Franz von John

The title of this article is ambiguous. For other people of the same name see also Franz John .

Franz von John

Franz von John

Grave of Franz von John in the Vienna Central Cemetery

Baron Franz von John (born November 20, 1815 in Bruck an der Leitha , † May 25, 1876 in Vienna ) was an Austrian military officer , chief of staff and minister of war.

Life

Franz Freiherr von John was born as the son of Captain Lieutenant Franz John (* 1780 in Kotzen district of Leitmeritz in Bohemia) and Theresia John born. Larkspur was born the fourth of ten children. He was educated at the Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt and joined the Archduke Franz Karl infantry regiment in 1835 as a lieutenant. Commanded in 1845 as first lieutenant to the quartermaster's staff, he went through the high school of his military education in Italy under Radetzky's direction and in 1848, having just become a captain, took such an outstanding part in the battles in northern Italy, especially at Goito and Volta , that he won the Iron Crown , was awarded the Maria Theresa Order and the Military Merit Cross.

In 1857 he was raised to the rank of baron as a colonel and regimental commander, in 1859 he was chief of staff of the VI. Army corps in South Tyrol , and since 1860 he was major general at the head of the general staff of the Italian army commanded by Benedek .

He remained Chief of Staff of the Southern Army in Italy, also in 1866 under Archduke Albrecht and distinguished himself in the Battle of Custozza (June 24th) so that he was appointed Lieutenant Field Marshal while still on the battlefield . He also accompanied the Archduke to the northern theater of war and temporarily took over the War Ministry in September and definitively in October.

Anna Baronin John - Tomb at St. Leonhard Cemetery in Graz

In July 1866 he was appointed to the manor house, in November 1866 Reich Minister of War . He carried out the army reform, which was based on general conscription. However, he resigned as early as January 1868, became Commanding General in Graz in March 1869 , then Feldzeugmeister and Chief of the Army General Staff, when he died on May 25, 1876.

Marriages and offspring

In his first marriage, Franz von John was with Antonia Margareta Carolina Edlen von Weihse (also Antonia Auguste Karolina von Weiße after Schmidt-Brentano; born September 27, 1827 in Krakow ; † September 6, 1871 in Graz ), the daughter of the professor of astronomy, Maximilian Ritter von Weihse, professor of astronomy at the Jagellion University Observatory and director of the observatory in Krakow. The wedding took place on October 27, 1849 and this marriage had five children. His first wife probably died on April 7, 1870 in Graz while giving birth to their fifth child. In the case of Johannes Held, Baron John is expelled as a widower in 1870, in the case of Schmidt-Brentano the date of her death is given as above.

He left behind his second wife, whom he married on May 24, 1873, and a four-month-old daughter named Ida. His widow Anna Freifrau von John, born Countess von Orsini-Rosenberg , is buried in the St. Leonhard cemetery in Graz. A son he had with his first wife was the Vice Admiral ad honoris Friedrich Albert Freiherr von John (born February 11, 1854 in Bologna , † April 14, 1917 in Vienna).

Honors

On May 28, 1885, his body was reburied in an honorary grave designed by Alexander Wielemans von Monteforte in the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 14 A, No. 24).

The John Street in Vienna's 15th district is named after him.

Career

• February 20, 1826 reservation for the Wiener Neustädter Military Academy
• October 24, 1835 retired as subordinate 1st class
• June 20, 1845 First Lieutenant
• March 13, 1848 captain
• March 22, 1850 Major
• April 2, 1854 Lieutenant Colonel
• April 28, 1857 Colonel
• February 19, 1861 Major General
• 3rd July 1866 Lieutenant Field Marshal
• April 26, 1873 Feldzeugmeister

War awards and surveys

• May 30, 1848 Order of the Iron Crown III. Class (knight's cross)
• February 4, 1850 Military Merit Cross (Austria)
• March 26, 1850 Knight of the Military Maria Theresa Order for Voltahg
• Commander of the Papal New Year's Order
• July 17, 1857 elected baron
• July 3, 1866 lifelong member of the manor house of the Reichsrathes
• November 14, 1866 Grand Cross of the Saxon Order of Albrecht with war decoration
• August 29, 1866 Commander's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order for Custozza
• December 4, 1866 Privy Councilor and owner of the 76th Infantry Regiment
• July 28, 1867 Grand Cross of the Italian Order of St. Mauritius and Lazarus
• 18th January 1868 Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold

Positions

• 1859 Chief of the General Staff of the 6th Army Corps in South Tyrol
• 1866 Chief of the General Staff of the Southern Army
• Chief of the General Staff (November 1866 - March 1869) for the entire armed power of Austria-Hungary
• Minister of War (November 6, 1866 - January 18, 1868)
• Commanding General in Graz (March 27, 1869 - June 1874)
• Chief of the General Staff (June 1874 - May 1876)

literature

• From the estate: Franz Freiherr von John; Box B / 138: 1-127 (stored in three boxes: 1--68; 69--120 = fascia / part 1; 121-123,127 = part 2; Vienna War Archives)
• Werner Hahlweg : A memorandum by Feldzeugmeister Franz Freiherrn von John from 1859 on the adjustment and equipment of the infantryman . In: Zeitschrift für Heeres- und Uniformkunde 67/69 (1934), pp. 85–92.
• Johannes Held: Franz Freiherr von John. “Soldat Diplomat Statesman” (PDF; 831 kB). Diploma thesis, University of Vienna, May 2008.
• Constantin von Wurzbach : John, Franz Freiherr von . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 10th part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1863, pp. 233–235 ( digitized version ).
• A., K .:  John, Franz Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 485-488.
• John Franz Frh. Von. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 3, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1965, p. 124 f. (Direct links on p. 124 , p. 125 ).
• Rainer Egger :  John, Franz Freiherr von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , p. 581 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

• Franz Freiherr von Entry on Franz von John in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: The KK or KuK Generalität 1816–1918 ( Memento of the original from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Austrian State Archives, Vienna 2007, p. 80 (PDF). 
2. ↑ Johannes Held: Franz Freiherr von John. “Soldat Diplomat Statesman” (PDF; 831 kB). Diploma thesis, University of Vienna, May 2008, pp. 24 and 50.
3. ↑ Neues Wiener Tagblatt , No. 144, May 26, 1876.
4. ^ Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: The Austrian admirals. Volume II: 1896-1914. Bibliotheksverlag, Bissendorf 2000, ISBN 978-3-7648-2519-5 , p. 282.