Thích Quảng Đức
Vietnamese monk who self-immolated in 1963 · Vietnam · On the map · Lived 1897 to 1963 · aged 66
A Vietnamese Buddhist monk who sat down at a Saigon intersection on June 11, 1963, doused himself in gasoline, and burned to death in protest of religious persecution. The photograph circled the globe and Kennedy called it the most emotionally powerful news image in history.
Thích Quảng Đức is read about 1,588 times a day, in 47 languages.
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Photos 8
Thích Quảng Đức self-immolation
2010 image where Thích Quảng Đức performed his self-immolation_01.jpg?width=1200)
2023-12-10 Stupa of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức (Bảo tháp Thích Quảng Đức) 01_02.jpg?width=1200)
2023-12-10 Stupa of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức (Bảo tháp Thích Quảng Đức) 02_03.jpg?width=1200)
2023-12-10 Stupa of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức (Bảo tháp Thích Quảng Đức) 03_04.jpg?width=1200)
2023-12-10 Stupa of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức (Bảo tháp Thích Quảng Đức) 04_05.jpg?width=1200)
2023-12-10 Stupa of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức (Bảo tháp Thích Quảng Đức) 05
BO TAT QUANG DUCAbout this person
Born Lâm Văn Túc around 1897, Thích Quảng Đức lived as a Mahayana Buddhist monk under the South Vietnamese government of Ngô Đình Diệm, a Roman Catholic who actively persecuted Buddhists. On June 11, 1963, at a busy Saigon road intersection, Quảng Đức sat in lotus position and burned himself alive in protest. Malcolm Browne's photograph of the immolation won World Press Photo of the Year and forced international pressure on Diệm, who promised reforms but never delivered them. The dispute escalated: Special Forces raided pagodas across the country, seized Quảng Đức's heart, and killed others; more monks followed his example and self-immolated. Three months later, a US-backed coup overthrew Diệm, who was assassinated on November 2, 1963.