Gavrilo Princip

Gavrilo Princip, the son of a postman, was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina in July, 1894. Gavrilo was one of nine children, six of whom died in infancy. His health was poor and from and early age suffered from tuberculosis.

Princip attended schools in Sarajevo and Tuzla, but in May 1912, left Bosnia for Belgrade to continue his education. while in Serbia, Princip joined the Black Hand secret society. For the next two years he spent most of his spare time with other nationalists who also favoured a union between Bosnia and Serbia.

When it was announced that Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire, was going to visit Bosnia in June 1914, Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the chief of the Intelligence Department in the Serbian Army and head of the Black Hand, sent Princip and two other men to Sarajevo to assassinate him.

Each man was given a revolver, two bons, and a small vial of cyanide. the were to commit suicide after the Archduke had been killed because it was important that the men did not have the opportunity to confess who had organised the assassination.

On Sunday, June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife arrived in Sarajevo by train. The Governor of Bosnia was waiting to take the royal party to the City Hall for the officail reception. In the front car was the Mayor of Sarajvo. The car's top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good view of the occupants.

After a failed assassination attempt and a wrong turn, the driver was forced to stop the car and reverse it onto an opposite street. Princip happened to be standing on that street corner, and allowed him to open fire and kill both the Archduke and his wife.

After shooting the Archduke and his wife, Princip attempted to turn the gun on himself before an onlooker seized his gun and his was arrested. Princip and the fellow conspirators were all arrested and charged with treason and murder. Gavrilo Princip died of tuberculosis in prison on April 28, 1918.