Born: 24 December 1837, Germany
Died: 10 September 1898
Country most active: Hungary, Austria
Also known as: Sisi, Empress Amelia Eugenie Elizabeth
From Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company:
Amelia Eugenie Elizabeth, Empress-Queen of Austria-Hungary, wife of Francis Joseph, daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria. She was only sixteen when she married, and was regarded as the most beautiful princess in Europe.
In the early days of her married life she frequently came into collision with Viennese prejudice. Her attempts to modify court etiquette, and her extreme fondness for horsemanship scandalized Austrian society, which her predilection for Hungary and for everything Hungarian offended German sentiment.
Her popularity with the Hungarians remained unchanged throughout her life, while her care for the wounded in the campaign of 1866 made her beloved by the Austrian people.
The tragic death of her only son, the Crown Prince Rudolph, in 1889, was a shock from which she never really recovered. Her assassination by an anarchist who stabbed her while she was walking in Geneva, completed the list of misfortunes of the Austrian House, and aroused intense indignation throughout Europe.