Howard Conklin Baskerville (10 April 1885 – 19 April 1909) was an American missionary 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, a Presbyterian mission school, and was killed during the Persian constitutional revolution in an attempt to break the siege of Tabriz. He is often referred to as the "American Lafayette 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 in Tehran 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, 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, a close friend of Baskerville, upset him so much that in response to the wife of the US consul in Tabriz, 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.

Soroush Esfahani, an Iranian poet, has written in mourning for him and his three hundred Muslim friends: "We are 300 roses and a christian rose (Howard Baskerville) . We don't scare to lose our heads. if that otherwise, we didn't dance in the middle of lovers' celebration."

At present, a half-length statue of him has been installed in the Constitutional House of Tabriz. Some in the United States have suggested that April 19 be marked as "Iranian-American Friendship Day", the anniversary of Howard Baskerville's assassination.

Personal life

Howard Conklin Baskerville was born on April 10, 1885, in North Platte, Nebraska. His father, grandfather, and four brothers were Presbyterian ministers. Baskerville's family was of Scottish descent. During his youth his family moved to Black Hills, South Dakota.

Baskerville entered Princeton University in 1903. He graduated from the university in May 1907. Princeton University was then headed by Woodrow Wilson, 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. Baskerville was originally intrigued by Persia through Robert Speer's obsession with Persia. Speer had close connections with the West Persia Mission of Presbyterians and was considering setting up a post in Tabriz and sending Baskerville there.

Tabriz

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 Iran 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 Iran as early as 1835, primarily for Iran'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 Iran.

In the summer of 1907, Baskerville traveled to Tabriz, arriving there in early Autumn 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 to Tabriz on horseback.

thumb|Hassan Sharifzadeh

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 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.

Legacy

thumb|Portrait of Howard Baskerville in the [[Constitution House of Tabriz]]

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 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 71st 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, took a group of American clergymen 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?"

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, a Persian-speaking spokesman for the US State Department, described Baskerville as a martyr on his Facebook page.

thumb|Howard Baskerville's Tombstone, 2021

In 2015, a group from the United States, led by Stephen Kinzer, visited the grave of Howard Baskerville in the Armenian Cemetery in Tabriz.

Fiction

Chapter XL of the historical fiction novel Samarkand, written by French-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, revolves around Baskerville and the Persian Constitutional Revolution.

See also

  • Famous Americans in Iran

References

Further reading

  • A very detailed discussion of his life and efforts from Princeton University:
  • Princeton.edu
  • Images of Revolution. The Constitutionalist Revolution: 1906-1909.
  • "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
  • Encyclopædia Iranica: Howard Baskerville at https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baskerville-howard-c