Causes of World War I corrective." British Diplomat Arthur Nicolson wrote in May 1914, “Since I have been at the Foreign Office I have not seen such calm waters.” On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead, by two gun shots in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six assassins (five Serbs and one Bosniak) coordinated by Danilo Ilić, a Bosnian Serb and a member of the Black Hand secret society. The assassination is significant because it was perceived by Austria-Hungary as an existential challenge
Veljko Čubrilović Veljko Čubrilović Veljko Čubrilović (Serbian Cyrillic: Вељко Чубриловић; 6 June 1886 – 3 February 1915) was a Bosnian Serb who was involved in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. He was born in Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina and became a schoolteacher in Priboj Majevički. In 1914, as a member of the Black Hand secret society, he agreed to help Gavrilo Princip, Nedeljko Čabrinović, and Trifko Grabež assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand. His brother, Vaso Čubrilović, was also involved in the plot. On Sunday, 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie von Chotkova were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. Princip and