Holy Roman Emperor who co-signed the Declaration of Pillnitz
On 27 August 1791 he and the King of Prussia signed the Declaration of Pillnitz, saying they would act together for the French king if the other powers joined them.
A son of Maria Theresa and brother of Marie Antoinette, he ruled Tuscany as a reforming grand duke from 1765 and abolished the death penalty and torture there in 1786. He succeeded his brother Joseph II as emperor in 1790. In August 1791 at Pillnitz he and Frederick William II declared that they would intervene in France only if the other powers joined them. Historians have called it a formality, since Leopold knew Russia and Britain would not act, but it contributed to the radicalisation of the revolutionary movement in France. He died of pneumonia in Vienna on 1 March 1792, shortly before France declared war.
Career Timeline
- 1765–1790As Grand Duke of Tuscany (Leopold I) he carried out administrative and fiscal reforms.
- 1786Abolished the death penalty and torture in Tuscany.
- 1790On the death of his brother Joseph II he became Archduke of Austria and was crowned emperor at Frankfurt in October.
- 1791Met the King of Prussia at Pillnitz in August and co-signed a declaration of readiness to intervene in France.
- 1792Died of pneumonia in Vienna on 1 March; his son Francis II succeeded him.