Danilo Ilić (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Данило Илић; 27 July 1890 – 3 February 1915) was a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

who was among the chief organisers of the

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range whil ...

Biography

Born in what is modern-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

, he attended the State Teachers' College in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

and for a while taught at a school in Bosnia. In 1913, Ilić moved to Belgrade where he became a journalist and a member of the

Black Hand Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to: Extortionists and underground groups * Black Hand (anarchism) (''La Mano Negra''), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based in the Andalusian region of Spain during the early 1880s * Black Hand ...

secret society. Ilić returned to Sarajevo in 1914 where he worked as an editor of a local Serb newspaper. He became a member of

Mlada Bosna Young Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Mlada Bosna, Млада Босна) was a separatist and revolutionary movement active in the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary before World War I. Its members were predominantly ...

(''Young Bosnia'').Edward R. Kantowicz. The rage of nations. Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA; Cambridge, England, UK: Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1999. p. 97. He recruited

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Princ ...

Nedeljko Čabrinović Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range while b ...

, Vaso Čubrilović, Trifko Grabež,

Muhamed Mehmedbašić Muhamed Mehmedbašić (1887 – 29 May 1943) was a Bosnian revolutionary and conspirator in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Early life Mehmedbašić was born in 1887 into a Bosniak family in Stolac, in the region of Herzegovina (a ...

, and

Cvjetko Popović Cvjetko Popović (Serbian Cyrillic: Цвјетко Поповић; 1896 – 9 June 1980) was a Bosnian Serb who was involved in the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Early life and assassination He was born in what is ...

assassinate Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

Archduke

Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...

, which led directly to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He and Gavrilo Princip were close friends. On Sunday, 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkow were

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

by Princip. Princip and Nedeljko Čabrinović were captured and interrogated by the police. They held out, but Ilić, who was picked up on a routine check, eventually broke down under pressure and named his fellow conspirators. Muhamed Mehmedbašić managed to escape to Serbia but Veljko Čubrilović, Vaso Čubrilović, Cvjetko Popović and Miško Jovanović as well as Danilo Ilić were arrested and charged with treason and murder. Eight of the men charged with treason and the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were found guilty. Under Austria-Hungarian law, capital punishment could not be imposed on someone who was under the age of twenty when they had committed the crime. Nedeljko Čabrinović, Gavrilo Princip and Trifko Grabež therefore received the maximum penalty of twenty years, whereas Vaso Čubrilović got 16 years and Cvjetko Popović 13 years. Ilić, Veljko Čubrilovic and Miško Jovanović, who helped the assassins kill the royal couple, were executed at the Sarajevo barracks on 3 February 1915.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilic, Danilo 1890s births 1915 deaths Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Austro-Hungarian rebels Black Hand (Serbia) Bosnia and Herzegovina people of World War I Burials at Holy Archangels Cemetery, Sarajevo Executed Bosnia and Herzegovina people People executed by Austria-Hungary People executed by hanging People from Sarajevo People from the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina Young Bosnia