Gavrilo Princip
Bosnian Serb student whose assassination sparked World War I.
Gavrilo Princip was a Bosnian Serb student. On 28 June 1914, in Sarajevo, he shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand—the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne—and the Archduke’s wife, Sophie. This assassination triggered the July Crisis, a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I within a month.
Princip was born on 25 July 1894 in the remote hamlet of Obljaj, in western Bosnia, then administered by Austria-Hungary but still formally part of the Ottoman Empire. He was the second of nine children; six died in infancy. His mother wanted to name him Špiro, after her late brother, but a local priest insisted on Gavrilo, after the Archangel Gabriel, hoping the sickly infant would survive. The Princip family, Serbian Orthodox Christians, had lived in northwestern Bosnia for centuries, originally from Montenegro. His parents, Petar and Marija, were poor farmers on about four acres of land, forced to give a third of their income to a Muslim landlord. Petar, who never drank or swore, had fought in the Herzegovina Uprising against the Ottomans and later supplemented his income by transporting mail and passengers across the mountains.
Princip started primary school at age nine, despite his father’s wish for him to tend sheep. He excelled, and his headmaster gave him a collection of Serbian epic poetry. At thirteen, he moved to Sarajevo. His older brother Jovan first planned to enroll him in the Austro-Hungarian Military Academy, but a shopkeeper warned against making him “an executioner of his own people.” Instead, Princip entered the Merchants’ School, financed by Jovan’s manual labor. After three years, he transferred to the Sarajevo Gymnasium, where he became politically aware.
In 1911, he joined Young Bosnia, a secret society aiming to free Bosnia from Austrian rule and unify the South Slavs. After attending anti-Austrian demonstrations in Sarajevo, he was expelled from school and walked to Belgrade, Serbia, to continue his education. During the First Balkan War, he tried to volunteer with Serbian irregular forces fighting the Ottoman Empire but was rejected for being too small and weak.
In 1913, after Serbia’s unexpected success against the Ottomans, the Austrian military governor of Bosnia, Oskar Potiorek, declared a state of emergency, dissolved the parliament, imposed martial rule, and banned Serbian cultural and educational societies.
Quick Facts
- Native Name
- sr-Cyrl · Гаврило Принцип
- Birth Date
- 1894-07-25
- Birth Place
- Obljaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary
- Death Date
- 1918-04-28
- Death Place
- Terezín, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
- Resting Place
- Vidovdan Heroes Chapel, Sarajevo
- Occupation
- Student
- Known For
- Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
- Motive
- Yugoslav nationalism
- Conviction
- High treason / Murder (two counts)
- Conviction Penalty
- 20 years' imprisonment
- Conviction Status
- Deceased (died in custody)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Gavrilo Princip was born on 25 July 1894 in the remote hamlet of Obljaj, near Bosansko Grahovo, in western Bosnia, to a poor Serb family. He was the second of nine children, six of whom died in infancy. His parents, Petar and Marija, were poor farmers who lived off meagre land and were part of a class of Christian peasants known as kmetovi, often oppressed by Muslim landlords. Despite his father's initial objections, Princip began primary school at age nine, excelling in his studies. At thirteen, he moved to Sarajevo to study at the Merchants' School, later transferring to the Sarajevo Gymnasium, where he became politically aware. In 1911, he joined Young Bosnia, a secret local society aiming to free Bosnia from Austrian rule and achieve unification of the South Slavs. After attending anti-Austrian demonstrations in Sarajevo, he was expelled from school and walked to Belgrade, Serbia, to continue his education. During the First Balkan War, he tried to volunteer with Serbian irregular forces but was rejected for being too small and weak.
Reader's Guide
Princip's legacy is viewed as controversial. Many Serbs regard him as a hero who stood against colonial oppression and slavery, while Bosniaks and Croats frequently view him as a terrorist. The assassination he carried out set off the July Crisis, leading within one month to the outbreak of World War I. At his trial, Princip stated he was a Yugoslav nationalist aiming for unification of all Yugoslavs, free from Austria. He was spared the death penalty because of his age (19) and sentenced to twenty years in prison. The Serbian government itself did not inspire the assassination, but the Austrian Foreign Office and Army used the murders as a reason for a preventive war which led directly to World War I. Princip died on 28 April 1918 of tuberculosis, worsened by harsh prison conditions that had already led to the amputation of his right arm.
Did You Know?
- Princip was named Gavrilo at the insistence of a local Eastern Orthodox priest, who claimed naming the sickly infant after the Archangel Gabriel would help him survive.
- He was rejected from volunteering with Serbian irregular forces during the First Balkan War because he was too small and weak.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Gavrilo Princip?
Gavrilo Princip was a Bosnian Serb student born on 25 July 1894 in the tiny village of Obljaj in western Bosnia. He became the young revolutionary who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo in 1914.
What did Gavrilo Princip do?
On 28 June 1914, Princip fired the shots that killed the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne and his wife during their visit to Sarajevo. That single act of violence ignited the July Crisis, a rapid diplomatic collapse that dragged Europe into World War I within roughly a month.
Why is Gavrilo Princip important?
His killing of the Archduke and Sophie set off a chain of alliance obligations, ultimatums, and mobilizations that pulled the great powers into their first truly global conflict. Without that June 1914 shooting in Sarajevo, the cascade leading to World War I most likely would not have unfolded the way it did.
Where was Gavrilo Princip from and what was his background?
Princip grew up in Obljaj, a remote hamlet near Bosansko Grahovo, in a region administered by Austria-Hungary but still formally under the Ottoman Empire. He was the second of nine children, and six of his siblings died in infancy, a hardship that shaped his early life.
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