Bogdan Žerajić

He is remembered as the first young man to rebel against the Austria-Hungarian takeover of his country. Before Gavrilo Princip pulled a hand gun, shooting and killing Austrian-Hungarian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on Sunday, June 28, 1914, he attempted to assassinate General Marijan Varešanin, the Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1910 on the opening day of the Austro-Hungarian Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He believed the government to be illegal and illegitimate as the Austrian-Hungarian Empire had nothing to do with his country's government. His attempt was his own initiative, an act of personal revolt against Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovin. He fired five shots and missed the target, and with the last bullet took his own life as martyr for his country. As a college student, he and other of the Black Hand had but one goal: Bosnia and Herzegovina achieving independence from Austria-Hungary, who had recently annexed their country without the citizens' permission. Those involved with the successful assassination of the Archduke and his wife visited Bogdan Zerajic's grave the night before.