Nedeljko Čabrinović

Nedeljko Čabrinović

Nedeljko Čabrinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Недељко Чабриновић) (1895 – 23 January 1916) was a member of the nationalist Young Bosnia movement, and one of a group of seven who intended to assassinate Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria during his announced visit to Sarajevo.

Born in Sarajevo, Čabrinović spent many of his post-school years as a handyman, before moving to Belgrade and working in a print shop, becoming familiar with anarchist literature. In 1912 he joined the Black Hand, and two years later participated in the assassination plot against Franz Ferdinand.

The assassination attempt

Main article: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

Note that many different versions of the assassination exist, owing mainly to contradictory reports by witnesses of the time. This version attempts to reconcile as many facts as possible, but is not guaranteed to be totally accurate.

On 28 June 1914, seven assassins lined up on Appel Quay, the main road in Sarajevo, following the instructions of Danilo Ilić. Čabrinović hid in an alleyway, and as soon as Ferdinand drove past, he threw his bomb at Ferdinand's car, but forgot about the ten second delay. The bomb destroyed a following car, wounding its passengers and several crowd members. Čabrinović then swallowed his cyanide and jumped into a nearby river. The cyanide was weak and only made him violently sick, and the river was shallow (about 4 inches deep), so he was dragged from the river and apprehended by the authorities. As he was taken away, he supposedly was heard saying "I am a Serb hero."

This failed attempt on Ferdinand's life proved to be a key part in the assassination as Ferdinand insisted on visiting the bomb victims at the local hospital. An error by his driver took them past Gavrilo Princip, who wasted no time in shooting Ferdinand and his wife.

Čabrinović confessed to his crimes, but believed himself a Serbian hero and true nationalist. As he was still a minor, he was not executed, but was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He died in 1916 of tuberculosis.

Persondata
Name	Cabrinovic, Nedeljko
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1895
Place of birth
Date of death	23 January 1916
Place of death