Leopold II was the penultimate Holy Roman Emperor, also King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia and Archduke of Austria from 1790 to 1792, and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790 as Leopold I. He was a son of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Queen Marie Antoinette of France, Queen Maria Carolina, Duchess Maria Amalia of Parma and Emperor Joseph II. A moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism like his brother Joseph II, he protected the Academy of Georgofili and, unusually for his time, opposed the death penalty and torture, abolishing both in Tuscany on 30 November 1786, making it the first state in modern history to abolish the death penalty. Despite his brief reign he is highly regarded; the historian Paul W. Schroeder called him one of the most shrewd and sensible monarchs ever to wear a crown.
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