Hey guys, this is my first original timeline since joining these boards. Not much else I can say but enjoy. Comments, Questions, and Constructive Criticism is more than appreciated.
February 18th, 1853
The Date that Changed the World
A Timeline by Zoidberg12
Introduction
The brief and troubled reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, (August 30, 1830-Febuary 18, 1853), nicknamed “The Young Emperor” (“Der junge Kaiser” in German) began on December 2nd 1848, when the new Emperor was only eighteen years old. His ascension to the throne was a result of the abdication of his Uncle Ferdinand I of Austria and V of Hungary and Bohemia. Ferdinand I’s abdication was a result of the 1848 Hungarian Revolution in the Austrian Empire, which was only one of the many Liberal revolutions which spread across Europe that fateful year.
Thus, Franz Joseph’s reign began. Though his reign only lasted for less than three years, it is generally agreed upon by most historians that the few main events of his reign, covered below, would be an indirect result of his eventual downfall. Yet his downfall was obviously through no fault of his own, as not even he, as young as he was, could have envisioned the violent act of one single individual.
At the start of Franz Joseph’s reign, the issue that dominated, As a result of the Hungarian Revolution, was none other than Hungarian nationalism. The young Emperor had to put a stop to this once and for all if he wanted his Empire to survive, let alone remain a great power on the European stage. As a result, the Hungarian Revolution was finally crushed in 1849 with the help of Russian intervention.
Although Franz Joseph I granted a constitution that same year, as a result of the Revolutions in Europe ending and the Austrian Parliament behaving “abnormally” in his view, he went back on his word and suspended it. The young Emperor subsequently established an absolutist policy.
After these near disasters, the Austrian Empire began to recover her status a major European power, preventing her rival Prussia from creating a “German Federation” without Austria. After the untimely death of Prime Minister Schwarzenberg on April 5, 1852, aged 51, the Emperor himself, only 21 years old, took over the office of Austrian Prime Minister.

Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria; Apostolic King of Hungary; King of Bohemia; King of Croatia; King of Galicia and Lodomeria; Grand Duke of Cracow
However, after these events the scars of the Hungarian Revolutions had not yet healed; far from it. In the end, these scars would cost the young emperor his life.