Howard Conkling Baskerville is one of the most remarkable figures in Iranian history, remembered as a hero. In 1907, he travelled to Tabriz, a city in northwestern Iran, to teach history at the Memorial School of Tabriz. However, the political turmoil in Iran and the suppression of freedom fighters led him in 1909 to join the ranks of the revolutionaries.
For thousands of years prior to 1935, Iran was officially known by the western world as Persia. A cradle of civilization, ancient Persia witnessed some of the earliest developments of central government, land cultivation and agriculture, philosophy, medicine and sciences, astronomy, art, and writing.
Arrival and a new life in Iran
Howard Baskerville was born 10 April 1885 in Nebraska, United States. His father, grandfather, and four brothers were all preachers and of Scottish descent. In 1907, after graduating from Princeton University he wrote to the Presbyterian Mission Board requesting to be sent abroad seeking a new experience in a different language and culture.
The board assigned him to teach at the Memorial School in Tabriz. At the time Tabriz was home to the largest community of Americans residing in Iran. American Christians, particularly Presbyterians, had settled in Urmia and Salmas years before. After establishing a hospital and an American high school in Tabriz, they moved to the city.
Baskerville arrived in Iran in the autumn of 1907 to begin a two-year contract. Having travelled by ship from the United States to England, he completed the rest of the journey on horseback. Upon arrival, Baskerville was warmly received into the home of Samuel Wilson – the school’s director – his wife Annie, and their two teenage daughters, Agnes and Rose. After a time Baskerville became engaged to Agnes and later moved into the part of the school designated for American teachers.
Baskerville’s strong bond with his Tabriz students
Baskerville taught European history at the Memorial School, focusing on the French Revolution. He was a serious, outspoken and highly respected figure among his students. In addition to teaching, Baskerville introduced them horseback riding, tennis, and playwriting. After classes he taught boxing, leading some to consider him the first person to introduce boxing to Iran.
Although Baskerville did not speak fluent Persian he formed a close bond with his students and frequently visited their homes.
The students requested that an international law class be added to the curriculum. Baskerville, who had a keen interest in the subject, took on the responsibility of teaching it.
Joining the freedom fighter’s struggle
Baskerville’s presence in Tabriz coincided with a critical period in Iran’s history. Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar, the autocratic ruler of Iran, bombarded the newly established Parliament with the help of Russian forces, brutally suppressing Iranian constitutionalists. Tabriz was one of the cities that fiercely resisted. The city was besieged by the Shah’s army and the Russians for about nine months, which led to severe shortages of food and medicine.
At first Baskerville confined his involvement to delivering food to the revolutionaries. Over time his support became more explicit. He openly criticized the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, signed in Saint Petersburg, formally divided Iran into spheres of influence between the Russian and British Empires.
Baskerville told his students the treaty was a direct violation of Iran’s sovereignty, and a betrayal of the Iranian peoples’ struggle for constitutional government and self-determination. After one of his friends, Hassan Sharifzadeh, a leader among the constitutionalists, was killed, Baskerville decided to take an active role in the struggle against tyranny. Having had military training in the US, Baskerville organized and trained a group of young fighters.
Standing fast against American government pressure
Baskerville’s involvement with the revolutionaries drew pressure from the American Consulate in Tabriz. William Shedd, the US Consul, repeatedly urged Baskerville to abandon the constitutionalist movement. Even the consul’s wife, Mary Lewis Shedd, personally visited him, attempting to dissuade him on the grounds of his American citizenship.
Baskerville’s response was profound:
“The only difference between me and these people is the place of my birth, and that is not a great difference.”
The US State Department put pressure on the central Presbyterian Mission Board in New York to recall Baskerville. Despite these efforts, Baskerville remained steadfast in his commitment to the cause.
“Closed his shining eyes for the last time”
On 19 April 1909, Baskerville led a unit tasked with breaking the city’s siege and delivering food supplies. During the mission his group came under attack and Baskerville was fatally struck by enemy fire.
Sadegh Reza-Zadeh Shafagh, his translator and friend, described the moment:
“We saw Baskerville lying on the ground, drenched in blood. As he closed his shining eyes for the last time, he took his final breath and rested on the blood-soaked earth.”
The constitutionalists retrieved his body and prepared it for burial at the Wilson family home. Thousands of grieving residents of Tabriz attended his funeral. Baskerville had come to Iran as a guest, but he sacrificed his life for the freedom of its people.
Prominent historian Ahmad Kasravi wrote:
“The freedom fighters stood in solemn ranks along the procession route, Baskerville’s students walked ahead of the coffin, and people of all ages carried flowers, accompanying him to his final resting place.”
The war ended in victory for the constitutionalists. The commanders wrapped Baskerville’s rifle – engraved with his name and date of death – in a fine carpet adorned with the Iranian flag and sent it to his family in the United States. Unfortunately, given the turmoil of World War I, it remains unknown whether his family ever received the tribute.
Iran’s Lafayette, a legacy transcending ideologies
To this day Baskerville is deeply revered in modern day Iran. In 2005 a statue was erected in his honour at the House of Constitutionalists in Tabriz. Some have proposed designating 19 April, the anniversary of his death, as “Iranian-American Friendship Day.”
In 2014, Alan Eyre, a Persian-speaking spokesperson for the US State Department referred to Baskerville as a martyr on Eyre’s Facebook page. In 2015 a group of American scholars visited his grave in Tabriz.
Howard Baskerville transcended national borders to fight for freedom, justice, and democracy. He was not just a history teacher; he became a historical figure in his own right.
Perhaps today’s world, especially its politicians, should revisit the stories of individuals like Baskerville. Doing so would honour his memory and that of many others like him. But more important, it would recognise the importance of standing with Ukraine, for example, and safeguarding the democratic legacy that must be preserved for future generations.
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