Maria Theresa

13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780

Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She defended her inheritance in the War of the Austrian Succession, enacted major financial, educational, and military reforms, and was the mother of sixteen children, including Marie Antoinette and Emperor Joseph II.

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Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Maria Theresa.

Life events

Born in Vienna
13 May 1717

Maria Theresa was born on 13 May 1717, the eldest surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Francis Stephen of Lorraine
12 February 1736

Maria Theresa married Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, on 12 February 1736 in Vienna; the marriage was by all accounts a love match.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Succeeded to the Habsburg dominions
20 October 1740

On the death of her father Charles VI on 20 October 1740, Maria Theresa inherited Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and the other Habsburg lands under the Pragmatic Sanction.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Defended her inheritance in the War of the Austrian Succession
16 December 1740 – 18 October 1748

Challenged by Prussia, France, and Bavaria, she preserved most of her realms, though she lost Silesia to Frederick the Great.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Crowned Queen of Hungary in Pressburg
25 June 1741

She was crowned Queen of Hungary on 25 June 1741 and won crucial Hungarian support for her war effort.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Secured the imperial crown for her husband, Francis I
13 September 1745

Francis Stephen was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1745, making Maria Theresa empress consort while she continued to rule the Habsburg lands.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Enacted sweeping administrative and educational reforms
1749 – 1774

With ministers such as Haugwitz and Kaunitz she centralized the administration, reformed the army and finances, and in 1774 introduced compulsory primary schooling.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Widowed; began co-regency with her son Joseph II
18 August 1765

After Francis I died on 18 August 1765, Maria Theresa wore mourning for the rest of her life and made her son Joseph II co-regent.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Vienna
29 November 1780

Maria Theresa died on 29 November 1780 and was succeeded in the Habsburg lands by her son Joseph II.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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