Archduke Joseph Franz was born at the
Hofburg Imperial Palace, where all of his siblings were born. Joseph's mother Maria Theresa died on 13 April 1807 after giving birth to a short-lived daughter, Amalie.
He was a lively child and one of the favourite children of his mother and possibly even his father.[citation needed]
On 30 June 1807, approximately 6 weeks after the passing of his mother, the 8 year-old Archduke died at the
Hofburg Palace of either
yellow fever or
smallpox, though yellow fever seems to be the most acceptable, as the outbreak was in the
United States in 1803 and most of the American plagues extended to
Europe in a matter of 2–4 years.[citation needed]
Joseph Franz was buried at the
Capuchin Church in
Vienna, more specifically in the
Imperial Crypt (his heart is buried in the
Herzgruft chamber), the burial place of his family.
Generations are numbered by male-line descent from the first archdukes. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished in 1919.