Everything about Howard Baskerville totally explained
Howard Conklin Baskerville (
April 10,
1885 -
April 19 1909) was an
American teacher in the
Presbyterian mission school in
Tabriz,
Iran. He is often referred to as the "American
Lafayette in Iran".
(J. Lorentz)
Life and death
In 1908, during the
Constitutional Revolution of Iran, he decided to join the Constitutionalists and fight against the
Qajar despot King
Mohammad Ali Shah. He was shot while leading a group of student soldiers to break the
Siege of Tabriz.
The affection that many Iranians have for America perhaps may have roots in
Tabriz, where this
Nebraskan missionary was killed. Baskerville was a teacher in the American School, one of many such institutions created by the American missionaries who had worked in the city since the mid-
19th century. He arrived in 1907 fresh out of
Princeton Theological Seminary to teach at the
American Memorial School in Tabriz, and was swept up in the revolutionary mood in Iran, fought a royalist blockade that was starving the city. On
April 19,
1909, he led a contingent of 150 nationalist fighters into battle against the royalist forces. A single bullet tore through his heart, killing him instantly nine days after his 24th birthday. He has been quoted as saying "The only difference between me and these people is my place of birth, and this isn't a big difference."
The same day the Arg of Tabriz was attacked and bombed by 4000 Russian troops. The Persians held out for four days. While the US consulate was in the line of fire, some Americans like Baskerville, took to arms, helping the people of
Iran.
Many Iranian
nationalists still revere Baskerville as an exemplar of an America that they saw as a welcome ally and a useful “third force” that might break the power of
London and
Saint Petersburg in
Tehran.
Modern Tributes
Iranians still pay tribute to Baskerville and consider him a
martyr. He is buried in the Christian Armenian cemetery in
Tabriz,
Iran, a fact that impedes tourists and ordinary people to freely visit his grave. However, "a mysterious admirer" is reported to "regularly" place "yellow roses" on his grave.
A sculpture of him is today located in the
Tabriz constitution House as a martyr.
A Persian carpet with his picture woven on it was also made by the carpet weavers of Tabriz and sent to Baskerville's mother in America, in recognition of his courage and sacrifice which is
viewable here
.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Howard Baskerville'.
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