The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 was the event that ignited World War I. Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was killed in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of a nationalist group seeking independence for Slavic peoples from Austro-Hungarian rule. This assassination set off a chain reaction of political alliances and tensions across Europe. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, prompting Russia to mobilize in defense of Serbia, which led to the involvement of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. The war that ensued resulted in unprecedented devastation and loss, reshaping the global order for decades to come.