APRIL 19 In memory of an American who died fighting for his Iranian friends and their freedom

On a windswept plateau near the foothills of the Sahand Mountains in northern Iran stands the grave of a martyr. That it is the grave of an American makes the place remarkable. This it is the grave of a martyr for liberty, still honored in the heat of a nation whose government is hostile to the US and many of its values, makes it more remarkable still.

Howard Conklin Baskerville (April 10, 1885 – April 19, 1909), was an American teacher who planned to become a Presbyterian minister, found his way to what was then called Persia as a teacher, and ended up dying for a cause that he, as an American, felt morally bound to support. He arrived at the American Memorial School in Tabriz in the fall of 1907 to teach English and Science. Today, in Iran, he is often referred to as the “American Lafayette.”

The Persian constitutional revolution had begun in 1906 when protesters forced the reigning shah, Muzaffar al-Din Shah, heir to a dynasty that had ruled Persia since 1779 to appoint an elected assembly called the Majlis, or Parliament. The Maglis wrote a constitution, the first in Central Asia or the Middle East, which Muzaffar al-Din Shah signed in December. The new constitution promised equality before the law and personal rights and freedoms, required the Shah to obtain legislative approval before seeking foreign loans or making treaties, and promised universal public education and freedom of the press. Unfortunately, this Shah died on New Year’s Day, 1907, just weeks after signing the constitution, and was succeeded by his autocratic son, Muhammed Ali Shah, who immediately began pushing back against the country’s new freedoms. In June, 1908, Muhammad Ali Shah launched a successful coup, closed the assembly, and executed many supporters of the constitution.

Tabriz, a town of both Iranians and Armenians, is where the leading military opposition centered, led by Sattar Khan. Ali Shah brought in Russian Cossacks to help fight. In 1908, during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, Howard Baskerville decided to join the Constitutionalists and fight against the Qajar despot King Mohammad Ali Shah.

By March of 1909, he organized 150 students to help Sattar Kahn defend Tabriz. He spoke at his class’s last meeting about the duty to serve one’s country and told stories about the American revolution. “I hate war”, he began at a banquet given by some Armenian soldiers, but he went on to say that war could be justified in furtherance of a greater good, in this case the protection of the city and the cause of constitutional liberty. When he finished speaking, the Armenians cheered, “Long live Baskerville!” while Baskerville sang for them a verse of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”

He was killed while leading a group of student soldiers to break the Siege of Tabriz.

The affection that many Iranians have for America perhaps may have roots in Tabriz, where this Nebraskan missionary was killed. A single bullet tore through his heart, killing him instantly nine days after his 24th birthday. 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."
The same day the Arg of Tabriz was attacked and bombed by 4000 Russian troops. The Persians held out for four days. While the US consulate was in the line of fire, some Americans like Baskerville, took to arms, helping the people of Iran.
Many Iranian nationalists still revere Baskerville as an example of an America that they saw as a welcome ally and a useful “third force” that might break the power of London and Saint Petersburg in Tehran.

Iranians still pay tribute to Baskerville and consider him a martyr. He is buried in the Christian Armenian cemetery in Tabriz, Iran, "a mysterious admirer" is reported to "regularly" place "yellow roses" on his grave. A sculpture of him is today located in the Tabriz constitution House as a martyr.

My friend, SAM, who posts here, is a descendant of those revolutionaries and Baskerville was a comrade of his Great Grandfather. He refers to Baskerville as “Iran's American hero and martyr.” Thank you, SAM, for helping me present this story of an American in Iran and how much he tried to do for the people there. SAM is fighting for Iran today and believes America can be a force in stopping the mullahs and allowing the Iranian people the freedom he says they still want and believe in, the same freedom Baskerville lost his life for.