Page "Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor" Paragraph 1

Francis I ( Francis Stephen ; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765 ) was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real powers of those positions.

With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.

From 1728 until 1737 he was Duke of Lorraine, but lost this title when Lorraine was seized by France in the War of the Polish Succession ; he was compensated with Tuscany in the peace treaty that ended that war.

He was the father of the deposed and later executed French Queen Marie Antoinette.