[December 30] Ferdinand Charles, archduke of Further Austria

Parents: Leopold V, archduke of Further Austria, and Claudia de' Medici
Date of Birth: 17 May 1628
House: Habsburg
Spouse(s): Anna de' Medici, daughter of Cosimo II, grand duke of Tuscany, and Maria Magdalena of Austria
Predecessor: Leopold V
Reign: 1630 – 1662
Brief: During the 16th and 17th centuries, the archduchy of Austria was divided up among rival cadet branches of the family. Ferdinand Charles was delegated ruler of Further Austria based out of Tyrol near the Italian border. For the first sixteen years of his rule, he was a minor and his mother, Claudia de' Medici, ruled in his name until 1646. Once he became archduke, Ferdinand Charles ruled with an iron fist. He dissolved the Tyrolian Diet in 1648 and executed his chancellor in 1651, ruling alone afterwards. He enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and paid for it by selling titles of nobility and family heirlooms under his care. He was paid a portion of gold from France for lands ceded to France in a previous war—he wasted all of this on luxuries. For all his greed, Ferdinand Charles was a lover of Italian opera and had an opera house at his court for performances. When he died in 1662, few mourned his passing and his brother, Sigismund Francis, bishop of Augsburg, Gurk, and Trent, inherited Further Austria.

Date of Death: 30 December 1662

Successor: Sigismund Francis

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Felix I, pope of Rome (274)
• Richard II, pretender to England (1460)
• Innocent IV, pope of Rome (1591)

[June 3] Leopold IV, duke of Further Austria

Habsburg family coat of arms

Parents: Leopold III, duke of Austria, and Viridis Visconti

Date of Birth: 1371

House: Habsburg
Spouse: Catherine, daughter of Philip II, duke of Burgundy, and Margaret III, countess of Flanders

Predecessor: Leopold III

Reign: 1386 – 1411

Summary: At only the age of fifteen, Leopold's brother, Duke William of Inner Austria, enlisted him to rule Further Austria. The region of Further Austria included the Habsburg hereditary lands in Swiss Aargau as well as various lands in the west of Austria. Throughout his reign, Leopold would face opposition from the Swiss over which he ruled. In 1391, he was granted sole administration over Further Austria, and in 1396 he added the management of Tyrol in northern Italy to his dossier. By 1393, he was involved in a dynastic marriage that could have had far-reaching consequences if it had produced any heirs. His new wife, Catherine, was a member of the Burgundian royal family and her mother, Margaret, was the countess of Flanders in her own right. Although no heirs were produced, this marriage was an interesting foreshadowing of an actual dynastic alliance that would form about eighty years later.

Ernest and Frederick, two younger brothers of Leopold's, were left in Austria where they earned their own titles as Austrian dukes in 1402. When William, the eldest, died in 1406, Leopold IV became the effective ruler of all the Austrian lands and the head of the family. With no children, Ernest and Frederick began partitioning up Austria for when they succeeded to the throne. Leopold allowed them their game and remained the ruler of Further Austria, granting administration of the eastern lands to his power-hungry younger brothers. Leopold also began to mentor Albert V, the senior member of the junior cadet line of the Habsburgs and the future king of Hungary and Germany. The younger brothers fought Leopold over this move to consolidate Habsburg control, but both brothers in turn later acted as guardians for Albert as well. Leopold died in 1411 and was succeeded by Frederick in Further Austria, with Ernest already ruling Inner Austria.

Date of Death: 3 June 1411

Successor: Frederick IV

Other Monarch Deaths:

Ivan, tsar of Bulgaria (1395)

John XXIII, pope of Rome (1963)