Assassination of Empress Elisabeth of Austria

Background. Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, had endured significant personal losses within a decade, including her son Rudolf in 1889 and her sister Sophie Charlotte in 1897. In 1898, despite warnings of possible assassination attempts, the 60-year-old Elisabeth traveled incognito to Geneva, Switzerland. Her presence in the city was part of her ongoing travels, which included stays in the Paris region and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in previous years.

The Attack. On Saturday, 10 September 1898, at 1:35 p.m., Elisabeth and her lady-in-waiting, Countess Irma Sztáray, left their hotel on the shore of Lake Geneva to catch the steamship Genève for Montreux. While walking along the promenade, the 25-year-old Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni approached them. Lucheni attempted to peer underneath the empress's parasol before fatally stabbing her in the heart with a tapered file.

Aftermath. Luigi Lucheni, born in Paris in 1873, was incarcerated for life following the assassination. He was denied the opportunity to make a political statement through his action. On 20 February 1900, Lucheni attempted to kill himself using a sharpened key from a tin of sardines. His death occurred in 1910.