Howard Conklin Baskerville (April 10, 1885 – April 20, 1909) was an American teacher in the Presbyterian mission school in Tabriz

Tabriz

Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, who died fighting for Iranian democracy. He has been called the "American Lafayette

Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...

 in Iran." (J. Lorentz)

Life and death

Baskerville was born in North Platte, Nebraska, and was raised in the Black Hills

Black Hills

The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...

. Both his father and grandfather were Presbyterian ministers. He was graduated in 1907 from Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, where in addition to studying religion and boxing, he took two courses with Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

 (Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...

 and Constitutional Government

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

).

In the fall of 1907 Baskerville came to Iran as a missionary. He took a position in the American Memorial School, a missionary school, in Tabriz. There he taught English, history, and geometry to mixed classes of boys and girls, and also served as tennis coach and riding instructor. He directed a student production of The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...

.

In the spring of 1909, during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, he decided to raise a volunteer force to defend constitutional democracy. Despite attempts to discourage him by the American consul in Tabriz, Edward Doty

Edward Doty

Edward Doty was a Mayflower passenger, a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and a permanent settler of Plymouth Colony. His surname sometimes appears as Doten, Dotey, or Day....

, he led about a hundred volunteers attempting to help defend the besieged city against Qajar royalist troops fighting for Mohammad Ali Shah. Baskerville was shot and killed by a sniper while leading a group of student soldiers to break the siege. He was 24 years old.
He has been quoted as saying, "The only difference between me and these people is my place of birth, and this is not a big difference." Baskerville's funeral was attended by thousands, where he was eulogized by Iranian patriots. He was buried in the Christian Armenian cemetery in Tabriz. Tabriz fell to the besiegers five days after Baskerville's death.

Modern Tributes

Many Iranian nationalists revere Baskerville. Schools and streets in Iran have been named for him. Tourists and ordinary people can visit his grave freely. A "mysterious admirer" is reported "regularly" to place "yellow roses" on his grave.

There is a bust of him in Tabriz's Constitution House bearing the legend "Howard C. Baskerville—Patriot and Maker of History."A Persian carpet with his picture woven on it was made by the carpet weavers of Tabriz and meant to be sent to Baskerville's mother in America (but was never sent) in recognition of his courage and sacrifice. The carpet is viewable here.

External links

• http://www.howardbaskerville.com/ (no sources; unreliable)
• A very detailed discussion of his life and efforts from Princeton University:
• http://www.princeton.edu/~paw/archive_new/PAW06-07/13-0509/features1_heroiran.html
• Images of Revolution. The Constitutionalist Revolution: 1906-1909. http://www.irvl.net/const-gallerty.htm
• Article on Iranian.com
• "I am Persia's" - American wife of a missionary in Tabriz writes on Baskerville's death. http://www.iranian.com/History/Aug98/Baskerville/letter.html
• Another article in PDF format
• Image of a carpet made by people of Tabriz for his mother as a sign of appreciation
• NYTimes profile