Somewhere in the Armenian cemetery of Tabriz, a young man was buried, and although the signs of his tomb is lost under the wheels of time and in the silence of the world of the dead, but his sacrifice in the path of the freedom of Iranians is nothing that can be erased from the history pages of this land. The story of this youngster goes back to 102 years ago, to haunting and frightening days of Tabriz during fights for constitution.
Haward C. Baskerville was a teacher in the American school of Tabriz and was one of the fighters of Iran’s constitution movement. At the time of Tabriz blockade and the killing of people by royalists and Cossacks, he left the American consul and joined the fighters for constitution. Baskerville was the leader of the Salvation Army and he commanded 150 soldiers, whose duty was defending the ramparts of Tabriz against governmental forces. After 3 weeks, in April 19th, 1909 while he was leading a mission for breaking the blockade of royalist forces and for bringing food into town, a bullet was hit to his heart and killed him instantly, he was 24 years and 9 days old at that time.
Currently, some of unknown persons who have his affection in their hearts frequently decorate his tomb in the Armenian cemetery of Tabriz with yellow and fresh flowers.