Ferdinand I of Austria

Ferdinand I(German:Ferdinand I.19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) wasEmperor of Austriafrom March 1835 until his abdication in December 1848. He was alsoKing of Hungary,CroatiaandBohemia(asFerdinand V), King ofLombardy–Venetiaand holder of many other lesser titles (seegrand title of the Emperor of Austria). Due to his passive but well-intentioned character, he gained thesobriquetThe Benign(German:Der Gütige) orThe Benevolent(Czech:Ferdinand Dobrotivý, Polish:Ferdynand Dobrotliwy).
Ferdinand succeeded his fatherFrancis Iupon his death on 2 March 1835. He was incapable of ruling the empire because of severeepilepsy, so his father, before he died, made a will promulgating that Ferdinand should consult his uncleArchduke Louison all aspects of internal policy and urged him to be influenced byPrince Metternich, Austria'sForeign Minister.
Following theRevolutions of 1848, Ferdinand abdicated on 2 December 1848. He was succeeded by his nephew,Franz Joseph. Following his abdication, he lived inHradčany Palace,Prague, until his death in 1875.
Ferdinand marriedMaria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child ofVictor Emmanuel I of Sardinia. They had no children.
Ferdinand was the eldest son ofFrancis II, Holy Roman EmperorandMaria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. Possibly as a result of his parents'genetic closeness(they weredouble first cousins), Ferdinand hadhydrocephalus, neurological problems includingepilepsy, and aspeech impediment. He was educated byBaron Josef Kalasanz von Erberg, and his wife Countess Josephine vonAttems.
Ferdinand suffered from epilepsy. Although he has been depicted as feeble-minded and incapable of ruling, he kept a coherent and legible diary and has even been said to have had a sharp wit. However, suffering as many as twenty seizures per day severely restricted his ability to rule with any effectiveness. Though he was not declared incapacitated, aRegent's Council(Archduke Louis,Count Kolowrat, andPrince Metternich) steered the government.
When Ferdinand married PrincessMaria Anna of Savoy, the court physician considered it unlikely that he would be able toconsummatethe marriage.When he tried to consummate the marriage, he had five seizures. He is also remembered for his command to his cook: when told he could not have apricotdumplings(Marillenknödel) becauseapricotswere out of season, he said "I am the Emperor, and I want dumplings!" (German:Ich bin der Kaiser und ich will Knödel!).
As the revolutionaries of 1848 were marching on the palace, he is supposed to have asked Metternich for an explanation. When Metternich answered that they were starting a revolution, Ferdinand is supposed to have said "But are they allowed to do that?" (Viennese German:Ja, dürfen's denn des?) He was convinced byPrince Felix of Schwarzenbergto abdicate in favour of his nephew,Franz Joseph(the next in line was Ferdinand's younger brotherFranz Karl, but he was persuaded by his wifeSophieto renounce his succession rights in favour of his son) who would occupy the Austrian throne for the next 68 years.
Ferdinand recorded the events in his diary:
Ferdinand was the lastKing of Bohemiato be crowned as such. Due to his sympathy with Bohemia (where he spent the rest of his life inPrague Castle) he was given theCzechnickname "Ferdinand V, the Good" (Ferdinand Dobrotivý). In Austria, Ferdinand was similarly nicknamed "Ferdinand der Gütige" (Ferdinand the Benign), but also ridiculed as "Gütinand der Fertige" (Goodinand the Finished).
Ferdinand was also the last ruler to be crowned with theIron Crown of Lombardyin his capacity asKing of Lombardy-Venetia.
He is interred in tomb number 62 in theImperial Cryptin Vienna.
The full titulature of Ferdinand after he inherited the thrones of the Empire of Austria and the vast realms of Central and Eastern Europe in 1835 went as following:
Ferdinand's parents weredouble first cousinsas they shared all four grandparents (Francis' paternal grandparents were his wife's maternal grandparents and vice versa). Therefore, Ferdinand only had four great-grandparents, being descended from each of them twice. Further back in his ancestry there is morepedigree collapsedue to the close intermarriage between the Houses of Austria and Spain and other Catholic monarchies.