September 15, 1945
Austria
Composer and conductor Anton von Webern is shot accidentally by an American soldier
At the time of Webern’s death, he and his family were living in Allied-occupied Austria. Webern and his wife had been visiting with their son-in-law Benno Mattel when American soldiers came to arrest Mattel for black market activities. Later, approximately 45 minutes before curfew, Webern stepped outside to smoke a cigar. He bumped into one of the soldiers who, startled, fired three times at Webern. Webern stumbled inside his home where he died of his injuries.
His grave is decorated with a 2D Latin palindrome which can be read forwards, backwards, or vertically. Roughly translated it reads “The farmer Arepo has work wheels” which, although the phrase holds no significance in itself, is still grammatically correct.
