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Franz Ferdinand
(Austrian Archduke)
18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914 (Aged 50)
Born in Graz, Austria. Died in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzigovina.
Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of Austria, whose assassination was event credited with the beginning of World War I.
He was killed by a 19-year-old Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.
Princip was a member of the Serbian terrorist group known as the ‘Black Hand’.
Ferdinand’s wife, Sophie, was also killed in the incident. Within a month, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, signaling the start of World War I.
You can read more about Ferdinand’s death here.
Jacob Riis
(Photographer)
3 May 1849 – 26 May 1914 (Aged 65)
Born in Ribe, Denmark. Died in Massachusetts, USA.
Riis was a journalist and photographer, who used his photography skills to document the lives of the impoverished of New York City.
It was this work, and his book, ‘How the Other Half Lives’, that led to him being a strong proponent of social reform in the city.
John Muir
(Environmental Activist)
21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914 (Aged 76)
Born in Dunbar, Scotland. Died in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Muir was a writer and an advocate for the preservation of U.S. forestry, widely considered the “Father of the National Parks”.
He co-founded the Sierra Club in 1892, a prominent conservation organization, of which he was president until his death. The club now has over 2.4 million members.
His immense preservation efforts played a key role in the establishment of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, amongst others.
California celebrates John Muir Day on April 21 each year.
