Danilo Ilić (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Данило Илић; 27 July 1890 – 3 February 1915) was a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...

who was among the chief organisers of the

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one of the key events that led to World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ...

Biography

Born in what is modern-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, he attended the State Teachers' College in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

and for a while taught at a school in Bosnia. In 1913, Ilić moved to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

where he became a journalist and a member of the Black Hand secret society. Ilić returned to Sarajevo in 1914 where he worked as an editor of a local Serb newspaper. He became a member of Mlada Bosna (''Young Bosnia'').Edward R. Kantowicz. The rage of nations. Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA; Cambridge, England, UK: Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1999. p. 97. He recruited

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess von ...

Nedeljko Čabrinović Nedeljko Čabrinović ( sr-Cyrl, Недељко Чабриновић; 1 February 1895 – 23 January 1916) was a Bosnian Serb typesetter and political activist, known for his role in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 ...

Vaso Čubrilović Vaso Čubrilović ( sr-Cyrl, Васо Чубриловић; 14 January 1897 – 11 June 1990) was a YugoslavВладимир Дедијер, ''Сарајево 1914'', Просвета, Београд 1966, стр. 568 and Bosnian Serb scholar an ...

, Trifko Grabež,

Muhamed Mehmedbašić Muhamed Mehmedbašić (1887 – 29 May 1943) was a Serbian revolutionary and the main planner in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which led to a sequence of events that resulted in the outbreak of World War I. Early life Mehmedbaš ...

, and Cvjetko Popović to

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which led directly to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He and Gavrilo Princip were close friends. On Sunday, 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkow were

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

by Princip. Princip and Nedeljko Čabrinović were captured and interrogated by the police. They held out, but Ilić, who was picked up, eventually broke down under interrogation and named his fellow conspirators. Muhamed Mehmedbašić managed to escape to Serbia but

Veljko Čubrilović The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one of the key events that led to World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ...

, Vaso Čubrilović, Cvjetko Popović and Miško Jovanović as well as Danilo Ilić were arrested and charged with treason and murder. Eight of the men charged with treason and the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were found guilty. Under Austria-Hungarian law, capital punishment could not be imposed on someone who was under the age of twenty when they had committed the crime. Nedeljko Čabrinović, Gavrilo Princip and Trifko Grabež therefore received the maximum penalty of twenty years, whereas Vaso Čubrilović got 16 years and Cvjetko Popović 13 years. Ilić, Veljko Čubrilovic and Miško Jovanović, who helped the assassins kill the royal couple, were executed at the Sarajevo barracks on 3 February 1915.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilic, Danilo 1890 births 1915 deaths Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassination conspirators Rebels from Austria-Hungary Black Hand (Serbia) Bosnia and Herzegovina people of World War I Burials at Holy Archangels Cemetery, Sarajevo Executed Bosnia and Herzegovina people People executed for treason against Austria-Hungary People executed by Austria by hanging People from Sarajevo People from the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina Young Bosnia Executed assassins