Background
Ferdinand was born at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna as the fourth son and fourteenth child of the Holy Roman Emperor Franz I and of his wife Maria Theresa of Austria.
governor founder of the House of Austria
Ferdinand was born at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna as the fourth son and fourteenth child of the Holy Roman Emperor Franz I and of his wife Maria Theresa of Austria.
He was also designated as the heir to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, but never reigned owing to the Napoleonic Wars. There had been an earlier treaty in 1753 making Ferdinand"s older brother Peter Leopold the heir to the Duchy of Modena, but in 1761 Peter Leopold became heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany which required a change to the Modena agreement. In 1771 the Perpetual Imperial Diet approved the eventual investiture of Ferdinand with the imperial fiefs held by Ercole III. On 15 October 1771 Ferdinand married Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d"Este (7 April 1750-1714 November 1829), only surviving child of Duke Ercole III of Modena and Reggio (although the marriage was not a requirement of Ferdinand"s eventual succession).
He and his family lived in Milan.
In 1796 Napoleon"s invasion of Milan forced the family to flee the French forces. Duke Ercole III also had to flee Modena which overthrew the monarchy and joined the Cisalpine Republic.
By the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797 Duke Ercole III was granted the Duchy of Breisgau, a Habsburg territory in southwest Germany. When Ercole III died in 1803, Ferdinand succeeded as Duke of Breisgau, as well as Titular Duke of Modena and Reggio.
By the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 Ferdinand ceded the Duchy of Breisgau to the Grand Duchy of Baden.
Ferdinand died the following year in Vienna. He is buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. In 1814 Ferdinand"s eldest surviving son Francis IV was recognised as Duke of Modena by the Congress of Vienna.
Austria Foreign Honours.