100 years ago today, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated by Yugoslav Nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. Because of this, Austria-Hungary issued the July Ultimatum, which was a pretext to an invasion of Serbia and led directly to the outbreak of World War I and ramifications that ran long throughout the 20th Century…
… after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Gavrilo Princip attempted suicide, first by cyanide, then with his pistol. He vomited the past due date poison and had the pistol wrested from his hand.
Princip was too young (only 19) for the death penalty, so received the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Princip was too young (only 19) for the death penalty, so received the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The prison’s normally harsh conditions were made worse by World War I. Princip died almost 4 years later (before the end of the war) of tuberculosis. He was buried in an unmarked grave, but the burial party remembered the location. He was disinterred in 1920 and brought to a chapel (dedicated to ‘Serb Heroes’) at St. Mark’s cemetery, Sarajevo.
So, we are going to have a Tango Picnic Party this evening in Cheesman Park to celebrate it all (too soon?)
