Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria ( ; 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859 ) was a member of the Habsburg dynasty , an Austrian field marshal and German Imperial regent ( " Reichsverweser " ) . Biography . Johann was born in Florence as the thirteenth child of Leopold , who ruled as Grand Duke of Tuscany , and Mother Maria Louisa of Spain . In 1790 , Leopold became Holy Roman Emperor and moved his family to Vienna . He was baptized with the name of John Baptist Joseph Fabian Sebastian . Military service . John was given command of the army in Germany in September 1800 , despite his personal reluctance to assume the position . He showed personal bravery , but his army was crushed at the Battle of Hohenlinden on 3 December 1800 . Demoralized by defeat , the army nearly disintegrated in the subsequent retreat , which was only stopped by an armistice arranged on 22 December . After the peace in 1801 , Archduke John was made General Director of the Engineering and Fortification Service , and later commander of two military academies . In 1805 , he directed an able defence of several Tyrolean passes against the French and was awarded the Commander Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa . In 1808 , he pressed for the creation of the Landwehr based on the success of the Prussian Landwehr . At the commencement of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 he became commander of the Army of Inner Austria , fighting against Eugène de Beauharnais in Italy . Under his command were the VIII Armeekorps led by Albert Gyulai and the IX Armeekorps headed by Albert ' s brother Ignaz Gyulai . After winning a significant victory at the Battle of Sacile on 16 April 1809 , his army advanced almost to Verona . Having detached forces to besiege Venice and other fortresses , John ' s army was soon outnumbered by Eugène ' s heavily reinforced host . Worse , news of the Austrian defeat at the Battle of Eckmühl reached him and compelled him to order a retreat . Before withdrawing , he fought off Franco - Italian attacks at the Battle of Caldiero between 27 and 30 April . Attempting to blunt the Franco - Italian pursuit , he stood to fight on 8 May and was beaten at the Battle of Piave River . Trying to defend the entire border , he sent Ignaz Gyulai to defend Ljubljana ( Laibach ) in Carniola , while holding Villach in Carinthia with his own forces . Eugène ' s pursuit overran the frontier defenses at the Battle of Tarvis and wrecked a column of hoped - for reinforcements at the Battle of Sankt Michael . Forced to flee northeast into Hungary , John offered battle again but was defeated at Raab on 14 June 1809 . Ordered to join his brother Archduke Charles , Duke of Teschen at the Battle of Wagram on 5 and 6 July , John ' s small army arrived too late to avert an Austrian defeat . His brother criticized him for tardiness . Post military . After the conclusion of the campaign he turned away from the military and developed a great interest for nature , technology and agriculture . He collected minerals and was active as an alpinist and hunter in Styria . In his early days Archduke Johann and his brother Louis had the habit of travelling to France , where the latter married Madame de Gueroust . In 1815 , on his visit to the UK , he received a " Doctor honoris causa " degree from the University of Edinburgh In the history of Styria , he is remembered as a great modernizer and became an important figure of identification for Styrians . His proximity to the people is given evidence to by his many contacts with the common man , by wearing the local Tracht , the Steireranzug , and by collecting and promoting the material and spiritual culture of the country . In 1829 , he married Anna Maria Josephine Plochl , the daughter of Jakob Plochl ( Gorlinzendorf - bei - Pettau , 27 May 1774 - Bad Aussee , 25 April 1822 ) , the postmaster of Aussee , and wife Maria Anna Pilz ( Bad Aussee , 15 May 1782 - Bad Aussee , 21 January 1821 ) , whose descendants were styled the " Counts of Meran " and " Barons of Brandhofen " , Proprietors of Stainz and Brandhofen . His son from this morganatic marriage was Franz , Count of Meran . He was a passionate mountaineer and attempted to be the first to climb the Großvenediger . For that reason , the Erzherzog - Johann - Hütte ( Adlersruhe ) at the Großglockner , and the Archduke John ' s Vanilla Orchid ( " Nigritella rubra " subsp . " archiducis - joannis " ) , an orchid growing on mountain meadows , are named after him . In 1811 , he founded the Joanneum Museum in Graz and the predecessor of Graz University of Technology . Some other foundations were initiated by him , such as the Styrian State Archive 1817 , the " Berg - und Hüttenmännische Lehranstalt " , which was founded in 1840 in Vordernberg and became the University of Leoben in 1849 , the Styrian Society for Agriculture 1819 , the Mutual Fire Insurance , the Styrian Building Society , the " Landesoberrealschule " in 1845 and the Society for Styrian History in 1850 . In 1843 , he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences . By acquiring a tin factory in Krems bei Voitsberg and coal mines near Köflach he also became an industrialist . In 1840 , he bought the Stainz dominion , where he was also freely elected as mayor in 1850 . He was already the lord of the Brandhofen dominion . His routing of the Austrian Southern Railway from Vienna to Triest over the Semmering and through the Mura and Mürz valleys to Graz is particularly notable . Even though Johann did not consider himself a liberal , he promoted some liberal ideas . He was often in conflict with the Habsburg court , especially because of his morganatic marriage . In 1848 , the Frankfurt National Assembly appointed him regent of the realm . After the failure of the March Revolution of 1848 , he resigned from this office in 1849 . Archduke Johann died in 1859 in Graz , where the fountain erected in his honour ( " illustration " ) dominates the central square . He is buried in Schenna near Meran . He was the great - grandfather of noted conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt .