June 28, 1914Reputable sourceWell documented
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
On the timeline · around June 28, 1914 ·
What happened
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie were shot dead in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old Bosnian Serb nationalist. The killing came after an earlier bomb attempt failed and the couple's car took a wrong turn.
Why it matters
The assassination set off the chain of ultimatums and alliances known as the July Crisis, which within weeks plunged Europe into the First World War.