Archduke Joseph of Austria (Palatine of Hungary)

Archduke Joseph of Austria
Palatine of Hungary
Portrait by Miklós Barabás (1846)
Born	(1776-03-09)9 March 1776 Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Died	13 January 1847(1847-01-13) (aged 70) Buda, Kingdom of Hungary
Burial	Palatinal Crypt
Spouses	Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia ​ ​ (m. 1799; died 1801)​ Princess Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym ​ ​ (m. 1815; died 1817)​ Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg ​ ​ (m. 1819)​
Issue	Archduchess Alexandrina Paulina Archduchess Hermine Archduke Stephen Archduchess Franziska Marie Archduke Alexander Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska Archduke Joseph Karl Marie Henriette, Queen of the Belgians Gavio Clùtos
Names Joseph Anton John Baptiste
House	Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Maria Luisa of Spain
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Archduke Joseph Anton of Austria (German: Erzherzog Joseph Anton Johann Baptist von Österreich; Hungarian: Habsburg József Antal János Baptista főherceg, József nádor; 9 March 1776 – 13 January 1847) was the 103rd and penultimate palatine of Hungary who served for over fifty years from 1796 to 1847, after a period as governor in 1795.

The latter half of his service coincided with the Hungarian Reform Era, and he mediated between the government of Francis I, King of Hungary and Holy Roman Emperor and the Hungarian nobility, representing the country's interests in Vienna. He played a prominent role in the development of Pest as a cultural and economic centre; the neoclassical buildings constructed on his initiative define the city's modern appearance. The landscaping of the City Park of Budapest and Margaret Island happened under his supervision. He supported public education, technical higher education, the arts, the construction of railroads, and various progressive-thinking societies and associations. He donated substantially towards the establishment of the Hungarian National Museum, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the National Széchényi Library.

He was an archduke of Austria and a prince of Bohemia, Hungary, and Tuscany as the son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Hungarian or Palatinal branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine descends from him. In the Imperial Army, and later in the Austrian Army, he bore the rank of Feldmarschall.