Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (
German language: Franz II, Heiliger Römischer Kaiser) (
12 February,
1768 –
2 March,
1835) was the last
Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from
1792 until
6 August,
1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the
Third Coalition by
Napoleon at the
Battle of Austerlitz. In
1804 he founded the
Austrian Empire and became Francis I of Austria (Franz I.), the first
Emperor of Austria, ruling from
1804 to
1835, so later he was named the one and only Doppelkaiser (double emperor) in history. For the two years between 1804 and 1806 Francis used the title and style by the grace of God elected Roman Emperor, always August, hereditary Emperor of Austria and he was called the Emperor of both Germany and Austria. Francis I continued his leading role as an opponent of Napoleonic France in the
Napoleonic Wars, and suffered several more defeats after Austerlitz, the most severe of which led to his delivering his daughter,
Marie Louise of Austria, as a bride in a reluctant
marriage of state.
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