Joseph I (26 July 1678 – 17 April 1711), Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, King of the Romans was the elder son of Emperor Leopold I and his third wife, Eleonore - Magdalena of Pfalz - Neuburg, who was the daughter of Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine.

Born in Vienna, he was educated strictly by Prince Dietrich Otto von Salm and became a good linguist. In 1687, he received the crown of Hungary and became King of the Romans on 6 January 1690.

In 1702, at the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, he saw his only military service. He joined the Imperial General, Louis William, Margrave of Baden - Baden, in the siege of Landau.

He succeeded his father as emperor in 1705. It was his good fortune to govern the Austrian dominions and to be head of the Empire, during the years in which his trusted general, Prince Eugene of Savoy, either acting alone in Italy or with the Duke of Marlborough in Germany and Flanders, was beating the armies of Louis XIV of France. During the whole of his reign, Hungary was disturbed by the conflict with Francis Rákóczi II, who eventually took refuge in the Ottoman Empire. The emperor reversed many of the authoritative measures of his father, thus helping to placate opponents. He began the attempts to settle the question of the Austrian inheritance by a pragmatic sanction, which was continued by his brother Charles VI. Joseph died in Vienna from smallpox.

In 1699, he married Princess Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick - Lüneburg, daughter of John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick - Lüneburg. They had three children.