Howard Conklin Baskerville (10 April 1885 – 19 April 1909) was an American
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
teacher. His life ambition was to become a pastor. He worked as a teacher employed by the American missionaries at the
American Memorial School in Tabriz
American Memorial School of Tabriz (), established in the Iranian city of Tabriz in 1881 during the Qajar period, is one of the most prominent schools of its kind. Hundreds of Iranian received their secondary education in Memorial School. In 1935 ...
, a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
mission school, and was killed during the
Persian constitutional revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...
in an attempt to break the
siege of Tabriz. He is often referred to as the "American
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ...
of Iran" and the "American Martyr of the Iranian Constitutional Movement".
Howard Baskerville came to Tabriz in the fall of 1907 to teach history. His arrival in Iran coincided with the period when
Mohammad Ali Shah
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, محمدعلی شاه قاجار; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925, San Remo, Italy), Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 to 16 July 1909. He was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty.
Biography
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ...
in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
shut down the parliament and dismantled the constitutional basis and ruled the period that is known as "The short tyranny" in Iran. At the same time, the people of
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
, led by
Sattar Khan and
Baqer Khan, rose up to restore constitutionalism, and subsequently, pro-Shah forces besieged Tabriz. After 11 months of siege and due to lack of medicine and food, a group in Tabriz called the "Foj Nejat" or Rescue squad led by Baskerville was formed to break the siege. Baskerville, who had attended in the military service in the United States, decided to teach military exercises to young people instead of "narrating the history of the dead" as he called it. At the same time, the death of
Seyed Hassan Sharifzadeh
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamma ...
, a close friend of Baskerville, upset him so much that in response to the wife of the US consul in
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
, who asked him to leave the ranks of constitutionalists, he withdrew his passport and said: "The only difference between me and these people is my birthplace, and this is not a big difference." During the battle that took place in the
Shanb Ghazan between the rescue squad led by Baskerville and the besiegers, Baskerville was killed by a bullet that hit him in the chest. After his death, a large funeral was held at the American Cemetery in Tabriz, which, according to Albert Charles Ratislaw, the British Consul in Tabriz, was a very impressive ceremony. Shortly afterward,
Sattar Khan took Baskerville's rifle (which was in his hand at the time of his death), engraved his name and date of death on it and wrapped it in the Iranian flag, and sent it to his family in the United States.
At present, a half-length statue of him has been installed in the
Constitutional House of Tabriz
The Constitution House of Tabriz, also known as ''Khaneh Mashrouteh'', is a historical edifice located next to the Great Bazaar of Tabriz, on Motahari Ave in Tabriz, Iran. During the years which led to Constitutional Revolution and afterwards the ...
. Some in the United States have suggested that April 19 be marked as "Iranian-American Friendship Day", the anniversary of Howard Baskerville's assassination.
At present, some unidentified enthusiasts alternately decorate his tombstone in the "
Assyrian Cemetery of Tabriz" with fresh yellow flowers.
Personal life
Howard Conklin Baskerville was born on April 10, 1885, in
North Platte
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
.
His father, grandfather, and four brothers were Presbyterian ministers and the family was of
Scottish descent. During his youth his family moved to
Black Hills
The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...
,
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
.
Baskerville entered Princeton University in 1903.
He graduated from the university in May 1907.
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
was then headed by
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, who later became President of the United States. His main subject was religion; however, he chose two other focuses of study: judicial procedure and constitutional government. His younger brother, Robert Baskerville, graduated from Princeton University in 1912.
Tabriz
![Howard Baskerville 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Howard_Baskerville_1.jpg)
While in his final year at Princeton University, he corresponded with the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions (PBFM) in New York, requesting to be sent abroad to gain experience in a new language and culture. His goal was to be based in a foreign land for about two years after which he would return to America to continue his theological studies and become an ordained minister similar to his father and grandfather. His application for foreign service with the PBFM eventually resulted in his assignment as a teacher working for American missionaries to teach in Tabriz. Since Baskerville was not an ordained minister and intended to only serve for two years he was sent to Persia as a teacher on a short-term contract rather than as a missionary. Tabriz at that time hosted a large community of Americans living in Iran. American Christian missionaries had established schools and hospitals in northwestern Persia as early as 1835, primarily for Persia's Armenian and Assyrian Christian populations. The Memorial School to which Baskerville was assigned as a teacher was one of the many schools established by Americans in Persia.
In the summer of 1907, Baskerville traveled to
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
, arriving there in early Fall in time to teach English, history, and science to Iranian high school age young men at the
American Memorial School, run by Presbyterian missionaries, on a two-year contract. He first sailed from the United States to England and from there to Iran. Then he traveled from
Hamedan
Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...
to
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
on horseback.
Baskerville first settled in the home of Samuel Wilson (school principal). He later moved to the Memorial School, where American teachers lived.
![Samuel Graham Wilson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Samuel_Graham_Wilson.jpg)
Although he was not familiar with
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
or
Azerbaijani, he still had a personal relationship with his students and met them at home. Sadegh Rezazadeh Shafaq, a student of Baskerville, who became close to him and acted as his translator, wrote about the day that Baskerville went to their house with Samuel Graham Wilson for
Nowruz
Nowruz ( fa, نوروز, ; ), zh, 诺鲁孜节, ug, نەۋروز, ka, ნოვრუზ, ku, Newroz, he, נורוז, kk, Наурыз, ky, Нооруз, mn, Наурыз, ur, نوروز, tg, Наврӯз, tr, Nevruz, tk, Nowruz, ...
(Persian New Year):
In another section, Shafaq writes:
Participation in the constitutional Revolution of Iran
Baskerville's presence in Tabriz coincided with the days when
Mohammad Ali Shah
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, محمدعلی شاه قاجار; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925, San Remo, Italy), Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 to 16 July 1909. He was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty.
Biography
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ...
bombarded the parliament and suppressed the constitutionalists of different cities. On the other hand, the constitutionalists of Tabriz resisted the Shah's request to surrender, and the Shah ordered the
siege of Tabriz.
![Sharifzadeh3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Sharifzadeh3.JPG)
Baskerville supported the Iranian constitutional revolution from the beginning of his arrival in Tabriz. After school, he was serving food for constitutionalists on the battlefield and criticizing the
Anglo-Russian Convention
The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 (russian: Англо-Русская Конвенция 1907 г., translit=Anglo-Russkaya Konventsiya 1907 g.), or Convention between the United Kingdom and Russia relating to Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet (; ...
with his students. Baskerville became close to
Hassan Sharifzadeh, who was a literature teacher at the same school and was one of the influential leaders of the constitutional revolution in Tabriz. Sharifzadeh's assassination in 1908 deeply affected and upset him. This incident had a great impact on his joining the ranks of constitutional fighters.
Military training of constitutionalists
Baskerville had completed his military service in the United States shortly before he was sent to Iran. So after joining the ranks of the fighters, he took charge of providing military training to a group of constitutionalists, especially a number of Memorial School students. In March 1909, Baskerville decided to organize 150 of his students to help
Sattar Khan break the siege of Tabriz. "He kept repeating that he could not sit still and watch the hungry people of the city fight for their rights through the window of a classroom", Shafaq wrote. Baskerville asked his soldiers to "take the lead in any war that took place, and when they approached the enemy they would not be in the trenches, they would attack the enemy with devotion".
U.S. government opposes Baskerville
Baskerville was under pressure from both groups for joining the Tabriz constitutionalists. The first group consisted of the parents of the school's students and the second group consisted of the American diplomatic mission stationed at the US Consulate in Tabriz. Due to the neutrality of the United States government in the case of Iran, the presence of an American citizen in the heart of the Tabriz struggle was not considered appropriate.
Therefore, in order for the American consul and school officials not to be aware of his actions, Baskerville intended the courtyard of Tabriz Citadel to provide military training to Tabriz constitutionalists and conducted military training in the Tabriz Citadel area every evening. To motivate the fighters, Baskerville sometimes spoke to them about the characters of
the American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
.
Baskerville's actions and the conflict in Iran's internal affairs caused concern in Washington, and William Doty, the US consul in Tabriz, wrote a letter dated January 1, 1909, and then, in a meeting with Baskerville in the presence of
Sattar Khan, tried to separate him from the ranks of constitutional fighters. Sattar Khan, while appreciating Baskerville, encouraged him to withdraw from the battle. On April 2, 1909, while Baskerville and his men were in military training, William F. Doty, the US consul in Tabriz, came to the parade and reminded Baskerville that as an American citizen, he had no right to interfere in Iran's domestic politics. In response, Baskerville called the struggle alongside the constitutionalists a defense of the lives and property of the Americans and the people of Tabriz. According to Shafaq, Baskerville said in response to the US consul: "I can not ignore the suffering of these people who are fighting for their rights. I am an American citizen and I am proud of that, but I am a human being and I cannot stop feeling sympathy for the people of this city." Doty asked Baskerville to return his passport.
Ahmad Kasravi
Ahmad Hokmabadi Tabrizi ( fa, سید احمد حکمآبادی تبریزی, Ahmad-e Hokmabadi-ye Tabrizi; 29 September 1890 – 11 March 1946), later known as Ahmad Kasravi ( fa, احمد کسروی, Ahmad-e Kasravi), was a pre-eminent Irani ...
writes that he submitted his passport to the consulate but Thomas Ricks quotes, "I will not return my passport, and as an American I will support my just cause and join the Constitutional Revolution." Doty was furious that Baskerville was using the US Consulate Library's Encyclopedia Britannica to find ways to make grenades.
The US consul once again sent his wife to dissuade Baskerville. In the same days, Baskerville's close friend, Hassan Sharifzadeh, was killed and his death upset Baskerville so much that he replied to the US consul's wife: "The only difference between me and these people is my birthplace, and this is not a big difference." The US Department of State pressured the Central Committee of Christian Missionaries in New York to summon Baskerville from Iran, whose activities endangered the interests of the United States and the Presbyterian Church, until the news of Baskerville's resignation on April 16 was announced to Washington.
According to research by Thomas Ricks, at the time, the Department of Defense was opposed to the involvement of missionaries in Iran's internal affairs, and if missionaries interfered in Iran's internal affairs, they would lose their jobs. About 50 Christian Presbyterians living in Tabriz at the time could not join the ranks of constitutionalists due to their commitment to the church. But they respected Baskerville's efforts.
Forming rescue squad
In mid-April 1909, and ten months after the siege of Tabriz began, a small group called the Rescue Squad decided to cross the siege line and take food from the villages as food and medicine ran out. Baskerville volunteered for the mission and asked
Sattar Khan for weapons.
Sattar Khan believed that Baskerville and the soldiers of the Rescue Squad did not have enough experience to work with weapons, so he initially opposed their arming. But eventually the squad was armed. According to Annie Wilson, on April 15, she and a British journalist named D.C. Moore embarked on the mission. On April 19, the wheat supply in Tabriz was only enough for one day, and on the other hand, Sattar Khan failed to provide the cannon he had promised. Baskerville first tried to persuade
Sattar Khan to ask the Europeans for help and surrender to the king on appropriate terms. But Sattar Khan was determined to launch another attack. Initially, at a meeting convened by the State Council on the night of Saturday, April 28, it was decided to attack the besieging group the following night, but it was finally decided that on Monday morning, April 19, to launch the attack.
With the help of the Rescue Squad that morning, it was decided to attack a part of the besieging forces of Tabriz, which was under the command of Samad Khan Shoja al-Dawla and a number of
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
, and break the city wall. Mehdi Alavizadeh, a member of the Rescue Squad, said: "The night the attack on Samad Khan's forces was to begin the next morning, Baskerville prepared and ordered his followers (members of the Rescue Squad) Before midnight, they gathered at the police station (Tabriz police building, which was one of the bases for nationalists)… (but) of those who had made a pact of sacrifice, only eleven people showed up, and others either did not show up, or their mothers and fathers Baskerville was aware, they stopped their sons; But from the others, a large group was prepared and around midnight we left for Qara Aghaj, and this neighborhood was full of fighters and artillerymen. We were taken to a mosque where we could rest for a few hours. "Baskerville did not rest for a while, and inside the mosque he forced us to practice."
D. C. Moore, who was in another group that day, explained: "I first heard that when he approached the enemy lines, the number of his troops had risen from 150 to five. But later, when I met the two men who were there, they said that there were about nine or 10 of them."
The battle of Shanb Ghazan
Shafaq describes the beginning of the war as follows: "On the night of the 29th of Farvardin, the news of the readiness in the city was complicated. Our goal was the Shanb Ghazan. As I remember there was of us. It took us about an hour or so to reach Ghazan From the garden on the right side of the alley, we entered that alley and set foot there, Baskerville suddenly shouted "attack" and began to advance. Behind him I walked and several others accompanied. There was still silence, and perhaps the attackers wanted to surprise the other side. "It was still dark when suddenly a series of rifles were fired at us. Our commander (Baskerville) immediately lay down on the side of the road, and we followed him behind a small mound of dirt."
As Baskerville led his men toward the city wall, he was shot by a sniper from the royal forces. Baskerville also fired at him, pushing his men forward, thinking the sniper had fled the scene. When Baskerville turned his back, the sniper returned and fired two shots at him, which hit him in the heart and left the other side of his body.
Shafaq recounted:
In his memoirs, Mehdi Alavizadeh describes the events that led to Baskerville's death:
Thus, Howard Baskerville was killed on Monday, April 19, 1909, just nine days after his 24th birthday, at the Battle of Ghazan.
A few days after Baskerville's death, Russian soldiers entered the city in Tabriz under the pretext of saving the lives of their citizens, and as a result, the siege of Tabriz was broken. Subsequently, the constitutionalists of Tabriz, along with the fighters of other cities, succeeded in conquering Tehran and overthrowing
Mohammad Ali Shah
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, محمدعلی شاه قاجار; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925, San Remo, Italy), Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 to 16 July 1909. He was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty.
Biography
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ...
.
Burial
![Howard Baskerville 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Howard_Baskerville_2.jpg)
After Baskerville was killed, his body was taken to the Wilson family home and prepared for burial. "We know he gave his life for us", a businessman who brought cloth to decorate the Baskerville coffin told Annie Wilson. Thousands of people from Tabriz and Baskerville comrades attended the funeral. Shafaq described the ceremony as follows: "There was no room in the American Church due to the crowd and there was a strange crowd on the way. The body was moved to the Armenian Cemetery in Tabriz in front of the fighters and in front of his students and soldiers." Parents of the Memorial School and American personalities were also among the attendees. "Thousands of people had taken over the cemetery."
The British Consul in Tabriz, Albert Charles Ratislaw, reports that his funeral was a very influential one, attended by many members of the Azerbaijan Association and even attended the American Church to show their respect and appreciation for Baskerville which was quite unprecedented for Islamic hardliners.
In the cemetery, Seyed Hassan Taghizadeh, a member of
the National Parliament, said in a short speech: "Young America sacrificed the young Baskerville for the young Iranian constitution." Ahmad Kasravi, an eyewitness to the events of the constitutional era in Tabriz, says: "... because he was considered a guest, everyone was saddened and withered when they heard of his death. In this regard, they decided to bury the dead body with great honor and glory. Although hunger has bothered everyone, but they didn't care and they wanted to please the young American's soul, standing all the way from the city to the cemetery, fighters lined up here and there with upside-down guns (as a sign of respect). Baskerville's disciples and his band of devotees, Armenians, Georgians, Americans, and all freedom fighters, large and small, marched around the corpse with a bouquet of flowers. Shortly afterwards,
Sattar Khan sent his family Baskerville's rifle with his name and date of death engraved on it and wrapped in the Iranian flag, along with a photograph of members of the rescue squad.
Five days after Baskerville's funeral,
Sattar Khan and Jamani Ayoleti sent the following telegram to his parents in Spicer, Minnesota:
Legacy
![Baskerville 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Baskerville_2.jpg)
When the National parliament resumed its sessions in November, one of its first actions was to deliver a speech at the Baskerville Memorial.
At the
Presbyterian Historical Society
The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) is the oldest continuous denominational historical society in the United States.Smylie, James H. 1996. ''A Brief History of the Presbyterians.'' Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press. Its mission is to col ...
in Philadelphia, there are many letters describing Baskerville. In 1959, the fiftieth anniversary of his death was completely planned and managed by the Tabrizis, much to the surprise of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On Monday, April 20, 1980, the 50th anniversary of Baskerville's death, a ceremony was held at Parvin School (formerly the Memorial School). The ceremony was organized by Ali Dehghan, Director General of the East Azerbaijan Culture Department, in the High School Hall, named after Baskerville. Iranian guests included Rezazadeh Shafaq, a student of Baskerville, and others such as Hassan Taghizadeh,
Ismail Amirkhizi, Abolghasem Fayuzat, Ali Hiyat, Mehdi Alavizadeh, and Americans living in Tehran. The head of the cultural department, Hollinick, the first secretary, and Mrs. McDowell, an American missionary, were present.
Even when Iran-US relations were at their worst, Baskerville remained an exception. In December 1979, in the days of the hostage crisis, Thomas M. Ricks, a professor at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, took a group of American
clergymen
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
to Iran to meet with Ayatollah Khomeini. They visited a mosque on the last day of the trip, when an Iranian man stood up and asked, "Where are the American Baskervilles today?"
In 2005, a bronze statue of Baskerville was unveiled at the
Constitutional House of Tabriz
The Constitution House of Tabriz, also known as ''Khaneh Mashrouteh'', is a historical edifice located next to the Great Bazaar of Tabriz, on Motahari Ave in Tabriz, Iran. During the years which led to Constitutional Revolution and afterwards the ...
by then-Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to ...
. Below the bronze statue, the sentence is written in Persian: "Howard C. Baskerville. He was a patriot, a history maker."
Some in the United States have suggested April 19 the anniversary of Howard Baskerville's assassination to be marked as "Iranian-American Friendship Day". on the anniversary of Baskerville's assassination in 2014,
Alan Eyre
Lawrence Alan Eyre (born Leeds, 1930 – 3 June 2020) was a British-born Jamaican geographer and environmentalist. He was also a member of the Christadelphian church.
Alan Eyre was co-founder of the Department of Geography of the University of ...
, a Persian-speaking spokesman for the US State Department, described Baskerville as a martyr on his Facebook page.
![HowardConklinBaskerville grave 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/HowardConklinBaskerville_grave_2021.jpg)
In 2015, a group from the United States, led by
Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer (born August 4, 1951) is an American author, journalist, and academic. A former ''New York Times'' correspondent, he has published several books, and writes for several newspapers and news agencies.
Reporting career
During the 198 ...
, visited the grave of Howard Baskerville in the Armenian Cemetery in Tabriz.
There are many Iranians who praise Baskerville and consider him a martyr. He is buried in the Assyrian Cemetery of Tabriz (then the American Cemetery) in Tabriz, and some unidentified enthusiasts alternately decorate his tombstone with fresh yellow flowers.
In late 2022, Iranian-American scholar
Reza Aslan
Reza Aslan ( fa, رضا اصلان, ; born May 3, 1972) is an Iranian-American scholar of sociology of religion, writer, and television host. A convert to evangelical Christianity from Shia Islam as a youth, Aslan eventually reverted to Islam ...
published ''An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville'', which ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' called "an intriguing read that breathes life into a pivotal moment of Persian/Iranian history".
Fiction
Chapter XL of the historical fiction novel ''
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
'', written by French-Lebanese writer
, revolves around Baskerville and the Persian Constitutional Revolution.
See also
*
Famous Americans in Iran
References
Further reading
*
*
*Aslan, Reza (2022). ''An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville.'' New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-1-324-00447-9.
External links
* A very detailed discussion of his life and efforts from Princeton University:
Princeton.edu*
*
ttp://www.iranian.com/History/Aug98/Baskerville/letter.html ''"''I am Persia's" - American wife of a missionary in Tabriz writes on Baskerville's death.Image of a carpet made by people of Tabriz for his mother as a sign of appreciation* Encyclopedia Iranica: Howard Baskerville at https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baskerville-howard-c
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baskerville, Howard
1885 births
1909 deaths
Princeton University alumni
American expatriates in Iran
American Presbyterians
People from North Platte, Nebraska
People of the Persian Constitutional Revolution
Burials in Iran
Educators from Nebraska
Iran–United States relations