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" ("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 fluent in Latin, Greek, and German by the time he graduated high school. 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 Chapter 5 (pages 171-210 of this dissertation) covers Howard Baskerville, American missionaries in Iran, and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1907-1911. It includes extensive footnotes. 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. Baskerville first settled in the home of Samuel Wilson (school principal). He later moved to the Memorial School, where American teachers lived.
Although he was not familiar with Persian 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 (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 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.
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.
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.
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 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 U.S. Consulate Library's Encyclopædia Britannica to find ways to make grenades.
The U.S. 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