--- title: Margaret MacMillan on the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie description: Margaret MacMillan sees a photograph of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie taken just before their deaths--and discerns the seeds of destruction. canonical: https://time.com/3880415/margaret-macmillan-on-assassination-of-franz-ferdinand-and-sophie/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-16T16:19:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:39.429Z og:title: Margaret MacMillan on the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie og:description: Margaret MacMillan sees a photograph of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie taken just before their deaths--and discerns the seeds of destruction. og:url: https://time.com/3880415/margaret-macmillan-on-assassination-of-franz-ferdinand-and-sophie/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81caa9add260d201/69884c3a3c1639a55e45779d/140724-archduke-franz-ferdinand-sophie-1914.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, June 1914 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Margaret MacMillan on the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie twitter:description: Margaret MacMillan sees a photograph of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie taken just before their deaths--and discerns the seeds of destruction. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81caa9add260d201/69884c3a3c1639a55e45779d/140724-archduke-franz-ferdinand-sophie-1914.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Picture Before Dying: Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, Sarajevo, 1914 by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jul 16, 2014 4:19 PM UTC  Archduke Franz Ferdinand (seated, in hat) and his wife, Sophie, on the day they were assassinated, Sarajevo, June 28, 1914. Archduke Franz Ferdinand (seated, in hat) and his wife, Sophie, on the day they were assassinated, Sarajevo, June 28, 1914.The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Jul 16, 2014 4:19 PM UTC The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on June 28, 1914, is widely seen as the central, precipitating event of the First World War: the spark that lit the conflagration. Here, historian and bestselling author Margaret MacMillan, whose masterful [_The War That Ended Peace_](http://www.amazon.com/War-That-Ended-Peace-Road/dp/140006855X) is now in paperback, considers a single photograph of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie made just hours before their violent deaths—and discerns in the sunny scene the seeds of chaos and unfathomable destruction. --- > “” --- [**Margaret MacMillan**](http://www.margaretmacmillan.com/) is the Warden of St Antony’s College and a Professor of International History at the University of Oxford. Her books include [_Women of the Raj_](http://www.amazon.com/Women-Raj-Mothers-Daughters-British/dp/0812976398) (1988, 2007); [_Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World_](http://www.amazon.com/Paris-1919-Months-Changed-World/dp/0375760520) (2001), for which she was the first woman to win the Samuel Johnson Prize; and her most recent, [_The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914_](http://www.amazon.com/War-That-Ended-Peace-Road/dp/140006855X), among others. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Senior Fellow of Massey College, University of Toronto, Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, University of Toronto and of St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford. She has honorary degrees from the University of King’s College, the Royal Military College, The University of Western Ontario, Ryerson University, Toronto and Huron University College of the University of Western Ontario.  Archduke Franz Ferdinand (seated, in hat) and his wife, Sophie, on the day they were assassinated, Sarajevo, June 28, 1914. 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