FRANCIS II., Emperor of Germany, and I. of Austria, the eldest son of Leopold II., grand duke of Tuscany, and of Maria Louisa, daughter of Charles III., king of Spain, was born at Florence, in Feb., 1768. In 1790, his father became emperor of Austria by the death of his brother Joseph, but died only two years after, when the crown devolved upon Francis. The French revolution was now exciting the alarm of the old European dynasties; F. concluded an alliance with Prussia against the new republic; and the armies of the allies marched to the frontiers of France, but soon recoiled 'before the fiery enthusiasm of the republican troops. In 1794, F. placed himself at the head of the army of the Netherlands, which, on the 26th of April, defeated the French at. Cateau and Landrecy; and on the 22d of May, gained the bloody battle of Tournay; but on the whole the fortune of the war was against him; and the triumphs of young gen. Bonaparte in Italy forced him to conclude the treaty of Campo Formio (Oct. 17, 1797). Only two years afterwards, however, F., in alliance with Russia and England, again took up arms, and was at first successful; but the recall of the brave Russian gen eral, Suwaroff, and the return of Bonaparte from the east, quickly altered the state of matters. The great victories won by Moreau at Hohenlinden, and by Bonaparte at Marengo, paralyzed the powers of Austria, and F. was compelled to sue for peace, which was obtained by the treaty of Luneville in 1801, by which the whole of the left bank of the Rhine was ceded to France. In 1805, the aggressions of France once more excited the jealousy of Austria. F. entered into a new alliance with Russia; and the contest was renewed, but ended more disastrously than ever for the Austrians. The French vic tories of Ulm and Austerlitz, and the capture of Vienna, completely humiliated F., who,
at the peace of Presburg (Dec., 1805), was obliged to surrender the Venetian states and the Tyrol. The German empire was now dissolved, after lasting for 1000 years, and F. assumed the title of emperor of Austria, king of Bohemia and Hungary. In 1809, lie recommenced the war with Napoleon, and obtained more success, or perhaps we should say, encountered less loss than on previous occasions. The tremendous battle of Aspern was a victory, though not a decisive one, and did much to restore the prestige of the Austrian arms. Still, Napoleon again got possession of Vienna, and of peace from the palace of SchOnbrunn in Oct. of the same year. In 1810, the French emperor married F.'s daughter, Maria Louisa. A permanent friendly alliance now seemed to be concluded between the two empires; and during the Russian campaign is 1812, the Austrians rendered the French some slight assistance. In 1813, Austria resumed its neutrality; but, after having exerted himself fruitlessly to mediate between France and Russia, F. suddenly joined the allies, helped to win the battle of Leipsic, and followed the Russians and Prussians to Paris in 1814. His subsequent career does. not present any points of special importance. He labored honestly and for the welfare of his subjects, encouraging the making of roads and canals, and the introduction of manufactures, but his horror of everything revolutionary, excited by early recolleetions, and by the cruel' death of his aunt, Marie Antoinette, and kept.
alive by his long wars with France, had rendered him an absolutist in politics, and a lover of that system of centralization to which Austria continues to cling. F. died on the 2d of March, 1835.