King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, French Foreign Minister, pictured on the day of their assassinations by Vlado Chernozemski, 1934.
The assassination of Alexander, first King of Yugoslavians, by Vlado Chernozemski, an experienced marksman in the employ of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) would have been forgotten had it not been for the multitudes of still and reel cameras. It was the first political assassination to be caught on news cameras.
As a result of the previous deaths of three family members on a Tuesday, Alexander refused to undertake any public functions on that day of the week.
On Tuesday, 9 October 1934, however, he had no choice, as he was arriving in Marseilles to start a state visit to France, to strengthen the two countries’ alliance in the Little Entente.
