The Only American Martyr in Tabriz Beloved by the People / The Rug That Never Reached His Mother + Photo

According to the Society Section of Saed News, quoting Fars, perhaps when the name of an American comes up, everyone immediately thinks of Trump, Biden, Clinton, and so on. But the American I want to talk about is one whom all the people of Tabriz greatly admire.

Howard Baskerville was born on April 10, 1885, in the North Platte neighborhood of the United States and completed his preliminary studies at the college of that state. Baskerville, who in 1907 was teaching history at the Memorial School in Tabriz, during the heated days of the Constitutionalists’ struggle against government forces, chose instead of teaching the history of the dead, to join the living history-makers of Tabriz and became a partner in their fight for justice and rights.

The bust of this American teacher is displayed as one of the portraits of the Constitutional Revolution at the Constitutional House Museum in Tabriz.

Karim Mimentnejad, a historical researcher, said about this American martyr: “Howard Baskerville was one of the foreign teachers teaching here, and he believed that if he had come from America to teach freedom, now freedom was flowing in the streets of Tabriz in blood. His duty was to fight tyranny. Following the 11-month war in Tabriz and the government forces’ attempts to force the people of Tabriz into surrender, Baskerville joined the Constitutionalists and fought side by side with Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan.”

Mimentnejad also pointed out another detail: “When this American martyr died, the women of Tabriz, to show appreciation for his mother in America, wove a carpet. When they sent it via post to the U.S., the postmaster, noticing the beauty of the carpet, sent it to his own home instead of to America. That carpet never reached the martyr’s mother.”

It is noteworthy that after the death of this beloved American, the people of Tabriz, in gratitude for his struggle, buried him with the utmost respect and special ceremonies in the Armenian cemetery of Tabriz, located at Chaharrah Shahnaz. Fortunately, his grave remains one of the few well-preserved graves of the Constitutional Revolution martyrs.

This short historical journey has come to an end, and the Constitutional Revolution tour will continue over three days, each time visiting a different point in Tabriz’s constitutional history. So, if you are from Tabriz, don’t miss the next trip.