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Bahá'í Chronology: years 195-

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195-

date event locations tags firsts
1950 (In the year) The publication of The Covenant, An Analysis by George Townshend. It was published in Manchester by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust 15p. [BEL 7.2578] [key] Manchester Covenant (general)
1950 (In the year) By this year the Bahá’í population of Black Africa was probably no more than 12. [BBRSM190–1] [key] Africa Statistics
1950 (In the year) The Court of the First Instance in Karkúk, Iraq, registered a Bahá’í marriage certificate. [MBW4; UD248]
  • This was the first time in the East, outside Israel, that a Bahá’í marriage was recognized as being legal, an important precedent for other Oriental countries. [MBW4; UD248] [key]
  • Karkuk; Iraq Firsts, Other; Marriage; Weddings; Recognition first Bahá’í marriage recognized in the East (outside Israel)
    1950 (In the decade) In Iran, the Hujjatiyya Society was started by Shaykh Mahmúd Halabí to persecute and harass the Bahá’ís. [S1296]
  • During the Pahlaví era it confined itself to this end and was called the Anti-Bahá’í Society. [SI296]
  • See The Anti-Bahá'í Society by Mehdi Abedi and Michael M.J. Fischer.
  • Iran Hojjatieh Society; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Anti-Bahai Society; Persecution
    1950 (In the year) The publication of Prescription for Living by Rúhíyyih Rabbani by George Ronald. The first edition was a run of 300 copies, done in a dark blue cloth, serial numbered and autographed by the author. There were subsequent printings in 1950, 1960, 1972, and 1978. [BEL7.2181-2185; CBN No 13 May 1950]
  • In 1971-1972 the book was transcribed by Gertrude D. Schurgast of Tuscon, AZ into braille. Another "printing" was done by the Service for the Blind Committee in Stevenage, England in 1983. [BEL8.118-119] [key]
  • Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Publications
    1950 (In the year) Ghulam Reza Akhzari and his son Nur Allah were killed near Yazd and Bahram Rawhani was murdered in Taft. [Towards a History of Iran’s Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.] [key] Yazd; Taft; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution
    1950 3 Jan A woman named Sughrá and her five children were brutally murdered. Members of the Spiritual Assembly of fhte Bahá'ís of Yazd were falsely accused of ordering the crime. The accusations were orchestrated by the judicial authorities from Yazd who were influenced by Mullá Khálisizádih. The trial of these innocent individuals occurred in Tehran with the help of fundamentalist religious authorities. As a result the guilty were never prosecuted and many innocent individuals were imprisoned and executed. [SCF123117] [key] Ábarqu; Yazd; Iran Mulla Khalisizadih
    1950 15 Jan The earliest observation of what has become known as World Religion Day was observed in Portland, Maine in October of 1947 and was entitled "World Peace Through World Religion" after a talk by Firuz Kazemzadeh. [Portland Sunday Telegram And Sunday Press Herald. Portland, Maine. October 19, 1947. p. 42.; BN No 229 March 1956 p1]
  • In 1949 there were observances in various communities in the United States and in December of 1949 it was standardized across the United States by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States to be held January 15, 1950. The purpose of World Religion Day is to highlight the ideas that the spiritual principles underlying the world's religions are harmonious, and that religions play a significant role in unifying humanity. [BN No 226 December 1949 106BE p4-5]
  • It is celebrated internationally each year on the third Sunday in January. [Wikipedia]
  • See World Religion Day (January) by Christopher Buck
  • See message from the Universal House of Justice dated 22 October, 1968 to the Spiritual Assembly of Chicago in Lights of Guidance #1710 in which they describe the purpose of World Religion Day.

    ".....is a celebration of the need for and the coming of a world religion for mankind, the Bahá'í Faith itself." iiiii

  • United States World Religion Day; Interfaith dialogue; Firsts, Other; Firuz Kazemzadeh
    1950 3 Feb Dr Sulaymán Birgís was martyred in Káshán, Iran. [BW18:390]
  • For his obituary see BW12:684–5.
  • Two men affiliated with the Islamic Development Association of Kashan, asked Dr Sulayman Berjis to attend to a patient at their home. When the doctor arrived at the house, the two men, and others, stabbed the doctor 81 times, killing him. The murderers, who had the support of influential clerics, turned themselves in to the police. They said they had been motivated by their strong religious beliefs. A number of clerics wrote a letter to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, and asked him to free Berjis's murderers. The trials of the murderers took place from August 27 to September 13, 1950, in Tehran. As a result of the efforts of the clerics and a group of their supporters, conservative businessmen with links to the city’s bazaar, the court pronounced the accused not guilty. They were all released. [Iran Wire; Towards a History of Iran’s Baha’i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani] [key]
  • Kashan; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution
    1950 26 Mar - 10 Apr The British Community needed 22 declarations to complete the goals of their Six Year Plan. The National Spiritual Assembly of Canada sponsored a trip by John Robarts to lend his assistance. During his 13 day stay he visited London, Manchester, Blackpool, Blackburn, Sheffield, Oxford, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh and witnessed 18 declarations. By April 10th the goal had been won. [CBN No 13 May, 1950 p4] [key] London; Manchester; Blackpool; Blackburn; Sheffield; Oxford; Dublin; Belfast; Glasgow; Edinburgh John Robarts
    1950 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced the Africa Campaign (1951-1953) in a cable to the British National Convention. [BW12:52; UD245–6]
  • The British community was to lead the campaign supported by the Bahá’ís of the United States and Egypt. [UD245]
  • The object was to open the Faith to three countries, Gold Coast, Tanganyika and Uganda. Shoghi Effendi termed it "the first International collaboration plan in Bahá'í history. (CG157, 159]
  • For the objectives of the campaign see UD245–6.
  • For the importance of the enterprise see UD260–3.
  • The plan was to be launched after a year’s respite but the British Bahá’ís begin to implement the plan immediately. [CB317]
  • At the time of the Campaign there was "...since the days of the Blessed Beauty and up to the early 1950s, the activities of the friends in Africa had produced the formation of one National Spiritual Assembly with its seat in Cairo, Egypt, the opening of 12 countries to the light of the Faith, and some 50 localities established throughout its vast lands. It was at such a time that the beloved Guardian ushered in the first African Teaching Plan" [Message from the Universal House of Justice To the Friends gathered at the Bahá’í International Conference at Lagos dated 19 August, 1982 ; The UK Bahá'í Journal/History]
  • The first to arise for the Campaign was Claire Gung who departed from England on the Warwick Castle on the 3rd of January, 1951 bound for Tanganyika. [CG13, 26]
  • Others who pioneered were: Philip Hainsworth, Uganda, June 1951; Hasan and Isobel Sabri, Tanganyika, July 1951; and Ted Cardell, Kenya, October 1951.
  • Africa; United Kingdom; United States; Egypt Teaching Plans; Africa Campaign; Claire Gung; Philip Hainsworth; Hasan Sabri; Isobel Sabri; Ted Cardell the first International collaboration plan in Bahá'í history
    1950 25 Apr Shoghi Effendi cabled the Bahá’í world with the successes of the Bahá’í work in the past year. [MBW3]
  • The number of sovereign states and dependencies where the Faith was established reached 100, an increase of 22 countries since 1944.

    Approximate number of Localities where Bahá'ís resided in the largest Bahá'í communities.

  • European Goal Countries: --> Over thirty localities.
  • Germany and Austria: --> Over forty localities.
  • British Isles: --> Over fifty localities.
  • Australia and New Zealand: --> Over sixty localities.
  • Dominion of Canada: --> Over eighty localities.
  • India, Pakistan and Burma: --> Over eighty localities.
  • Latin America: --> Over one hundred localities.
  • Persia: --> Over seven hundred localities.
  • United States of America: --> Over eleven hundred localities. [Baha'i Historical Facts, January 15, 2018 quoted from The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1950 Information Statistical and Comparative compiled by Shoghi Effendi] [key]
  • Statistics
    1950 25 May Dr Khodadad M. Fozdar, a medical officer of the State Railways in India, arrived in Singapore, the first pioneer to the country. [BW13:393]
  • His wife, Shirin Fozdar, joined him in September 1950.
  • Singapore Khodadad M. Fozdar; Shirin Fozdar first pioneer to Singapore
    1950 (Early June) In 1950 Sutherland Maxwell suffered from a severe illness from which he never recovered. He returned to Montreal in early June, 1951. [From CBN undated Memorial Issue] [key] Haifa; Montreal; Canada Sutherland Maxwell
    1950 Jul The British Six Year Plan was successfully completed. [BW11:25; MBW4] [key] United Kingdom Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National
    1950 9 Jul The Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb was commemorated.
  • For Shoghi Effendi’s message to the Bahá’ís on this occasion see BW12:191–3.
  • For accounts of commemorations around the world see BW12:205–8.
  • A small group of Bahá’í pilgrims visited the site of the Báb’s martyrdom and other places associated with His life. [BW12:217–26]
  • The columned arcade and parapet of the Shrine of the Báb were completed. [ZK284–5] [key]
  • Haifa; Mount Carmel; Iran; Worldwide Centenaries; Bab, Martyrdom of; Bab, Shrine of; Pilgrimage; Pilgrims
    1950 24–27 Jul The third European Teaching Conference was held in Copenhagen. [BW12:49; SBBR14p243]
  • 177 Bahá’ís from 22 countries attended.
  • Copenhagen; Denmark; Europe Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, International
    1950 28 - 30 Jul The First European Teaching Summer School was held in Elsinore, Denmark. [SBBR14p243] [key] Elsinore; Denmark Summer schools First European teaching summer School
    1950 Sep - Oct Four Bahá’ís in Iran were arrested on trumped-up charges. The trial lasted until 1954, when the accused were given prison sentences. [BW18:390] [key] Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases
    1950 23 Oct Nur Ali, a well-known and respected public servant in Suva, became a Bahá’í, the first to accept the Faith in Fiji. Fiji First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'í in Fiji
    1950 Nov Brian Burland, the first Bermudian to become a Bahá’í, accepted the Faith in Canada. Canada; Bermuda First Bahais by country or area first Bermudian Bahá'í
    1950 Nov From Switzerland, Shoghi Effendi invited five Bahá’ís—Lotfullah Hakim, Jessie and Ethel Revell, Amelia Collins and Mason Remey—to Haifa. [PP251]
  • They, together with Ben and Gladys Weeden who were already there, were told that they would constitute the International Bahá’í Council. [PP251–2] [key]
  • Switzerland; BWC; Haifa International Bahai Council; Lutfullah Hakim; Jessie Revell; Ethel Revell; Amelia Collins; Charles Mason Remey; Ben Weeden; Gladys Anderson Weeden
    1950 1 Nov Mírzá Badí‘u’lláh, the youngest son of Bahá’u’lláh, (b.1867 in Adrianople) described by Shoghi Effendi as the ‘chief lieutenant’ of the ‘archbreaker’ of the ‘divine Covenant’ died. [CB340, 355–6; CF89, BIC162, MSBR63, BBR460, RoB3pg230, CH209, SoB92, CoB340, 355-6, CoF89]
  • A close companion of Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí. [CoB165]
  • All his family became Covenant-breakers. [CoB362]
  • He had a short-lived repentance. [CoB152-3, GPB263, Historical Dictionary of the Bahá'í Faith p321, Interview with Badi'u'llah by Howard MacNutt]
  • He opposed both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. [CoB165] As an example, in 1939 when Shoghi Effendi proposed to relocate the remains of Mirza Mihdí and Ásíyih Khánum from 'Akka to Haifa, it was Mírzá Badí‘u’lláh who led the dissenting faction claiming that as he was more closely related to Mirza Mihdí, it was he, under Moslem law, who had the right to decide as to the disposal of the remains. [BBR460-461] [key]
  • Haifa; BWC Mirza Badiullah; Covenant-breakers
    1950 (Near end of year) Shoghi Effendi entered into negotiations with the government of Israel to exchange some farm land near the border with Jordan for the same acreage in the vicinity of the Shrine and the Mansion in Bahjí. The difficult and protracted talks lasted two years and involved Mr Hautz and Leroy Ioas, who in March 1952, had become the General Secretariat of the International Bahá'í Council and so had become the lead on the negotiations. [SETPE1p124-125] [key] Bahji; Haifa Bahji; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1950 Dec Jalál Nakhjavání arrived in Tanganyika, the first Bahá’í pioneer to the country. [BW18:79]

    History of the Bahá’í Faith in Tanzania says that Claire Gung was the 1st pioneer of the Bahá’í Faith in the country. Her biography, Claire Gung: Mother of Africa p14 confirms that she disembarked the The Warwick Castle sometime in February, 1951.

    Tanganyika (Tanzania) Jalal Nakhjavani; Pioneers; Claire Gung first Bahá’í pioneer to Tanganyika
    1950 15 Dec The Guardian appealed directly to Israel’s Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to recognize the interest of the Bahá’í community in the property known as Mazra‘ih as a holy place. After a protracted struggle to obtain ownership of the property, then a Moslem religious endowment, he leased the site from the Department of Moslem and Druze affairs in the Ministry of Religions. [DH93, GBF137, PP290, CB331, MBW7, Bahá'í News, no. 244, June 1951, p. 4] Haifa; Mazraih; Akka; Israel House of Bahaullah (Mazraih); David Ben-Gurion
    1951 (In the year) Khadaram and Parvin Payman were the first pioneers in Indonesia. [PH62] [key] Indonesia Khadaram Payman; Parvin Payman
    1951 (In the year) Portuguese Bahá’ís Mr António and Mrs Ema Rocha, Mrs Guedes DeMelo Rocha and Mrs D. Laura Rodriquez, the first pioneers to Angola, took up residence in Luanda. Luanda; Angola First travel teachers and pioneers first pioneers to Angola
    1951 (In the year) Muhammad Kayvani was murdered in Najafabad. [Towards a History of Iran’s Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.] [key] Najafabad; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution
    1951 (In the year) Shoghi Effendi received the original manuscript of The Kitáb-i-Íqán, in the handwriting of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with some marginal additions by Bahá’u’lláh, and placed it in the International Bahá’í Archives. BWC International Bahai Archives; Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude); Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1951 (In the year) Throughout Iran, the government introduced repressive measures against Bahá’ís. [BW18:390]
  • Bahá’ís were dismissed from government positions. [BW18:390]
  • Fifty Bahá’í employees of the public hospital in Mashhad were dismissed. [BW18:390] [key]
  • Mashhad; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1951 (In the year) Bahá’ís in Árán, Káshán, Iran, were attacked, and one died. [BW18:390] [key] Aran; Kashan; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution
    1951 (In the year) Bahá’í women in Egypt were extended the right of membership on local spiritual assemblies. [MBW12]
  • Shoghi Effendi called this ‘a notable step in the progress of Bahá’í women of the Middle East’. [MBW12] [key]
  • Egypt Local Spiritual Assembly; women
    1951 (In the year) By this year the first Canadian Inuit had become a Bahá’í. Canada First Bahais by country or area; First believers by background; Inuit first Canadian Inuit Bahá'í
    1951 (In the year) Palle Benemann Bischoff, the first to become a Bahá’í in Denmark, settled in Aasiaat, and became the first Bahá’í to live in Greenland. [MC22]
  • He was best known for being the first person to teach the Greenlanders to ski and for having organized the first ski competition in West Greenland.
  • Greenland Palle Benemann Bischoff first Bahá’í in Denmark; first Bahá’í resident in Greenland
    1951 9 Jan Shoghi Effendi announced the formation of the International Bahá'í Council. [BBD118; BBRSM127; GBF109; MBW7–8; PP252; UD261]

    Proclaim National Assemblies of East and West weighty epoch-making decision of formation of first International Bahá'í Council, forerunner of supreme administrative institution destined to emerge in fullness of time within precincts beneath shadow of World Spiritual Center of Faith already established in twin cities of 'Akká and Haifa....

  • The members were: Rúhíyyih Khanum (1951–61) Liaison with Shoghi Effendi; Hand of the Cause of God Charles Mason Remey (1951–61) President; Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins (1951–61) Vice President; Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas (1952–61) Secretary General; Hand of the Cause Jessie Revell (1951–61) Treasurer Luṭfu’lláh Ḥakím (1951–61) Eastern Assistant Secretary Ethel Revell (1951–61) Western Assistant Secretary Ugo Giachery (1952–61) Member-at-large; Hand of the Cause Ben Weeden (1951–52); Gladys Weeden (1951–52); Sylvia Ioas (1955–61).
  • See UD261 for the significance of the establishment of the International Bahá'í Council. Between 1951 and 1957 Shoghi Effendi directed the members and used the Council to create an image of an international body handling the Bahá'í affairs in Haifa. According to Shoghi Effendi, the Council's responsibilities were to:
  • establish links with the Israeli authorities, and
  • negotiate with them concerning and establishing of a Bahá'í court to deal with personal matters,
  • Shoghi Effendi to complete the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb
  • as an international Bahá'í secretariat.

    This body functioned until the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963.

  • It was a forerunner to the Universal House of Justice. [BBD118]
  • For its functions see MBW7–8.
  • Its seat is the Western Pilgrim House. [BBD178]
  • For the stages of its evolution see CB324.
  • BWC; Haifa International Bahai Council; Universal House of Justice; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Pilgrim houses; Pilgrim house, Western
    1951 25 Jan or 4 Feb Claire Gung arrived in Tanganyika aboard the Warwick Castle and obtained employment as a matron in a boys' boarding school in Lushoto. She was the second Bahá’í pioneer to the country. [CG160; CBN No 18 Mar 1951 p10]
  • She later pioneered to Uganda and Southern Rhodesia during the Ten Year Crusade.
  • An additional group of early arrivals in East Africa settled in Tanganyika in 1951. They included Hassan and Isobel Sabri who came from Egypt, and Jalal Nakhjavání and his family from Iran. By 1954, a Local Spiritual Assembly had been elected in Dar es Salaam including three native believers. Among them was Denis Dudley-Smith Kutendele, the first to accept the Faith in Tanzania. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2]
      History of the Bahá’í Faith in Tanzania said that the first local spiritual assembly was elected in Dar es Salaam in 1952 and that it received civic registration later under Tanganyika’s Trustee’s Incorporation Ordinance.
  • Tanzania; Dar-es-salaam Knights of Bahaullah; Claire Gung; Hassan Sabri; Isobel Sabri; Jalal Nakhjavani; Denis Dudley-Smith Kutendele, LSA, formation Denis Dudley-Smith Kutendele, the first to accept the Faith in Tanzania
    1951 25 Feb In a letter from the Guardian addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, concerning its Two Year Plan which immediately preceded the Ten Year Crusade, he made a reference to the election of the Universal House of Justice:

    On the success of this enterprise, unprecedented in its scope, unique in its character and immense in its spiritual potentialities, must depend the initiation, at a later period in the Formative Age of the Faith, of undertakings embracing within their range all National Assemblies functioning throughout the Bahá’í world—undertakings constituting in themselves a prelude to the launching of worldwide enterprises destined to be embarked upon, in future epochs of that same Age, by the Universal House of Justice, that will symbolize the unity and coordinate and unify the activities of these National Assemblies. [UD261; 9 March 1965]

    BWC Universal House of Justice, election of
    1951 Mar The Bahá’ís of El Salvador called on the president of the Republic to dispel any suspicions that the Bahá’í community was linked to communism. El Salvador Communism
    1951 2 Mar Shoghi Effendi announced the completion of the restoration of the House of ‘Abbúd. [MBW8] [key] Haifa; Akka House of Abbud; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Restoration; World Centre; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens
    1951 7 Mar The Prime Minister of Iran, Haj 'Alí Razmara was assassinated during a memorial service in a mosque in Tehran. He had planned to have the Bahá'í prisoners including the members of the Spiritual Assembly of Yazd and others, killed on their way to Tehran. [SCF123note63] [key] Tihran; Iran Haj Ali Razmara; Prime Ministers of Iran; Prime Ministers
    1951 12 Mar Bahá’ís in Taft, Iran, were attacked and one was killed. [BW18:390] [key] Taft; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution
    1951 21 Mar Shoghi Effendi announced the completion of the excavation for the eight pillars to support the dome of the Báb's Sepulchre and the decision to place a $130,000 contract for the stonework for both the cylinder and the dome. [CBN No19 April 1951 p4] [key] BWC Bab, Shrine of
    1951 2 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced the completion of two additional terraces, a scheme initiated a quarter of a century prior, to fulfill the Master's plan to connect, through a series of nine terraces, the Shrine of the Báb with the Templar Colony at the foot of Mount Carmel. [CBN No 19 April 1951 p4] [key] BWC Terraces project
    1951 Ridván The Bahá'ís of the British Isles launched a Two Year Plan (1951-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46]

    Some goals were:
      - To strengthen the nineteen Spiritual Assemblies already established in the British Isles
      - To form nuclei in three dependencies of the British Crown in East or West Africa
      - To translate, publish and disseminate Bahá’í literature in three additional African languages

    United Kingdom Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National
    1951 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, Pakistan and Burma launched the Indian Nineteen Month Plan (1951-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46; BBRSM158; DND148–50]

    Some goals were:
      - To offer Rs 2,500,000 to the Shrine of the Báb Fund
      - To enrich Bahá’í literature in local languages
      - To send pioneers to Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Vietnam, Zanzibar and Madagascar
      - To increase the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
      - To enhance the status of the Bahá’í New Era School in Panchgani

    India; Pakistan; Myanmar (Burma) Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National
    1951 Ridván Several National Spiritual Assemblies-Britain, Egypt, India, Iran and the United States, joined forces in their first collaborative teaching effort called the Africa Campaign (1951-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46, BBRSM158, MBW135-140]
  • See also UD261 for the significance of the Africa Campaign.
  • See Bahá'í Communities by Country: Research Notes by Graham Hassall for further details of the Plan.
  • Africa; United Kingdom; United States; Egypt; India; Iran Teaching Plans; Africa Campaign
    1951 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America, Mexico and the Antilles was elected at an international convention in Panama City. Those elected were: Srta. Raquel J. Francois, Mrs. Cora H. Oliver, Srta. Elena Marsella, Srta. Natalia Chavez, James V. Facey Srta. Zenayda Jurado C, Mrs. Louise Caswell, Dr. David Escalante, Artemus Lamb. [BW12:60; Bahá'í News No 244 June 1951 p12]
  • 25 delegates representing 12 countries were present at the convention. [BW12:60]
  • For a photo of those attending see Bahá'í Historical Facts.
  • The countries of Central America were Belize, Costa Rica (confirmed) El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
  • Panama National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Raquel Francois; Cora Oliver; Elena Marsella; Natalia Chavez; James Facey; Zenayda Jurado C; Louise Caswell; David Escalante; Artemus Lamb first NSA of Central America
    1951 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of South America was elected at an international convention in Lima, Peru. Elected were: Edmund J. Miessler (Sao Paulo), Mrs. Margot Worley (Bahia), Miss Eve Nicklin (Lima), Manuel Vera (Lima), Dr. Alejandro Reid (Punta Arenas), Mrs. Gayle Woolson (Bogota), Esteban Canales L. (Asuncion), Srta. Mercedes Sanchez (Lima), Rangvald Taetz (Montevideo) [BW12:60; Bahá'í News No 244 June 1951 p12]
  • 18 of the 27 delegates were present at the convention. [BW12:60]
  • For a photo see Bahá'í Historical Facts.
  • The countries involved were: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. The union lasted until 1957 when it was split into two administrative bodies.
  • Lima; Peru National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA of South America
    1951 Ridván The number of sovereign states and dependencies open to the Faith was 106, while some of the Writings had been translated into more than 80 languages. [MBW11] [key] BWC Statistics; Growth Statistics
    1951 25 Apr Shoghi Effendi cabled the Bahá’í world with list of the successes of the Bahá’í work in the past year. [MBW11–13] [key] Worldwide Statistics; Growth Statistics; Translation; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1951 25 Apr The Bahá’í International Fund was established. [MBW13–14] [key] BWC Funds, International; Funds; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1951 23 May Jamshed and Parvati Fozdar arrived in Kuching with their son, Vijay, and became the first Bahá’ís to settle in Sarawak. Kuching; Sarawak; Malaysia Jamshed Fozdar; First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í residents in Sarawak
    1951 Jun Bahá’ís in Fárán, Iran, were attacked and several houses burned. [BW18:390] [key] Faran; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Destruction; Persecution
    1951 Jul Mr P. K. Gopalakrishnan Nayer, an Indian, became a Bahá’í in Dar-es-Salaam, the first person to accept the Faith in Tanganyika. [BW12:53] [key] Dar-es-Salaam; Tanganyika (Tanzania); Tanzania First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'í in Tanganyika
    1951 30 Jul Louis Gregory, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Eliot, Maine, near Green Acre. [CoF163; BW12:666; TMW310, LOF98; SYH236; BN No 247 September 1951 p1]
  • A national memorial service was held for him at the Temple in Wilmette on the 24th of November 1951. [SYH236]
  • Soon after his passing he was designated by Shoghi Effendi the first Hand of the Cause of his race. (On 5 August, 1951) [BBD91; BW12:666, MoCxxii]
  • Louis Gregory was the first person of his race to be elected to any administrative body in the United States. [-from talk by Louis Venters 2min 13sec]
  • See TG114, 117-8 for a description of his passing .
  • For his obituary see BW12:666–70.
  • See a list of his publications.
  • For biographical information on Hand of the Cause Louis Gregory see Gayle Morrison, To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America (Wilmette, IL, USA Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1982, 1999 printing).
  • For short biographical information see Bahá'í Encyclopedia]
  • Louis Gregory kept a journal of his visit to 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1911 including statements of 'Abdu'l-Baha, stories of the believers in the Holy Land and his experiences at the Shrines. It includes a selection of tablets 'Abdu'l-Baha addressed to him. A Heavenly Vista: The Pilgrimage of Louis G. Gregory".
  • See Louis Gregory, the Oneness of Humanity, and Highlights in the Development of the African-American Lawyer a presentation by Anthony Vance.
  • Eliot; Maine; United States Louis Gregory; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi; Firsts, Other first black Hand of the Cause
    1951 2 or 3 Aug The establishment of the Faith in Uganda with the arrival of Mr. Músá Banání, his wife Samí'ih Banání, their daughter, Mrs. Violette and her husband, Mr. Ali Nakhjavani, of Iran, with their baby daughter Bahiyyih, and Mr. Philip Hainsworth who arrived in Kampala from England. [Wiki Bahá'í Uganda]
  • See BWNS135 for an account of the celebration of 50 years of the Faith in Uganda and the accomplishments.
  • Kampala; Uganda; Africa Musa Banani; Violette Nakhjavani; Ali Nakhjavani; Bahiyyih Nakhjavani; Philip Hainsworth; Samiih Banani first pioneers to arrive in Uganda
    1951 Sep National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States provided guidance on military service. [BN No 247 September 1951 p4] [key] United States Armed forces; Military; Weapons; War (general)
    1951 Oct Marthe Jeanne Molitor, the first Belgian Bahá’í to settle in another country, left for the Belgian Congo (Zaire) one day after becoming a Bahá’í. Belgian Congo Marthe Jeanne Molitor first Belgian Bahá’í to settle in another country
    1951 11 Oct Edmund (Ted) Cardell, arrived in Kenya, the first Bahá’í pioneer to the country in the Africa Campaign. [UD488]
  • Marguerite Preston, the wife of a tea grower, had been living in Kenya since August 1945. She was killed in an air crash in February 1952.
  • Kenya Edmund (Ted) Cardell; Marguerite Preston first pioneer to Kenya in Africa Campaign
    1951 22 Oct Ethel Stephens, the first black American pioneer to Africa, arrived in Accra, the first Bahá’í pioneer to Ghana. [UD273] [key] Ghana Ethel Stephens first black American pioneer to Africa; first pioneer to Ghana
    1951 30 Nov Shoghi Effendi announced plans for the Great Jubilee commemorating the centenary of the birth of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh in the Síyáh-Chál. [BW12:24–6, 115–16; MBW16–18] [key] Haifa Great Jubilee; Centenaries; Bahaullah, Birth of Revelation of
    1951 Dec Brothers-in-law Fred Bigabwa, a Mutoro, and Crispin Kajubi, a Muganda, became Bahá’ís in Uganda, the first to accept the Faith in that country. Uganda First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'ís in Uganda
    1951 13 Dec Shoghi Effendi's brother Riáz Rabbáni was the last of his siblings to become a Covenant-Breaker. "With feeling profound concern, grief, indignation, am compelled disclose Bahá'í world recent developments Holy Land furnishing further incontestable proof relationship established old and new Covenant-breakers demonstrating increasing boldness, marked, tragic decline in character and spiritual condition grandchildren `Abdu'l-Bahá. Their shameful attitude and conduct receiving approbation their elders. Evidences multiplying attesting Ruhi's increasing rebelliousness, efforts exerted my eldest sister pave way fourth alliance members family Siyyid Ali involving marriage his granddaughter with Ruha's son and personal contact recently established my own treacherous, despicable brother Riaz with Majdi'd-Din, redoubtable enemy Faith, former henchman Muhammad-'Ali, Archbreaker Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. Convey information all National Assemblies." [MBW16, CoB358, 362, 364] [key] Haifa; BWC Covenant-breakers; Riaz Rabbani
    1951 20 Dec Hand of the Cause Roy C. Wilhelm, (b.17 September, 1875) passed away in Lovel, Maine. He was buried in the Wilhelm Family Cemetery in Stoneham, Maine. [BW12:662]
  • He became a Bahá’í when he accompanied his mother on her pilgrimage to ‘Akká in 1907. He introduced Martha Root to the Faith in 1908. In 1909 he was elected to the Executive Board of the Bahá’í Temple Unity and served on the American National Spiritual Assembly. A Unity Feast was held at his home in West Englewood, NJ in June of 1912, an event commemorated every year. [Highlights of the First 40 Years of the Bahá’í Faith in New York, City of the Covenant, 1892-1932 by Hussein Ahdieh p7]
  • He, along with Stanwood Cobb, and Genevieve Coy, wrote In His Presence: Visits to 'Abdu'l-Bahá These are said to be "three of the most important, and most touching, accounts of pilgrimages to the Holy Land in the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá. These are three classic works of Bahá'í history and literature. Roy Wilhelm's account is from his visit in 1907.
  • On his passing Shoghi Effendi designated him a Hand of the Cause of God. (23 December, 1951) [MoCxxii, BW12:662]
  • For his obituary see BW12:662–4.
  • Find a grave
  • Lovel; Maine; United States Roy Wilhelm; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi; Martha Root
    1951 24 Dec Shoghi Effendi appointed 12 Hands of the Cause of God, the first contingent of Hands to be appointed. BBRSM127; BW12:38–40, 374–5; BW13:333–4; MBW20; PG223-224]
  • They were Sutherland Maxwell, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins (she had been appointed in 1946, but her appointment had not been made public), Valíyu’lláh Varqá, Tarázu’lláh Samandarí, ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan, Horace Holley, Dorothy Baker, Leroy Ioas, George Townshend, Hermann Grossmann and Ugo Giachery [GBF110–11; MBW20; PP253–4] [key]
  • Haifa Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Contingents; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent; Sutherland Maxwell; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Varqa, Valiyullah; Varqa; Tarazullah Samandari; Ali Akbar Furutan; Horace Holley; Dorothy Baker; Leroy Ioas; George Townshend; Hermann Grossmann; Ugo Giachery
    1952 (In the year) The establishment of the Bahá'í Service for the Blind and the Physically Handicapped as a committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. Its purpose is to provide the literature of the Faith in mediums which can be used by those individuals whose physical or mental handicaps prevent them from using normal print. [website] [key] United States Blindness; Disability
    1952 (In the year) Published on the instructions of Shoghi Effendi, Dr Yúnis Afrukhtih's Khatirát-i-Nuh-Saliy-i- Akká, has been described as "pre-eminent among those works dealing with the history of Covenant-breaking".

    The English translation was titled, Memories of Nine Years in Akka) by Riaz Masrour and was published by George Ronald in 2004.

    Over those nine years, 1900 to 1909, Jináb-i-Khán (the title by which Dr. Yúnis Afrukhtih was honoured by 'Abdu'l-Bahá) served the Master in Akká as secretary, translator, envoy and physician. These were difficult years when the Master was imprisoned in the city of Akká, His every move subject to misrepresentation by the Arch-breaker of the Covenant and his associates, and even His life was in danger. At the same time the period saw the victories of the construction of the Shrine of the Báb and the House of Worship in Ishqábád, as well as the rise of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh in the West.

    Youness Afroukhteh (Yunis Afrukhtih); Abdul-Baha, Life of; Memories of Nine Years in Akka (book); Riaz Masrour; Covenant-breakers
    1952 (In the year) Aziz Yazdi from Persia joined Ted Cardell in Nairobi. In 1953 they were joined by Ursula Samandari from England. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2] [key] Nairobi; Kenya Pioneering; Aziz Yazdi; Ted Cardell; Ursula Samandari
    1952 (In the year) Mr Narain Das, a textile salesman from India working in Singapore, became a Bahá’í, the first person in the country to accept the Faith. A few months later Mr Teo Geok Leng, a Chinese Singaporean, became a Bahá’í, the first native of Singapore to accept the Faith. Singapore First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'í in Singapore; first Chinese Singaporean Bahá'í
    1952 (In the year) Bahá’ís and their homes were attacked in Najafábád, Iran, and several houses were set on fire. [BW18:390] [key] Najafabad; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Destruction; Persecution
    1952 (In the year) Dudley Smith Kutendere from Zomba in the south of Malawi became a Bahá’í in Dar-es-Salaam, the first African to become a Bahá’í in Tanganyika and the first in all of Central and East Africa.
  • Denis has the unique distinction of being the first native believer in sub-Sahara Africa to take the Faith to a new country when in 1952 he left Tanzania to return to his native Nyasaland settling in his home town of Zomba. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2] [key]
  • Dar-es-Salaam; Zomba; Nyasaland (Malawi) Dudley Smith Kutendere first African Bahá’í in Tanganyika, and Central and East Africa
    1952 (In the year) Walli Khan, a Fiji Indian, became a Bahá’í, the first person in Fiji to accept the Faith. Fiji First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'í in Fiji
    1952 10 Jan The passing of Honoré Jaxon (b. 1861 as William Henry Jackson in the village of Wingham, ON). He died one month after his eviction from his basement apartment where he hoarded three tons of archival material which he hoped would become a library for the study of the Métis people of Saskatchewan.

    See Speechless 4 December 2009 for a chronological biography as well as a bibliography / webliography of other works on him.

    See NUVO for a photo of his eviction from the New York Daily News archive and a short biography.

    See as well BFA1p90-93; OBCC18-21, 25-26.

  • For his biography see Honoré Jaxon: Prairie Visionary by Donald B. Smith and Strange Empire: Louis Riel and the Métis People by Joseph Howard.
  • New York In Memoriam; Honore Jaxon; Metis
    1952 Feb Enoch Olinga became a Bahá’í, the third Ugandan and the first of the Iteso tribe to accept the Faith.
  • See TG160 for the story of how he became a Bahá'í.
  • Uganda Enoch Olinga first Bahá'í of Iteso tribe
    1952 Feb Eric Manton and his son Terry arrived in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), the first Bahá’ís to settle in the country. They settled in the Copperbelt region from where he was able to raise a number of native believers who took the Faith to other parts of Zambia. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2]
  • The first local convert was Christopher Mwitumwa in 1954. [Wikipedia] [key]
  • Northern Rhodesia; Zambia First travel teachers and pioneers; Eric Manton; Terry Manton first residents in Northern Rhodesia
    1952 21 Feb For their part in the Africa Campaign, Egypt was asked to send pioneers to Libya and to Algeria. The first pioneer to Libya, Dr. Hussein Gollestaneh, arrived in Benghazi from Egypt.
  • By June 5, 1952 the first Libyan. Mr El Alamy, declared his faith in Bahá'u'lláh. Later in June a Bahá'í family, the Gorrah family, arrived to assist with the teaching work. [BN No 246 August 1951 p10; BN No 260 October 1952 p5] [key]
  • Benghazi; Libya Hussein Gollestaneh; Mr El Alamy; Gorrah first libyan to declare his Faith
    1952 29 Feb Shoghi Effendi appointed the second contingent of Hands of the Cause of God. [BW12:375–6; CT202–3 MBW20–1; PP254; ZK47]
  • They were Fred Schopflocher, Corinne True, Dhikru’lláh Khádem, Shu’á’u’lláh ‘Alá’í, Adelbert Mühlschlegel, Músá Banání and Clara Dunn. [BW12:375–6; MWB19–20]
  • Shoghi Effendi described their two-fold function: propagation of the Faith and preservation of its unity. [BW12:376; MBW21] [key]
  • Haifa Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Contingents; Hands of the Cause, Second Contingent; Fred Schopflocher; Corinne True; Dhikrullah Khadem; Shuaullah Alai; Adelbert Muhlschlegel; Musa Banani; Clara Dunn
    1952 Mar Mariette Bolton of Australia visited New Caledonia, the first Bahá’í to visit the islands. [BW15p437]
  • During her visit Mlle Françoise Feminier became a Bahá’í, the first person in New Caledonia to accept the Faith.
  • New Caledonia First Bahais by country or area; Islands first Bahá’í to visit New Caledonia; first Bahá'í in New Caledonia
    1952 Mar The Octagonal component of the Shrine of the Báb was completed. [The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical & Comparative p6] [key] Haifa; Mount Carmel Bab, Shrine of
    1952 4 Mar Shoghi Effendi described plans for a marble colonnade to encircle the Shrine of the Báb as an intermediate step to building a superstructure for the Shrine and sent his ideas to Italy for scale drawings and estimate. [SE133–4] [key] Haifa; Mount Carmel; Italy Bab, Shrine of
    1952 8 Mar Shoghi Effendi announced the enlargement of the International Bahá’í Council to eight members. [MBW22; PP252–3]
  • Its members were Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery, Leroy Ioas, Jessie Revell, Ethel Revell and Lotfullah Hakim. [BW12:379; MBW22] [key]
  • Haifa International Bahai Council; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Ugo Giachery; Leroy Ioas; Jessie Revell; Ethel Revell; Lutfullah Hakim
    1952 25 Mar Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Montreal. He died in the very room that the Master had slept in during His visit to Canada. (b.14 November, 1874) [DH143; MBW132; PP246; CBN undated Memorial Issue]
  • For his obituary see BW12:657–62.
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
  • For his relationship with Shoghi Effendi and work on the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb see PP236–43.
  • Shoghi Effendi named the southern door of the Báb’s tomb after him in memory of his services.
  • On June 16th, 1956, friends of the Montreal area gathered at the grave to place, under the headstone, an alabaster box that had been sent by the Guardian. The box contained a piece of plaster taken from the walls of the prison in Máh-Kú where the Báb had been incarcerated in 1847. Another piece of plaster from the same source had been placed under the first golden tile of the dome of the Shrine of the Báb. The superstructure of the Shrine had been designed by Sutherland Maxwell. [TG55; CBN No 80 September 1956 p2]
  • Find a grave.
  • For a brief biography see LoF276-286.
  • The Canadian Bahá'í News published a special Memorial issue.
  • Montreal; Canada Sutherland Maxwell; Architects; Fortress of Mah-Ku; Gifts; Relics; Bab, Shrine of; In Memoriam; Births and deaths
    1952 26 Mar Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum was appointed Hand of the Cause of God to replace her father. [GBF111; MBW132–3] [key] Haifa Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Hands of the Cause, Appointments
    1952 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America launched a One Year Plan (1952-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46]

    Shoghi Effendi provided the following advice for the aims of the Central American Assembly:
      -To establish harmony, love and understanding among the Bahá'ís
      -To promote the teaching work
      -To win support for the National Bahá'í Fund
      -To assure publication of Bahá'í literature in well-translated Spanish editions in cooperation with the National Spiritual Assembly of South America. [BW12p68-69; Shoghi Effendi: Author of Teaching Plans ] [key]

    Central America Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National
    1952 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly of Uganda was established in Kampala.
  • Enoch Olinga was a member.
  • Kampala Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly of Uganda
    1952 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Tanganyika was established in Dar-es-Salaam. Jalal Nakhjavani, Hassan Sabri, Isobel Sabri, Leslie Matola, Khanum Darakshandeh Nakhjavani, Dudley Denis-Smith Kutendele, Eustace Mwalimu, and Naimi Frahang Nayer Gopalkrishnan were among its members; Matola belonged to the Yao tribe, while Mwalimu belonged to another. [History of the Bahá’í Faith in Tanzania] [key] Dar-es-Salaam Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Tanganyika
    1952 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly of Singapore City was established. [BW12:573; PH58, 67] [key] Singapore Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Singapore City
    1952 Ridván The National Convention of the Bahá'ís of Central America was scheduled to be held in a prestigious hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica. When a distinguish believer, Mr Matthew Bullock, was not allowed to register at the hotel because of his race, the National Assembly moved the Convention to another venue and registered guests moved to small pensions rather than staying at the hotel. [SDSC65]
  • Matthew Bullock was one of the early African-American believers in the United States. He became an enrolled believer in 1940 after 15 years of knowledge of the Faith. In 1952 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly and along with fellow NSA member Elsie Austin, represented that institution at the first Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Uganda in 1953. [LoS108, SDSC102] [key]
  • San Jose; Costa Rica; Central America Conventions, National; NSA; Race (general); Matthew Bullock; Elsie Austin
    1952 27 Apr Hyde Dunn was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God posthumously in a cable sent to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand. [BW13:861; SBR169] [key] Hyde Dunn; Hands of the Cause; Hands appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi
    1952 May (end) Plans drawn up by Mason Remey for a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár on the promontory of Mount Carmel in Haifa were approved but construction is not presently planned.
  • For a photo of the model of the design see BW12p548. This model was presented and place on view at the Intercontinental Conference in Chicago in 1953. It is now at the main hall of the Mansion at Bahjí. [SER170-174]
  • For an address by Mason Remey made at the unveiling of the model see BW12p547-550] [key]
  • Haifa Mashriqul-Adhkar, Haifa; Mason Remey, architect
    1952 18 May The case brought against Shoghi Effendi by the Covenant-breakers in connection with the demolition of a house adjoining the Shrine and Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí was removed from the civil courts by the government of Israel. [CB330; GBF138–9; PP233–4, 290]
  • For the history of this case and the outcome see BW12:384–7.
  • Haifa; Bahji Bahaullah, Shrine of; House of Bahaullah (Bahji); Court cases; Covenant-breakers
    1952 c. Jun Dudley Smith Kutendere returned to his home in Nyasaland, becoming the first Bahá’í in the country.
  • He taught the Bahá’í Faith to his brother, who becames the first person to accept the Faith in Nyasaland.
  • Nyasaland (Malawi) Dudley Smith Kutendere first Bahá’í resident in Nyasaland; first Bahá’í in Nyasalan
    1952 1 Jun In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian by the Assistant Secretary, the National Spiritual Assembly was informed that Ahmad Sohrab had cabled the Israeli Minister of Religion to influence the court case brought by the Covenant-breakers, against the Guardian, and which resulted in complete vindication of the Guardian's control of the Bahá'í Shrines and properties. Sohrab's cable identified the Caravan with the Covenant-breakers and stated that the organization was not under the authority of Shoghi Effendi. In a letter dated May 25, 1941, the Guardian wrote through his Secretary that Sohrab "is no doubt the most subtle, resourceful and indefatigable enemy the Faith has had in America." United States Covenant-breakers; New History Society; Ahmad Sohrab
    1952 Jun or Jul Mr C. C. Cheng, a newspaper reporter; Professor L. S. Tso, a professor of engineering; and Miss Rosie Du (Ruthy Tu) became Bahá’ís in Taiwan, the first people to accept the Faith in the country. Taiwan; Asia First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'ís in Taiwan
    1952 Jun Aaron (‘Arthur’) B. Wellesley Cole, a Sierra Leonean barrister, returned to Sierra Leone from England, the first Bahá’í to enter the country. Sierra Leone First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í resident Sierra Leon
    1952 26 Aug The martyrdom of Nuri'd-Dín Fath-'Azam near Tehran. [BW12p690-692] [key] Tihran; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution
    1952 8 Oct Holy Year, "The Great Jubilee", October 1952 to October 1953, was inaugurated. [MBW16-18; BW12:116; DG84; PP409–10; SBR170–1]
  • Centenary celebrations of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s mission were initiated. [MBW16–18]
  • "Shoghi Effendi began the Holy Year to commemorate the centenary of Bahá’u’lláh's experience in the Siyáh Chál in October 1952 and closed the Holy Year in October 1953 (which corresponds to the centenary of the “Year Nine”, the Islamic year 1269)". [Two Episodes from the Life of Bahá’u’lláh in Iran p21 by Moojan Momen]
  • Four international conferences were scheduled in Kampala, Wilmette (dedication of the Temple), Stockholm and New Delhi. [SETPE2p31-43]
  • For a brief description of the Kampala Conference see CG20-21.
  • Kampala; Uganda; Wilmette; United States; Stockholm; Sweden; New Delhi; India Great Jubilee; Holy Years; Centenaries; Bahaullah, Birth of Revelation of; Siyah Chal (Black Pit)
    1952 8 Oct Shoghi Effendi announced his decision to launch ‘the fate-laden, soul-stirring, decade-long world-embracing Spiritual Crusade’ in the coming year. [BW12:253–5; MBW40-41; StS42]
  • For the objectives of the Crusade see BW12:256–14.
  • Among the goals to be achieved was the construction of the International Bahá’í Archives building. [BBD22; DH168; MBW43]
      "the first of the major edifices destined to constitute the seat of the World Bahá'í Administrative Centre to be established on Mount Carmel". [PP264]
  • See The Bahá’í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical and Comparative (PDF) compiled by Shoghi Effendi.
  • See map of the Ten Year Crusade.
  • BWC Ten Year Crusade; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; International Bahai Archives; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Auxiliary Boards; Auxiliary Board Members; Assistants; Appointed arm; Teaching Plans; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of
    1952 12 Nov The government of Israel exchanged 145,000 square metres of land surrounding Bahjí for property at Ein Gev on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee belonging to the descendants of Bahá’u’lláh’s brother Mírzá Muhammad-Qulí and given to the Faith for this purpose. [DH118, 208; PP233, SETPE1p134-125, MBW454-46]
  • Bahá’í holdings at Bahjí up to this time amount to only 4,000 square metres.
  • Israel; Haifa; BWC Bahji; Mirza Muhammad-Quli
    1952 12 Nov Dagmar Dole, pioneer to Alaska and Denmark, passed away in Glion, Switzerland.
  • Shoghi Effendi said she was the ‘first to give her life for the Cause in the European project’. [BW12:702; ZK66–7]
  • For her obituary see BW12:701–2.
  • See also Bahá'í Chronicles and Find a Grave.
  • Glion; Switzerland; Alaska; United States; Denmark Dagmar Dole; In memoriam; Births and deaths first to give life for Cause in the European project
    1953 (In the year) Bahá’ís and their houses were attacked in Bushrúyih and Fárán, Iran. [BW18:390] [key] Bushrui; Faran; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution
    1953 (In the year) Marthe Molitor, a Belgian from Rwanda, began to teach the Bahá'í Faith in Kalina (now Gombe), a district in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). [bahai.org] [key] Kinshasa,DRC Marthe Molitor
    1953 (In the year) The arrival of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Dr. Mihdi Samandari and Mrs. Ursula Samandari (Newman) in Mogadishu, Somalia [BWNS230] [key] Mogadishu; Somalia Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1953 (In the year) Áqá Rahmán Kulayní-Mamaqání was martyred in Durúd, Iran. [BW18:390] [key] Durud; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution
    1953 (In the year) Alfred Amisi (Maragoli), Jacob Kisombe (Mtaita), Laurence Ouna (Mluhya), Labi Mathew (Zulu), and Zablon Bob (Luo) were among the first Kenyans to become Bahá’ís. Kenya First Bahais by country or area first Kenyans Bahá’ís
    1953 (In the year) Grant Mensah, a Ghanaian, became a Bahá’í in Ruanda-Urundi, the first person to accept the Faith in that country. Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) Grant Mensah first Bahá’í in Burundi
    1953 (In the year) Anjoman-e Hojjatieh ("Society of Allah's Proof Over Creation"), also called the Hojjatieh Society was founded specifically as an anti-Bahá'í organization by a charismatic Shiite Muslim cleric, Shaikh Mahmoud Halabi in the aftermath of the coup d'état of 1953. Between the early 1950s and the early 1970s a great number of the future elite of the Islamic revolution were trained by Hujjatieh. During the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Society was to play an important role in stirring animosity against Bahá'ís. However, in part because of differences in theology—among other things the Hojjatieh believe a truly Islamic state cannot be established until the return of the 12th Imam—the Society fell into disfavour and was banned by the regime in 1984. [Hojjatieh Society, Wiki] [key] Iran Hojjatieh Society; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1953 (In the Year) The publication of Questions about the Second Coming by George Townshend by the Bahá'í Publishing Committee in Wilmette in response to questions asked of him by the Bahá'ís of Kampala.
  • The publication is available in PDF.
  • Wilmette; United States; Uganda Christianity; George Townshend
    1953 12–18 Feb The first Intercontinental Teaching Conference was convened by the British National Spiritual Assembly in Kampala, Uganda. [BW12:121, MBW135-140; BN No 267 May 1953 p5-7]
  • For Shoghi Effendi’s message to the conference see BW12:121–4.
  • For a report of the conference see BW12:124–30.
  • It was attended by ten Hands of the Cause, Bahá’ís from 19 countries and representatives of over 30 tribes. [PP413]
  • Over a hundred new African believers attended as personal guests of the Guardian. [PP413]
  • With this conference the Ten Year World Crusade was launched. [BBRSM158–9; BW12:253; MBW41]
  • Picture. [BW12p118]
  • See some candid video footage taken by Ted Cardell.
  • Kampala; Uganda; Africa Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Guardianship; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; First conferences first Intercontinental Teaching Conference; first international conference held in Africa
    1953 (Early in the year) Shoghi Effendi obtained a wrought-iron gate from England with the intention of installing it at the bottom of the terraces on Mount Carmel. Instead, he had it installed on the path radiating out from the entrance to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. The Pyramidal-obelisks and the flower-urns made of lead, border the path on either side. He had originally planned to pave the main path with Carrara marble, the same stone used in the Monument Gardens but abandoned the idea and used pebbles from the Sea of Galilee as he had done on the path between the second and third gates leading to the Shrine of the Báb and at the house of 'Abdu'l-Bahá at 7 Persian Street.
  • It was Amelia Collins who provided the funds for the purchase of the gate and so Shoghi Effendi named it the "Collins Gate" in her honour. [SE129-130]
  • Another account has it that Millie Collins suggested the Guardian take a summer holiday when she saw that the Guardian was working himself into exhaustion. He stalled her several times citing the requirements of his work but finally, when she would not relent, admitted that he did not have the money. She provided the funding for the trip but he spent it on the gate. [Sweet and Enchanting Stories (PDF) p41-42 edited by Aziz Rohani] [key]
  • Bahji Shrine of Bahaullah; Collins Gate; Amelia Collins
    1953 19 Mar Suhayl Samandarí arrived in Mogadishu and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for Italian Somaliland. [BW13:452]
  • Within a short time, Sa‘íd ‘Alí Masqatí, a Somali from the port of Baraawe, became a Bahá’í, the first person to accept the Faith in Somalia.
  • Mogadishu; Italian Somaliland Knights of Bahaullah first Somali Bahá’í
    1953 25 Mar Enayat Sohaili, an Iranian, arrived in Mozambique from India, the first Bahá’í pioneer to the country. [BW13:290]
  • He was imprisoned and deported in June 1953. [BW13:290] [key]
  • Mozambique Enayat Sohaili; Pioneers; Persecution, Mozambique; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution; First travel teachers and pioneers first Bahá’í pioneer Mozambique
    1953 Apr The first local spiritual assembly in Finland was established in Helsinki. Helsinki Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Finland
    1953 19 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced plans to build a House of Worship in Frankfurt. [BW13:733; LDG191–2]l
  • For the difficulties in pursuing the project see BW13:733–7.
  • Langenhain; Frankfurt; Germany; Europe Mashriqul-Adhkar, Langenhain; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1953 20 Apr The Second Seven Year Plan ended with 2,425 localities, 611 local spiritual assemblies, 100 countries, islands and dependencies opened to the Faith. There were 12 national assemblies to this date; [UC43]
  • From 1921 to this time the Faith had expanded to 128 countries and territories, 15 during the time of Baha'u'llah, 20 during the time of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and an additional 58 under the stewardship of the Guardian. [Patheos website] [key]
  • Teaching Plans; Seven Year Plan, US and CA (1946-1953); Statistics
    1953 Ridván The Ten Year Crusade (1953-1963) was launched. See MBW151-156, MBW151.

    The four primary goals of the plan were outlined as follows:
      -the development of institutions at the World Centre
      -consolidation of the twelve countries where the Faith was well established
      -consolidation of all other territories already open
      -the opening of the remaining "chief virgin territories" around the globe (131)

    For the objectives of the Crusade see BW12:256–14. Among the goals to be achieved was the construction of the International Bahá’í Archives building. [BBD22; DH168; MBW43] "the first of the major edifices destined to constitute the seat of the World Bahá'í Administrative Centre to be established on Mount Carmel". [PP264]

    To those Bahá’ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade, the title 'Knight of Bahá’u’lláh' was given. On 27 May 1992, the Roll of Honour containing the names of all the Knights of Bahá’u’lláh was deposited beneath the entrance door to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh.

    “…Sometimes people strive all their lives to render outstanding service. Here is the time and opportunity to render historic services; in fact, the most unique in history, aiding in the fulfillment of Daniel’s Prophecies of the Last Day, and the 1335 days, when men are to be blessed by the Glory of the Lord, covering the entire globe—which is the real goal of the Ten Year Crusade. [DG54-55]

    A map of goals for the Ten Year World Crusade by Shoghi Effendi can be found in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-1954). Electronic versions, in both medium and large format can be found here.

    The achievements of the Ten Year Crusade were celebrated at the Most Great Jubilee in April and May 1963, which commemorated the Centenary of the Declaration of Baha’u’llah’s Mission. Two historic events transpired during that time: the International Convention, convened in Haifa, Israel, to elect the first Universal House of Justice; and the World Congress held in London, England.

  • See The Journal of Bahá'í Studies Vol 14, no. 3-4, 2004 for the essay The Ten Year Crusade by Ali Nakhjavani.
  • See CBN No 66 July 1956 in a message dated the 13 of May 1956 Leroy Ioas, (unsure if it was sent on behalf of the Guardian or from the International Bahá'í Council, probably the former), Mr Ioas outlined the three phases of the Crusade; First Phase: open virgin territories, Second Phase: 1. widespread dispersal, 2. settlement in new areas, 3. formation of Local Assemblies and National Assemblies, 4. incorporate Local Assemblies. Third Phase: (open on 21 April 1956, the formation of National Assemblies, with their own Haziratu'l-Quds, have their own endowments and to be incorporated.
  • See The Bahá’í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical and Comparative (PDF) compiled by Shoghi Effendi.
  • For a graphic representation of the goals of the Ten Year Crusade see Objectives and Tasks of Ten-Year Spiritual Global Crusade of the Bahá'í World Faith by Shoghi Effendi compiled by Beatrice Ashton published in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-19540).
  • Map of Goals for the Ten Year World Crusade by Shoghi Effendi published in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-1954) Wilmette, IL: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1956.
  • Progress Bahá'í World Crusade 1953-1958 was the map that Shoghi Effendi finished on the night of his passing.
  • At the start of the Ten Year Crusade the only sovereign countries in Africa were Egypt and Ethiopia, the remainder were still under the yoke of colonialism.
  • Many who arose as pioneers to the African continent came from Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. In Southern Africa alone, 27 pioneers arrived in the first year of the Crusade. Among them were Melvin and Helen Hope in Angola; Fred and Beth Laws in Lesotho; Enayat Sohaili and ‘Izzat Zahrai in Mozambique; Mehranguiz Munsiff in Madagascar; Ottilie Rhein in Mauritius; Lowell and Edith Johnson, William, Marguerite and Michael Sears and Harry and Bahíyyih Ford in South Africa; Claire Gung in Southern Rhodesia; and Ted Cardell in South West Africa. In the whole of Africa, 58 of the international pioneers opened new territories and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p3] [key]
  • BWC; Worldwide Statistics; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching Plans; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Roll of Honour; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Endowments
    1953 Ridván Mrs Meherangiz Munsiff, the wife of an Indian diplomat in London, arrived in Madagascar and was acknowledged as the first Bahá’í in the country. [BWNS288]
  • There was one other Bahá’í in Madagascar before Mrs Munsiff but he was not a Bahá’í in good standing.
  • Suffering ill health, Mrs. Munsiff left in January 1954 a day after Danile Randrianarivo, 29, accepted the Faith, becoming the first Malagasy Bahá'í.
  • Madagascar Meherangiz Munsiff; Danile Randrianarivo; First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í in Madagascar
    1953 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Kenya was established in Nairobi. Nairobi; Kenya Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Kenya
    1953 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and Switzerland was established. Elected were: Prof. Mario Fiorentini, Mrs. Anna Kunz, Dr. Ugo R. Giachery, Miss Elsa Steinmetz, Mrs. Stella Lonzar, Mrs. Anne Lynch, Friedrich Schar, Mrs. Marion Little, and Prof. Alessandro Bausani.
  • For a photo see Bahá'í Historical Facts.
  • Italy; Switzerland National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Italy and Switzerland
    1953 Ridván Bahjí was lit for the first time by 99 four-branched wrought iron lamp posts. [GBF32; PP89–90] [key] Bahji; Haifa Light (general); Firsts, Other; Bahaullah, Shrine of first time Bahjí lit
    1953 29 Apr In a moving ceremony, Shoghi Effendi placed a silver box containing a fragment of plaster from the ceiling of the Báb’s cell in Máh-Kú under a tile in the golden dome of the Shrine of the Báb. [BW12:239; ZK285] [key] Haifa; Mount Carmel; Mah-Ku; Iran Bab, Shrine of; Mah-Ku; Boxes containing dust, earth or plaster
    1953 29 Apr - 2 May The All-American Jubilee celebrations began. [BW12:149] [key] United States Centenaries
    1953 30 Apr Messages from Shoghi Effendi regarding a victory in France:
      "Finally share the heart-warming news of the impending establishment of the long-overdue Hazíratu'l-Quds in the French capital through the conclusion of an agreement to purchase a 
      nine thousand pound property situated in the best residential quarter of the city.
              Kiyani's spontaneous, generous contribution is solely responsible for the achievement of the great victory of the establishment of the institution designed to serve as 
      the administrative headquarters of both the present Paris Assembly and the projected French National Spiritual Assembly."
      [MBWp141]

      "The second Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds to be acquired during this period was one in Paris, destined to become the national administrative headquarters of the French Bahá’í community. 
      This achievement was announced in the Guardian’s cablegram to the Forty-Fifth Annual Bahá’í Convention of the United States Bahá’ís on April 30, 1953, as follows: 
      “Heart-warming news (of the) impending establishment (of the) long overdue Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds (in the) French capital through (the) conclusion (of an) agreement (to) purchase (a) 
      nine thousand pound property situated (in the) best residential quarter (of the) city.”
           The acquisition of this property was made possible by the spontaneous and generous contribution of a single believer, Mr. Hussayn Quli Kiyani, recently come to Paris 
      from Persia.
           The formal dedication of the Paris Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds took place on July 4, 1953, with Dr. Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause of God, coming from Rome to assist in the ceremonies."
      [BW12p55] [key]
    Paris; France Haziratul-Quds; Hussayn Quli Kiyani; Ugo Giachery
    1953 May Mary and Reginald (Rex) Collison, an elderly Canadian-American couple, arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) from Uganda and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455]
  • For the story of Mary Collison’s life see BW15:486–8 as well as Servants of the Glory page34.
  • Arriving in July was Dunduzu Chisza, a young Baha'i from Malawi, (then Nyasaland) The earliest Rwandan Bahá’í whose name is recorded was Alphonse Semanyenzi. [The Bahá'í Faith in Rwanda website; BWNS349]
  • The first Bahá’í to travel through Rwanda may have been Marthe Molitor c. 1947 after becoming a Bahá'í in Belgium. She moved on to the Belgian Congo. [Taarifa] [key]
  • Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) Knights of Bahaullah; Mary Collison; Rex Collison; Dunduzu Chisza; Alphonse Semanyenzi; Marthe Molitor First Baha'i in Rwanda
    1953 1 May The House of Worship in Wilmette was consecrated in a simple ceremony for Bahá’ís only. [BW12:143, 152; ZK93]
  • For details of the dedication see BW12:152–4.
  • A most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world of existence,” are ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s own words, predicting the release of spiritual forces that must accompany the completion of this most hallowed House of Worship. “From that point of light,” He, further glorifying that edifice, has written, “the spirit of teaching … will permeate to all parts of the world.” And again: “Out of this Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, without doubt, thousands of Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs will be born.” “It marks the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth. [CoF69 Message of 21 March 1949] [key]
  • Wilmette; United States Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Dedications
    1953 2 May The House of Worship in Wilmette, the Mother Temple of the West, was dedicated in a public ceremony. [BW12:142, BWNS218]
  • For the text of the Guardian’s message of dedication see BW12:141–2.
  • For an account of the event see BW12:154–63.
  • See BN No 261 November 1952 p9-10. The Temple Dedication Committee consisted of: Paul E. Haney, Mrs. Corinne True, Allen B. McDaniel, Carl Scheffler, Albert R. Windust with Horace Holley as the chairman.
  • See The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical & Comparative p24-26 for project statistics and a chronology of events.
  • Towards the end of his life in Tehran, Ahmad (of "Tablet of Ahmad" fame) had entrusted the original Tablet to his grandson Jamal who, in turn, out of the purity of his heart and his devotion to the Faith of God, offered it as a gift to Hand of the Cause, Trustee of Huqúq, the son and brother of two illustrious martyrs, Jinab-i-Valiyu'llah Varqá. When Jinab-i-Varqa, according to the instructions of the beloved Guardian, was sent to take part in this dedication ceremony he brought this most precious Tablet as his offering to the archives of the Bahá'ís of the United States. [A Flame of Fire by A.Q. Faizi.]
  • See the message of the Universal House of Justice dated 1 August, 2014 for more on the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Wilmette.
  • See The Story of the Temple by Allen Boyer McDaniel. [CBN No43 August 1953 p4; BELp101 7.1479]
  • See the video The Temple History Design and Construction.

    Specifics

      Location: Wilmette, Illinois, U.S. Cook County
      Administration: On the same day as the internment of the sacred remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel, March 21st, 1909, the first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. The Convention established the 'Bahá'í Temple Unity', incorporated to hold title to the Temple property and to provide for its construction. A constitution was framed and an Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity elected. This body became the future National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [BBD39; BBRSM:106; BW10:179; GPB349; PP397; SBBH1:146; BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3]
      Foundation Stone: by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1 May, 1912
      Construction Period:The purchase of the site completed: 1914. Design Chosen: 1920. Superstructure: 1921 – 1 May 1931. External Ornamentation: June 1932 -1943. Interior: 1951
      Dedication: 1 May 1953
      Architects: Louis Bourgeois with Alfred Shaw (interior cladding) Bourgeois became a Baha’i in New York City in 1907, and two years later responded to the call for designs for the Temple. In 1920, delegates from across the country unanimously selected his innovative design. Bourgeois traveled to Haifa to consult with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s encouragement, Bourgeois refined and scaled down the size of his design. [The House of Worship Architecture]
      Seating: 1,191 [DP220]
      Dimensions: 203ft at the base and 49ft high
      Cost: $2.6 million (another source) $51,500 (land) plus $3,212,517.60 (construction costs 1921-1953)
      Dependencies: Construction of a home for the aged was began in December, 1957 and inaugurated on 1 February, 1959. It is located about three blocks away.
      Note: In GPB349 Shoghi Effendi states that “…this enterprise—the crowning achievement of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the first Bahá’í century…”.
      References: CEBF236-241,GPB348-353, MDM121-239, The Dawning Place, The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1963 Information Statistical & Comparative p36-37. iiiii
  • Wilmette; United States Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Mother Temples; Lawh-i-Ahmad (Tablet of Ahmad (Arabic)); Gifts; Archives; Dedications; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Mashriqul-Adhkar, Quick facts; Alfred Shaw; Architects; Bahai home for the aged; Homes for the aged; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Dependencies of; BWNS; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1953 3 – 6 May The All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in Chicago. [BW12:133]
  • For the texts of Shoghi Effendi’s messages to the conference see BW12:133–41 and MBW142–6.
  • Twelve Hands of the Cause were present. The Guardian was represented by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. [BW12:143; CBN No 82 November, 1956 p3]
  • At the conference, five members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States resigned from that body in order to go pioneering: Elsie Austin, Dorothy Baker, Matthew Bullock, Mamie Seto and Dr William Kenneth Christian. [ZK102]
  • Extract from the second message to All-American Intercontinental Conference from Shoghi Effendi... [MBW150]
    .....the lands contributed in Latin America for a similar purpose approximate one-half of a million square meters, ninety thousand of which have been set aside near Santiago, Chile, for the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of South America..
  • Chicago; United States; Santiago; Chile; America Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Pioneering; Elsie Austin; Dorothy Baker; Matthew Bullock; Mamie Seto; William Kenneth Christian; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Santiago; Purchases and exchanges first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in South America
    1953 23 May The Hand of the Cause of God, Mr. Valiollah Vargha, arrived in Guayaquil accompanied by Miss Eve Nicklin, a pioneer and the spiritual mother of Perú. He also visited Quito and left the country in early July to attend the conference in Stockholm. [Heroes of God pp53-54] [key] Guayaquil; Ecuador; Quito; Ecuador Valiollah Vargha; Hand of the Cause; Eve Nicklin
    1953 28 May In a message addressed on the eve of the 61st anniversary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, at the opening of the Ten Year Crusade, Shoghi Effendi encouraged 70 pioneers to arise to fill the goals promising that a Roll of Honour with their names would be deposited at the entrance door of the inner Sanctuary of the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh. [MBW48-49]
  • He further elaborated in a message addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada. See the message of the 8 June 1953. [MtC177]
  • See 1992 28 May.
  • Haifa; BWC Pioneers; Knights of Bahaullah; Roll of Honour; Bahaullah, Shrine of
    1953 Jun Ghulám ‘Alí Kurlawala arrived in Daman and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] Daman Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Jun Dunduzu Chisiza, a Nyasaland student who had recently become a Bahá’í in Uganda, arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 6 Jun ‘Izzatu’lláh Zahrá’í (Ezzat Zahrai) arrived in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] Zimbabwe; Africa Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 20 Jun Shoghi Effendi designated the Maxwell home in Montreal as a Shrine. [MtC179] [key] Montreal; Canada Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Montreal Shrine; Maxwell residence; Firsts, Other first Bahá'í Shrine in North America
    1953 Jul Rawshan Áftábí and Fírúzih Yigánigi arrived in Goa and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Goa; India Knights of Bahaullah; Rawshan Aftabi; Firuzih Yiganigi
    1953 Jul Eskil Ljungberg of Sweden, aged 67, arrived in the Faroe Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451]
  • He was the only Bahá’í on the islands for over a decade.
  • For the story of his life see BW19:658–61.
  • Faroe Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Jul Arthur and Ethel Crane arrived in Key West and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW16:453] [key] Key West Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Jul Sa‘íd Nahví arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Pondicherry; India Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Jul Jack Huffman and Rose Perkal arrived on the Kodiak Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Kodiak Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Jul Jenabe and Elaine Caldwell arrived in the Aleutian Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] Aleutian Islands Jenabe Caldwell; Elaine Caldwell; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 21 – 26 Jul The European Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in Stockholm. [BW12:167; CBN No 46 November, 1953 p4; CBN No 47 December 1953 p6; CBN No 49 February 1954 p3]
  • For Shoghi Effendi’s message to the conference see BW12:167–71.
      In it he called for "the opening of the following thirty virgin territories and islands: Albania, Crete, Estonia, Finno-Karelia, Frisian Islands, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Rumania, White Russia, (Belarus) assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Germany and Austria; Channel Islands, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Hebrides Islands, Malta, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the British Isles; Andorra, Azores, Balearic Islands, Lofoten Islands, Spitzbergen, Ukraine, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America; Liechtenstein, Monaco, Rhodes, 160 San Marino, Sardinia, Sicily, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Italy and Switzerland". [MBW157]
    • For a report of the conference see BW12:171–8.
    • Fourteen Hands of the Cause were present. [BW12:171]
    • 374 Bahá’ís from 30 countries attended, of these 110 come from the ten goal countries. [BW12:171] [key]
  • Stockholm; Sweden; Europe Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities
    1953 27 Jul Siegfried (Fred) Schopflocher, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Montreal and was buried beside the grave of Sutherland Maxwell in Mount Royal Cemetery. He was born in Germany in 1877. [BW12:664-666, LOF390, TG119, CBNS 24 July 2014, Bahá'í Chronicles, SCRIBD, Schopflocher, Siegfried (1877–1953) by Will C. van den Hoonaard]
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the second contingent on the 29th of February, 1952. [MoCxxiii]
  • See TG32, 228 and LoF384-390 for short biographies.
  • See Schopflocher, Siegfried by Will C. van den Hoonaard.
  • For his obituary see BW12:664–6.
  • He was known as the “Temple Builder” because of his great contributions to the completion of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West. [BW12:664-666]
  • For a brief biography see Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • Find a grave.
  • Montreal; Canada Siegfried Schopflocher; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, Second Contingent; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette
    1953 Aug The Congo-Belgian colony had its first believers, identified under the term “The Spiritual Sowers”. The story begins with Louis Selemani Bin Kimbulu and Sébastien Ilunga Ngoy Buanga Tumba, two Congolese bank officials who were living and working in neighbouring Burundi, where they received, from a servant working for a Western expatriate, a book of Bahá'í prayers which they did not hesitate to liken to a grimoire. Finding it interesting, they sent a letter for further clarification regarding the nature of the prayers to the Bahá'í Publishing House which published the book.

    In response to their correspondence, an American Bahá'í living in Usumbura, present-day Bujumbura, went to meet these two men. Some time after they met, and after conducting the independent search for Truth, they decided to become Bahá'ís. This is how they began to spread the “new message” to their other colleagues at the Bank, all Congolese living in eastern DRC.

    Very quickly, these two young bankers succeeded in finding souls receptive to the message of the Bahá'í teachings. They were 19 in all and constituted the nucleus called “Spiritual Sowers”, the founders of the Faith in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [bahai.org; bahai.org] [key]

    Bujumbura,Burundi; DRC Louis Selemani Bin Kimbulu; Sébastien Ilunga Ngoy Buanga Tumba first believers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    1953 Aug Shawkat Nahví arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Pondicherry; India Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Aug 'Abbás Vakíl arrived in Cyprus and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Cyprus Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 2 Aug Fred Schechter, an American, arrived in Djibouti and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for French Somaliland. [BW13:451]
  • Mr Schechter went on to pioneer to several Latin American countries, he spent thirteen year on the Continental Board of Councillors for the Americas and served on the International Teaching Centre. He passed away on 27 January 2017 in California, U.S.A. He was 89 years old. [BWNS1149]
  • See In Memoriam Fred Schechter: Bahá'í House of Worship Memorial Program.
  • French Somaliland (Djibouti); Djibouti Fred Schechter; Knights of Bahaullah; Counsellors; International Teaching Centre, Members of; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; BWNS
    1953 Aug Shiyam Behari arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Pondicherry; India Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Aug Amír Húshmand Manúchihrí arrived in Liechtenstein and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Liechtenstein; Europe Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Aug Salísa Kirmání and Shírín Núrání arrived in Karikal and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Karikal Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Jul - Aug Amín and Sheila Banání, a Persian-American couple, settled in Athens-Kifissia in August 1953 and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Greece. [BW452]
  • They were able to stay in Greece until 1958 when they were asked to leave by the government. [from an interview with Sheila Banani 10 November, 2022 on Thursday Night @7]
  • See Professor Amin Banani, 1926–2013: A Prominent Scholar of Iranian Studies by Ehsan Yarshater in Iranian Studies, 2014, Vol 47 No 2 p347-351 for an obituary of Amin Banani.
  • Athens; Greece Amin Banani; Sheila Banani; Knights of Bahaullah; In Memoriam
    1953 Aug Edythe MacArthur arrived in the Queen Charlotte Islands (now Haida Gwaii) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455; BWIM143-145] [key] Queen Charlotte Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Aug Udai Narain Singh arrived in Sikkim and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455; PH63] [key] Sikkim; India Udai Narain Singh; Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 11 Aug Virginia Orbison arrived in the Balearic Islands from a pioneer post in Spain and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Balearic Islands. [BW13:449] [key] Balearic Islands Virginia Orbison; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 14 Aug In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria it was stated that:
      He is Particularly anxious to have some of the German Bahá'ís enter the western territories of the Soviet Union not yet open to the Faith, namely: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, White Russia and Moldavia, and every effort should be made to enable some of the Bahá'ís, German or of other nationality, to go to these countries. The young people in particular may be able to arrange their affairs in such a way as to procure employment in the Soviet Union. This would be a great service, and is part of the work allotted to the German Bahá'ís under the World Crusade. [14 August 1953]
    [key]
    Germany; Austria; Soviet Union
    1953 (Late August) Soon after becoming a Bahá'í in Kampala, Enoch Olinga, together with fellow new believers Max Kanyerezi and Samson Mungono, responded to the Guardian’s call and left his home in Uganda, to fulfill pioneering goals accompanied by Persian pioneers Ali and Violette Nakhjavání. Leaving in late August 1953 they traveled for almost 3 months, covering a distance of over 5000 kilometers.

    The first leg took them to Samson Mungono’s post in Kamina, in the Katanga region of the Belgian Congo. They then took a grueling route to Brazzaville, where Max was dropped off and continued through the thick forests of French Congo and Gabon, hoping to pass through French Cameroons and finally reach the British Cameroons. The car broke down in the tropical forest of Gabon leaving the three remaining friends unable to continue. Enoch volunteered to walk to a town 50 miles ahead through the forbidding jungle to get help. Upon arrival Enoch was so ill he was hospitalized for two days and could not travel for a week. He told of a dream he had in which Shoghi Effendi took him in his arms to comfort and reassure him in his desperation. In mid-October they reached the British Cameroons on the very evening of the conclusion of the Holy Year.

    Confirmations of the monumental efforts these first African pioneers made soon followed: Enoch, Max and Samson all successfully brought many local people under the banner of the Greatest Name. [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p4] [key]

    Belgian Congo; Brazzaville; Cameroon Pioneering; Max Kanyerezi; Samson Mungono; Ali Nakhjavani; Violette Nakhjavani
    1953 26 Aug Ella Bailey (b. 16 December, 1864, Houston, Harris County, Texas) passed away in Tripoli, Tarabulus, Libya at the age of 88 years. [BW12:687]
  • She was elevated to the rank of martyr. [MBW170]
  • For the story of her life see PSBW131–42.
  • See Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • For her obituary see BW12:685–8.
  • For information on her burial site and a short biography see Find-a-grave.
  • See Youtube video I Adjure Them - The Ella Bailey Story as told by Hand of the Cause of God William Sears.
  • She had accompanied Mr and Mrs Rober Gulick in their settlement in Tripoli. [BN No 271 september 1953 p6] [key]
  • Tripoli; Libya; Houston; Texas; United States Ella Bailey; Names and titles; In Memoriam; Births and deaths
    1953 (In the year) Pioneers began to arrive in Libya;
  • Mustapha Salem arrived in July and settled in Tripoli, [BN No 272 October 1953 p9}
  • Asia and Feridon Zein and their two children settled in Benghazi, [BN No 272 October 1953 p9}
  • Rizvaniyyih Iqrari pioneered to Benghazi on 10 September, Mohsen Enayat pioneered within Libya from Tripoli to Feezan on the 26th of September, Mr. and Mrs. Ne'mat 'Abdu'l Wahid and Mr. Wahid's sister-in-law arrived in Tripoli, Libya in late September. [BN No 273 November 1953 p12-13]
  • Mrs. Laura Kelsey Allen arrived in Tripoli, September 3, 1953. [BN No 280 June 1954 p9]
  • As a result a Local Spiritual Assembly was formed in Benghazi in 1953 and in November of the same year in Tripoli. . [BN No 274 December 1953 p2; BN No 280 June 1954 p10] [key]
  • Tripoli; Libya; Banghazi; Libya Mustapha Salem; Asia Zein; Feridon Zein; Rizvaniyyih Iqrari; Mohsen Enayat; Laura Kelsey Allen; Local Spiritual Assembly, formation; Mr. and Mrs. Nemat Abdul Wahid
    1953 28 Aug Mildred Clark, a pioneer in Norway, and Loyce Lawrence (née Drugan), a nurse and hospital matron, arrived in the Lofoten Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453]
  • Mrs Lawrence began teaching the Saami.
  • Lofoten Islands; Norway Knights of Bahaullah; Sami people
    1953 Sep Brigitte Hasselblatt arrived in Shetland and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Shetland Islands; Scotland; United Kingdom Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Sep Gertrude Eisenberg arrived in Las Palmas and is named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Canary Islands. [BW13:450] [key] Las Palmas; Canary Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Sep Evelyn Baxter arrived in the Channel Islands and was named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Channel Islands Evelyn Baxter; Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Sep Ada Schott, Elizabeth Hopper, Sara Kenny and Ella Duffield arrived in the Madeira Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. BW13:453] [key] Madeira; Portugal; Europe Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Sep Brigitte Lundblade (nee Hasselblatt), (b. 1923 - d. 17 May 2008) arrived in the Shetland Islands and was later honoured with being named as Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [Bahaipedia] [key] Shetland Islands; Scotland; United Kingdom Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Sep The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Enayat Sohaili in Nyasaland (now known as Malawi) [BWNS240] [key] Nyasaland (Malawi); Africa Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1953 Sep Kathleen Weston arrived in the Magdalen Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Magdalen Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Sep Julius Edwards arrived in the Northern Territories Protectorate (now part of Ghana) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Northern Territories Protectorate (Ghana); Ghana Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Sep Doris Richardson arrived on Grand Manan Island and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Grand Manan Island Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 8 Sep Jameson and Gale Bond arrived in Arctic Bay in the District of Franklin and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451, SDSC127] [key] Arctic Bay; Franklin; Canada Jameson Bond; Gale Bond; Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 9 Sep José (d. 1985) and Hilda (née Summers) Xavier Rodrigues, a Portuguese-English couple, arrived in Bissau from Portugal as the first Bahá’í pioneers to Portuguese Guinea (Guinea Bissau) and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Bissau; Portuguese Guinea (Guinea Bissau); Guinea Bissau Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Sep Cora Oliver arrived in British Honduras (Belize) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] British Honduras (Belize); Belize Cora Oliver; Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 12 Sep Nellie French arrived in Monaco and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454] [key] Monaco Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Sep Dick Stanton arrived in Keewatin and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Keewatin Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Sep Howard Snider arrived in Key West and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Key West Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Sep Diá’i’lláh Asgharzádih arrived in the Channel Islands and was named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Channel Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Diaillah Asgharzadih
    1953 Sep Elsa Grossman arrived in the Frisian Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Frisian Islands Elsa Grossmann; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Sep Hugh McKinley and his mother, Violet, arrived in Cyprus and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450]
  • Violet passed away in 1959 and she was laid to rest in Famagusta. Hugh remained in Cyprus until 1963. He died in Suffolk in 1999 was was buried in Lawshall, Suffolk. He had been born on the 18th of February, 1924.
  • See Ismael Velasco's paper entitled In Memoriam: Hugh McKinley.
  • See Life of Hugh McKinley, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh by Olive McKinley.
  • Cyprus; Famagusta Knights of Bahaullah; Hugh McKinley; Violet McKinley; Ismael Velasco; Olive McKinley
    1953 18 Sep Dwight and Carole Allen arrived in Athens and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Greece. [BW13:452] [key] Athens; Greece Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 20 Sep The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Mr. Max Kanyerezi in Middle Congo (now called Republic of Congo). At this time the country was, together with the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, and Gabon, part of a much larger French territory called the Federation of French Equatorial Africa which was dissolved in 1958. [BWNS246; A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p8]
  • Max and his wife Florence later moved back to Uganda where he had been raised. [CG106-107] [key]
  • Republic of Congo; Africa Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1953 20 Sep Countries (in which) Bahá'ís residenow aggregate over (one) hundred fifty. over seventy (have been) added (in the) course (of the) nine years separating (the) first (and) second Jubilees. [From a letter from Shoghi Effendi CBN No 46 November 1953 p1] [key] BWC Statistics
    1953 23 Sep Ted and Joan Anderson arrived in Whitehorse, Canada, and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Yukon. [BW13:457] [key] Whitehorse; Canada Knights of Bahaullah; Ted Anderson; Joan Anderson
    1953 26 Sep The martyrdom of Rahmán Kulayní Mamaqání. He was stabbed by a ruffian in a mob. [BW12p710-711] [key] Durud; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Mobs
    1953 30 Sep Manúchihr Hizárí and Hurmuz Zindih arrived in Tangier and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] [key] Tangier; Morocco Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Oct Mrs (Alexandra) Ola Pawlowska arrived in St Pierre and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for Miquelon Island and St Pierre Island. [BW13:454] [key] St Pierre and Miquelon Ola Pawlowska; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Oct Claire Gung arrived in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. She spent 18 months in Salisbury (Harare) where she was a member of the first local spiritual assembly. [CG161] [key] Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe); Zimbabwe Knights of Bahaullah first spiritual assembly of Salisbury (Harare)
    1953 Oct The superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb was completed. [BBD210; CB324–5; PP235; ZK85–6]
  • Marble for the Shrine of the Báb came from Chiampo, Italy as did marble for the Archives Building, the Resting Place of Shoghi Effendi, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Terraces Project, the Monument Gardens and the Houses of Worship in India and Samoa. It was cut and chiseled by a firm called Margraf, formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini. [BWNS1223]
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá described the Shrine of the Báb as the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. [ABF18]
  • In a letter from the International Bahá'í Council dated the 2nd of May 1955, they reported on the great interest that has been taken in the Shrine of the Báb since the completion. [CBN No65 Jun 1955 p1; BN o292 Jun 1955 p4] [key]
  • BWC; Haifa; Mount Carmel; Chiampo; Italy Bab, Shrine of; Marble; BWNS; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; World Centre; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Margraf
    1953 Oct Muhammad Mustafá Sulaymán, an Egyptian, arrived in Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. BW13:456]
  • For the story of his life see BW18:768–71.
  • Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara) Knights of Bahaullah; Muhammad Mustafa Sulayman
    1953 Oct The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Edith Danielson in the Cook Islands. [BWNS265] [key] Cook Islands; Pacific Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1953 Oct Katharine Meyer arrived on Margarita Island and was named Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454] [key] Margarita Island Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Katharine Meyer
    1953 Oct Helen Robinson arrived on Baranof Island and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] Baranof Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Oct Ursula von Brunn arrived in the Frisian Islands and was named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Frisian Islands Ursula von Brunn; Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Oct The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Emma Rice, followed one week later by Knights Stanley and Florence Bagley and their three teenage children, Susan, Gerrold and Carol in Palermo, Sicily. [BWNS254] [key] Sicily; Italy Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1953 Oct Lionel Peraji arrived in Mahé and is named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454] [key] Mahe Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Oct Charles Dunning arrived in the Orkney Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] ul>
  • In probably it was October of 1954 Harold and Marzieh Gail depart from St Matthew's Quay in Aberdeen destined to pay a visit to Charles Dunning in Kirkwall. On the island the diminutive Charles Dunning is referred to as "a wee chappie". [OPOP55-59] [key]
  • Orkney Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Oct Geraldine Graney arrived in the Hebrides and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Hebrides Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Geraldine Graney
    1953 Oct Marie Ciocca Holmlund arrived on Sardinia and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Sardinia Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 7 Oct William Danjon Dieudonné arrived in Andorra and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW12:449]
  • He continued to live in the country.
  • By 1979 Andorra had a Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in Andorra-la-Vella and three localities. [BN No 581 August 1979 p11] [key]
  • Andorra; Europe Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 7 – 15 Oct The Asian Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in New Delhi. [BW12:178; CBN No 50 Mar 1953 p6-7]
  • For Shoghi Effendi’s message to the conference see BW12:178–81.
  • At the request of our beloved Guardian a memorial service was held for our dearly loved Hand of the Cause, Mr. Sutherland Maxwell. Loving tributes were paid to his memory by Mr. Remey and Mr. Giachery. [CBN No 50 Mar 1953 p6]
  • For a report of the conference see BW12:181–8.
  • This was the first international Bahá’í gathering ever to be held in the East. [BW12:181; SBR171]
  • It was attended by 489 Bahá’ís representing 31 countries. [BW 12:181]
  • The design for the International Bahá’í Archives was revealed to the Bahá’ís of the world for the first time at this conference. [DH168]
  • Following the New Delhi conference the Hands of the Cause and other visiting Bahá'ís travelled the length and the breadth of the country speaking in universities, teachers' training colleges, agricultural schools, theatres, hotels, Y.M.C.A.'s, at service clubs, and theosophical societies. Prominent citizens representative of the Hindu, Moslem and Christian faiths were chairmen at many of these meetings. There were numerous press conferences and wide-spread newspaper publicity. The Hands of the Cause were able to present Bahá'í books to world famous Indian scholars, to the family of the Maharaja of Indore and to representatives of the press. Perhaps never since Abdu'l·Bahá visited America has the Faith been presented in such a variety of places in so short a time. Dorothy Baker was one of the Hands who participated in this post-conference proclamation. [CBN No54 Jul 1954 p5] [key]
  • New Delhi; India; Asia Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; International Bahai Archives; Teaching; First conferences first international Bahá’í gathering in the East
    1953 Oct Earle Render arrived in the Leeward Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Leeward Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Oct Richard and Lois Nolen and children Linda Jean, Cynthia and John arrived in the Azores and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13p449; Bahaipedia] [key] Azores Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Richard Nolan; Lois Nolen
    1953 Oct Salvador and Adela Tormo arrived on the Juan Fernandez Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Juan Fernandez Islands; Chile Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Oct Elly Becking arrived in Dutch New Guinea and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] Dutch New Guinea; Indonesia Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 11 Oct Fawzí Zaynu’l-‘Ábidín and his wife, Bahíyyih ‘Alí Sa‘di’d-Dín, and their sons Kamál and Sharíf arrived in Tetuán from Egypt and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Spanish Morocco. [BW13:456]
  • For the story of Fawzí Zaynu’l-‘Ábidín’s life see BW16:544–6.
  • Tetuan; Spanish Morocco Knights of Bahaullah; Fawzi Zaynul-Abidin; Bahiyyih Ali Sadid-Din; Kamal Zaynul-Abidin; Sharif Zaynul-Abidin
    1953 13 Oct Esther Evans and Lillian Middlemast arrived in Castries, St Lucia, and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Windward Islands. BW13:457] [key] Castries; St Lucia; Windward Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 13 Oct Frederick and Elizabeth Laws arrived in Basutoland (Lesotho) and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449, BWNS262 ]
  • For the story of the life of Elizabeth Laws see BW17:459–60.
  • Chadwick Mohapi and his wife became the first Bahá'ís in Basutoland (Lesotho). [TG166] [key]
  • Basutoland (Lesotho) Knights of Bahaullah first Bahá'ís in Basutoland (Lesotho)
    1953 13 Oct Una Townshend arrived in Malta and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454, BWNS234] [key] Malta Una Townshend; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; BWNS
    1953 14 Oct Shoghi Effendi announced the settling of 13 further Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, with 178 territories now open to the Faith. [MBW173] [key] Worldwide Knights of Bahaullah; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade
    1953 14 Oct Robert and Elinor Wolff arrived in Dutch Guiana and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] Dutch Guiana (Suriname); Suriname Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 14 Oct Edith M. Danielsen arrived on Aitutaki Island, 150 miles north of Rarotonga, before leaving for Avarua, Rarotonga, five days later and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Cook Islands. [BW13:450]
  • For the story of her life see BW19:625–6.
  • Cook Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Oct Enoch Olinga arrived in Victoria (Limbé) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the British Cameroons. [BW13:449]
  • The first Cameroonian to become a Bahá’í in British Cameroon was a youth, Jacob Tabot Awo.
  • The first Cameroonian adult to become a Bahá’í was Enoch Ngompek of the Bassa tribe.
  • The first Cameroonian woman to become a Bahá’í was Esther Obeu, the wife of David Tanyi.
  • Victoria (Limbe); British Cameroon; Cameroon; Nigeria Enoch Olinga; Knights of Bahaullah; First Bahais by country or area first Cameroonian youth Bahá’í; first Cameroonian adult Bahá’í; first Cameroonian woman Bahá’í
    1953 15 Oct Eberhard Friedland arrived in French Guiana from the United States and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] French Guiana Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 16 Oct Benjamin Dunham Weeden and his wife Gladys (née Anderson) arrived in Antigua and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Leeward Islands. [BW13:453]
  • For the story of Ben Weeden’s life see BW15:478–9.
  • For the story of Gladys Weeden’s life see BW18:692–6.
  • Antigua; Leeward Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 17 Oct The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Bertha Dobbins in Vanuatu. [BWNS256] [key] Vanuatu; Oceania Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; BWNS
    1953 18 Oct George and Marguerite (Peggy) True arrived on Tenerif with their 12-year-old son Barry and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Canary Islands. [BW13:450; BW19p634] [key] Tenerif; Canary Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; George True; Peggy True; Margarite True; Barry True
    1953 20 Oct Frances Heller arrived in Macau and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the island. [BW13:453; PH73]
  • She was the first Knight of Bahá’u’lláh to settle in Chinese territory.
  • Macau Knights of Bahaullah; Frances Heller first Knight of Bahá’u’lláh to settle in Chinese territory
    1953 24 Oct Elsie Austin arrived in Tangier from the United States and Muhammad-‘Alí Jalálí, an Iranian, also arrived. They were both named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] [key] Tangier; Morocco Elsie Austin; Muhammad-Ali Jalali; Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 24 Oct Luella McKay, John and Erleta Fleming, and Alyce Janssen arrived in Spanish Morocco and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] Morocco Knights of Bahaullah; Luella McKay; John Fleming; Erleta Fleming; Alyce Janssen
    1953 29 Oct Opal Jensen arrived on Réunion Island from the United States and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455]
  • She was later declared a Covenant-breaker.
  • Reunion; France Knights of Bahaullah; Covenant-breakers
    1953 29 Oct Gladys (‘Glad’) Irene Parke and Gretta Stevens Lamprill arrived in Papeete from Australia and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Society Islands, French Polynesia. [BW13:455]
  • For the story of Gladys Parke’s life see BW15:457–8.
  • For the story of Gretta Lamprill’s life see BW15:534–5. She was the inaugural secretary of the Hobart LSA, a secretary of the NSA of Australia and New Zealand and a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Society Islands. She was known as the "Mother of Tasmania".
  • Papeete; Society Islands; French Polynesia Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Oct Zunilda de Palacios arrived on Chiloé Island and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Chiloe Island; Chile; Latin America Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Zunilda de Palacios
    1953 Oct Geertrui Ankersmidt arrived in the Frisian Islands and was named Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Frisian Islands; Netherlands Knights of Bahaullah; Gertrud Ankersmidt
    1953 Oct Frederick and Jean Allen and Irving and Grace Geary arrived on Cape Breton Island and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Cape Breton Island Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Frederick Allen; Jean Allen; Irving Geary; Grace Geary
    1953 Oct Shirley Warde arrived in British Honduras (Belize) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] British Honduras (Belize); Belize Knights of Bahaullah; Shirley Warde
    1953 Oct Dr Malcolm King, an American pioneer in Jamaica, arrived in British Guiana (now Guyana) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] British Guiana Knights of Bahaullah; Malcolm King
    1953 Oct Rolf Haug settled in Crete and iwa named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for that island. [BW13:450] [key] Crete Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Rolf Haug
    1953 Oct Albert Nyarko Buapiah became a Bahá’í in Ghana, the first Ghanaian to become a Bahá’í in the country. Ghana First Bahais by country or area; Albert Nyarko Buapiah first Ghanaian Bahá’í
    1953 Oct Max Kanyerezi, a Ugandan, was brought to Brazzaville by Violette and ‘Alí Nakhjavání and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for French Equatorial Africa. [BW13:451] [key] Brazzaville; French Equatorial Africa Violette Nakhjavani; Ali Nakhjavani; Knights of Bahaullah; Max Kanyerezi
    1953 Oct ‘Amín Battáh, an Egyptian, arrived in Río de Oro (Western Sahara) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Western Sahara; Africa Knights of Bahaullah; Amin Battah
    1953 Oct Bertha Dobbins arrived in Port Vila on the island of Efate from Adelaide, Australia, and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the New Hebrides Islands (Vanuatu). [BW13:454] [key] Port Vila; Efate; New Hebrides Islands (Vanuatu) Bertha Dobbins; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Oct Gail and Gerald Curwin with their daughter Leeanna and Maurice and Ethel Holmes arrived in Nassau and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Bahamas Islands. [BW13:449] [key] Nassau; Bahamas Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Gail Curwin; Ethel Holmes; Gerald Curwin; Maurice Holmes
    1953 Oct Edmund (‘Ted’) Cardell arrived in Windhoek and wss named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for South West Africa (Namibia). [BW13:456]
  • He was later joined by his wife Alicia and the first German Bahá’ís to pioneer to Africa, Martin and Gerda Aiff and their children.
  • In 1955 Hilifa Andreas Nekundi, (also known as Tate Hilifa), was the first Namibian to become a Bahá'í. Mr. Nekundi later served on the first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Windhoek, and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Namibia. [BWNS280] [key]
  • Windhoek; West Africa (Namibia); Namibia Knights of Bahaullah; Ted Cardell; Alicia Cardell; Martin Aiff; Gerda Aiff; Hilifa Andreas Nekundi; Tate Hilifa) first German Bahá’ís pioneers to Africa; the first Namibian to become a Bahá'í.
    1953 Nov The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Dr. K. M. Fozdar on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. [PH57; BWNS271] [key] Andaman and Nicobar Islands Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1953 Nov Tábandih Paymán arrived in San Marino and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh in November. [BW13:455] [key] San Marino Knights of Bahaullah; Tabandih Payman
    1953 Nov Mary Olga Katherine Mills (née Bieymann) arrived in Malta and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454] [key] Malta Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Nov Samíra Vakíl arrived in Cyprus and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Cyprus Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Nov Dr Mihdí Samandarí arrived in Italian Somaliland and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452]
  • His wife Ursula (née Newman) arrived in 1954 and was also named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh.
  • Somalia Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Nov Dr Khodadad M. Fozdar, an Indian of Parsi background, arrived in the Andaman Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449]
  • For the story of his life see BW13:892–3.
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands; India Khodadad M. Fozdar; Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Nov Husayn Rawhání Ardikání and his wife, Nusrat, arrived in Tangier with their daughter, Shahlá, and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] [key] Tangier; Morocco Knights of Bahaullah; Husayn Rawhani Ardikani; Nusrat Ardikani; Sahla Ardikani
    1953 Nov ‘Alí Akbar Rafí‘í (Rafsanjání) and his wife, Sháyistih, and their 19-year-old son, ‘Abbás, arrived in Tangier and all were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] [key] Morocco Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Nov Matthew W. Bullock of Boston, Massachusetts, arrived in the Dutch West Indies (Netherlands Antilles) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] Dutch West Indies (Lesser Antilles); Lesser Antilles Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 11 Nov Shoghi Effendi announced the settling of a further contingent of Knights of Bahá’u’lláh in 21 virgin areas, bringing the number of territories open to the Faith to 200. [MBW52–3] [key] Worldwide Knights of Bahaullah; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade
    1953 11 Nov Ottilie Rhein (1903-79), an American of German origin, arrived in Mauritius and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the island. [BW13:454]
  • For the story of her life see BW18:703–5.
  • On her first expedition to provide necessities for living, she met the proprietor of a shop, Mr. Yim Lim, who became the first resident of the country to join the Faith. [BWNS274] [key]
  • Mauritius Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; BWNS; Ottilie Rhein; Yim Lim first Bahá'í in Mauritius
    1953 13 Nov Kámil ‘Abbás arrived in the Seychelles from Iraq and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455; BWNS272]
  • For the story of his life see BW18:722–3.
  • Seychelles Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 20 Nov The formation of the Israel Branch of the Bahá'ís of Canada. Canada; Israel Israel Branch of the Bahais of Canada
    1953 Late in the year ‘Abdu’l-Karím Amín Khawja became a Bahá’í in Algeria, the first person to accept the Faith in that country. Algeria; Africa First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'í in Algeria
    1953 Dec Jean and Tove Deleuran arrived in the Balearic Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh in December. [BW13:449] [key] Balearic Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Jean Deleuran; Tove Deleuran
    1953 Dec Kay Khusraw Dahamobedi, Bahíyyih Rawhání and Gulbár Áftábí arrived on Diu Island and are named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] Diu Island; India Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1953 Dec Adíb Baghdádí arrived in Hadhramaut and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Hadhramaut; Yemen Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 Nov or Dec The arrival, from Egypt, of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Labib Isfahani in Dakar, Senegal. He was followed by his brother Habib Isfahani in April of 1954 who also received the honour. [BW13:452, BWNS283] [key] Egypt; Dakar; Senegal Knights of Bahaullah; Labib Isfahani; Habib Isfahani; BWNS
    1953 Dec The arrival of Barbara Sims and her family, husband Sandy and daughter Sandra in Tokyo. [Barbara Sims' Contribution to Bahá'í Scholarship in Asia Pacific by Sandra S. Fotos; In memoriam Barbara Sims by Universal House of Justice, Sheridan Sims, and Sandra S. Fotos] [key] Tokyo; Japan Barbara Sims; Sandra Fotos
    1953 7 Dec Jalál Kházeh was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God after the passing of Hand of the Cause of God Siegfried Schopflocher. [GBF111–12; MBW55] [key] Jalal Khazeh; Siegfried Schopflocher; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments
    1953 8 Dec Loretta and Carl Scherer arrived in Macau from Milwaukee and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for that island. [BW13:453; PH73]
  • For the stories of their lives see BW18:738–40.
  • Macau Knights of Bahaullah
    1953 13 Dec A separate department for the Bahá’í Faith was established by the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs. [GBF137; PP 291; PP320] [key] Israel; Haifa; BWC Recognition
    1953 19 Dec Yan Kee Leong became a Bahá’í, the first person to accept the Faith in Malaya. Malaya; Malaysia Yan Kee Leong; First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'í in Malaya
    1953 27 Dec Gilbert and Daisy Robert, a French couple, become Bahá’ís in Madagascar, the first people to accept the Faith in the country. Madagascar Gilbert Robert; Daisy Robert first Bahá'ís in Madagascar
    1921 29 Nov The Faith had spread to 35 countries, an increase of 20 since the passing of Bahá'u'lláh. [Patheos website]
  • The additional countries were: Saudi Arabia, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Treat Britain, Hawaiian Islands, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Jordon, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United States.
  • Statistics
    1954 (In the year) The purchase of the House of Bahá’u’lláh in Istanbul was concluded. [SS38] [key] Istanbul; Turkey House of Bahaullah (Istanbul); Purchases and exchanges
    1954 (In the year) The first native Fijian, the first Pygmy, the first Berber and the first Greenlander to accept the Bahá’í Faith enrolled. [MBW262] [key] First Bahais by country or area; First believers by background first native Fijian; first Pygmy; first Berber; first Greenlander
    1954 (In the year) The first Tlinget from Alaska to become a Bahá’í, Eugene King, enrolled. Alaska; United States First Bahais by country or area first Tlinget Bahá'í
    1954 (In the year) The first person to become a Bahá’í in the Balearic Islands, C. Miguel, enrolled. Balearic Islands First Bahais by country or area; Islands first Bahá’í in Balearic Islands
    1954 (In the year) ‘Aynu’d-Dín and Táhirih ‘Alá’í arrived in Southern Rhodesia and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] Zimbabwe Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 (In the year) Mr and Mrs Sandikonda, Eliam Chisengalumbwe, Mr Musonda, Peter Chitindi and Elias Kanayenda became Bahá’ís, the first African Bahá’ís to enrol in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). BANANI BULLETIN, 1 AUG 1954] [key] Zambia First Bahais by country or area first African Bahá’ís in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)
    1954 (In the year) José Mingorance Fernandez and his wife, Carmen Tost, a Spanish couple, accepted the Bahá’í Faith; they were the first to enrol in Andorra. Andorra First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’ís in Andorra
    1954 (In the year) Khodadad Irani settled in Zanzibar, the first Bahá’í to do so. Zanzibar (Tanzania) Khodadad Irani first Bahá’í pioneer in Zanzibar
    1954 (In the year) Mehraban Isfandiar Sohaili arrived on Mayotte and stayed for two months, the first Bahá’í to visit the island. Mayotte Mihriban Suhayli (Mehraban Sohaili) first Bahá’í to visit Mayotte
    1954 (In the year) The arrival in Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Izzat'u'llah Zahrai, Douglas Kadenhe, Nura Faridian (now Steiner), Enayat and Iran Sohaili, Shidan Fat'he-Aazam (later member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa) and his wife Florence. [BWNS275] [key] Zimbabwe; Africa Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1954 (In the year) The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Violet Noehnke on the Admiralty Islands, now Manus Province in Papua New Guinea. [BWNS307, BWNS312] [key] Admiralty Islands; Manus Province; Papua New Guinea Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1954 (In the year) The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Ted Cardell in South West Africa (now called Namibia). [BWNS280] [key] South West Africa (Namibia); Namibia Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1954 or 1955 "The sacred dust of the Báb's infant son, extolled in the Qayyum-i-Asma, was respectfully and ceremoniously transferred on the anniversary of his Father's martyrdom, in the presence of pilgrims and resident believers to the Bahá'í cemetery in Shiraz, the prelude to the translation to the same spot of the remains of the Báb's beloved and long-suffering consort." [CBN No 65 June, 1955 p1]
  • The timing of the event is unclear. From the article, "the second year, second decade of the second century", it can be assumed that it took place on July 9th, 1955, however, the publication date was June, 1955.
  • Shiraz; Iran Ahmad (son of the Bab)
    1954 Jan The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Dulcie Dive in the Cook Islands. [BWNS265] [key] Cook Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; BWNS
    1954 Jan Jean Sevin arrived in Tuamotu Archipelago and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:457] [key] Tuamotu Archipelago Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Jan Charles M. Ioas arrived in the Balearic Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] Balearic Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 3 Jan Howard and Joanne Menking arrived in the Cape Verde Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Cape Verde Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 3 Jan The passing of Helen “Nellie” Stevison French (b.19 Oct 1868 Peoria, Illinois) in Monaco. She was buried in the Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Chicago.
  • Evincing a marked talent for singing, Nellie left in 1888 for Naples, Italy, to develop that interest. The four-year residence abroad gave her the opportunity to learn the French and Italian languages, to acquire an appreciation of the Latin fine arts, and to master a strenuous course in training for the operatic stage. She suffered a case of typhoid fever in 1892 and returned to the United States to recuperate; but her recovery was followed by scarlet fever which impaired her vocal chords irreparably. Her aspirations for a musical career were ended.
  • In 1894 she married Stuart Whitney French, a childhood companion. About 1896, accompanied by her mother, she attended a few meetings at the home of Dr. Khayru’lláh. The spiritual seeds were sown. Moving to Arizona in 1900, Nellie French lived in Bisbee until 1904 and in Douglas until 1917. Her visits to Chicago and New York furnished a few Bahá’í contacts with meager information; the Bahá’í messages. Mrs. Isabella Brittingham went to Arizona in 1917 to teach the spiritual significance of the Bahá’í Faith offered Nellie a rare privilege. That experience confirmed Nellie who became the first resident Bahá’í teacher in Arizona.
  • Mr. and Mrs. French moved to Pasadena in 1918. During Riḍván, in April, 1921, Mr. and Mrs. French visited Haifa and ‘Akká; that pilgrimage became the fulfillment of all her hopes.
  • She contributed to the literature of the Faith by her work from 1930 to 1946 as Chairman of the Bahá’í World Editorial Committee, during which time she assembled material for volumes IV—X. She translated into French and Italian the “Blue Book” and the brochure “Number 9,” and for several years she wrote “Loom of Reality,” a column published in the Pasadena Star-News. In 1931 she made permanent Braille plates for Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era and for the Kitdb-i-iqan. She served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada 1929 - 1938.
  • As an administrator, she served as Chairman of the Pasadena Spiritual Assembly from 1928 to 1938. For four years, ending in 1944 she was Chairman of the InterAmerica Committee, and in this capacity she presided at a session of the Centenary Celebration in 1944. Later she was a member of the European Teaching Committee. She helped support the work of the International Bureau at Geneva and the All-Indian project at Macy, Nebraska, undertaken by her sister-in-law, Mary Farley Stevison.
  • In April, 1952, thirty-one years to the day, Nellie French returned Mt. Carmel to meet the beloved Guardian in person. During the Holy Year which was also the first year of the World Spiritual Crusade, Nellie French settled in the principality of Monaco to win the accolade, "Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW12p700]
  • Find a grave.
  • Peoria, IL; United States; Monaco Nellie French; In Memoriam
    1954 Jan The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Abdu'l Rahman Zarqani, in the Seychelles. [BWNS272] [key] Seychelles; Africa Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; BWNS
    1954 Jan Munír Vakíl, a former general in the Iraqi army, settled on one of the Kuria-Muria Islands in the Arabian Sea and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453]
  • For the story of the hardships of his pioneering post see ZK99–101.
  • Kuria-Muria Islands; Oman Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Jan Elizabeth Bevan (later Mrs Golmohammed) arrived in Rhodes and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Rhodes Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Jan Virginia Breaks arrived on the island of Truk and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Caroline Islands. [BW13:450; MBW57] [key] Truk; Caroline Islands Virginia Breaks; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Jan Kenneth and Roberta Christian arrived in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe); Zimbabwe Kenneth Christian; Roberta Christian; Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Jan Andrew and Mina Matthisen arrived in the Bahamas and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] Bahamas; Caribbean Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 10 Jan Dorothy Baker, (b.21 December, 1898) Hand of the Cause of God, was killed in a plane crash in the Mediterranean Sea, near the island of Elba. [BW12:670]
  • In 1921 she married Frank Baker who had two motherless children. They had a girl and a boy of their own. [FMH73]
  • She was the granddaughter of Ellen "Mother" Beecher who took her to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York in 1912. An early teacher (unnamed), after seeing the young girl, had a vision and asked Jináb-i-Fazil for an explanation. He replied that "someday she will become on of the great teachers of the Cause" and Mother Beecher began to pray that this would be fulfilled. [FMH73]
  • See FMH76-77 for the story of how Doris McKay was able to help Dorothy deal with her depression in 1929.
  • For the Guardian’s cable see BW12:670, CF161.
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed her among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
  • For her obituary see BW12:670–4.
  • See also Freeman, From Copper To Gold.
  • See TG229 for a short story about her and a comment from her on the Long Obligatory Prayer.
  • See Remembering Dorthy Baker at Bahá'í Blog.
  • See Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • See article in the Canadian Bahá'í News No 46 February 1954 p1.
  • Find a grave.
  • Mediterranean Sea; Elba; Italy Dorothy Baker; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent
    1954 Jan John and Audrey Robarts with their two younger children, Patrick and Tina, left Toronto for their pioneer post in Mafeking (later Mafikeng), Buchuanaland (later Botswana and formerly Bophuthatswana). Older children Aldham and Gerald pioneered to Nigeria and a homefront post respectively. [LOF485-6; CBN No48 January 1954 p11]
  • Later the same year he was appointed to the newly established Auxiliary Board by Hand of the Cause of God Músá Banání. They returned to Canada some 13 years later. [LOF486, 491] [key]
  • Canada; Botswana; Nigeria; Africa John Robarts; Auxiliary Board Members
    1954 14 Jan Lilian E. Wyss arrived in Apia from Australia and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Samoa Islands. [BW13:455] [key] Apia; Samoa Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 15 Jan ‘Abdu’l-Rahmán Zarqání, from India, arrived in the Seychelles and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Seychelles; Africa; India Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 18 Jan Mrs Dulcie Burns Dive arrived in the Cook Islands from Australia and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450, 925] [key] Cook Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 25 Jan Stanley P. Bolton, Jr. arrived in Nuku’alofa, on Tongatapu Island, from Australia and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for Tonga Islands. [BW13:456, BWNS286] [key] Tonga Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; BWNS
    1954 Feb Grace Bahovec arrived in the Baranof Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] Baranof Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Feb Rahmatu’lláh and Írán Muhájir arrived in Mentawai Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u‘lláh. [BW13:454]
  • For the story of their pioneering activity see Muhájir, Dr Muhajir, Hand of the Cause of God, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh.
  • Mentawai Islands; Indonesia Rahmatullah Muhajir; Iran Muhajir; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Feb ‘Azízu’lláh and Shamsí Navídí arrived in Monaco and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Monaco Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Feb Joan Powis arrived in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe); Zimbabwe Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Feb Bernard H. Guhrke arrived on the Kodiak Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Kodiak Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Feb Gail Avery arrived in the Baranof Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] Baranof Islands Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Feb John and Audrey Robarts and their son Patrick and young daughter Tina arrived in Mafikeng and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Bechuanaland (Botswana). [BW13:449] [key] Mafikeng; Botswana John Robarts; Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Feb David Schreiber, an American, arrived in Antigua and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Leeward Islands. [BW13:453] [key] Antigua; Leeward Islands Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Feb Faríburz Rúzbihyán (Feriborz Roozbehyan) arrived in The Gambia and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Gambia, The Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Feb Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir and Irán Muhájir arrived the Mentawai Islands and received the accolade "Knight of Bahá'u'lláh".[BS13p454] [key] Mentawai Islands; Indonesia Knights of Bahaullah; Hand of the Cause
    1954 10 Feb John Leonard arrived in the Falkland Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] Falkland Islands Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Feb Elise Schreiber (later Lynelle) arrived on St Thomas Island and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] St Thomas Island Elise Schreiber (later Lynelle); Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Feb Husayn Halabi arrived in Hadhramaut and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Hadhramaut; Yemen Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 15 Feb Charles Duncan (a musician and composer) and Harry Clark, both Americans, arrived in Brunei from Kota Kinabalu (Jesselton) in Sabah, where they had been waiting for several weeks, and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451; PH63]
  • Later he pioneered to Thailand where he learned the language. See Servants of the Glory page 19
  • Brunei; Thailand Knights of Bahaullah; Charles Duncan; Harry Clark
    1954 Feb Shirin Fozdar arrived in Saigon, the first pioneer to Vietnam.
  • In June 1954, her daughter-in-law, Parvati Fozdar (wife of Jamshed Fozdar's) and their young son, Vilay, came to Saigon from the United States to help Ms. Shirin Fozdar. Jamshed Fozdar arrived on July 18, 1954. A month later. In August Ms. Shirin Fozdar returned to New Zealand. Mr. Jamshed Fozdar found employment and the family lived for a long time in a small apartment at 88 Le Loi Street (the old Bonard).
  • Pham Huu Chu was the first person to accept the Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam. [Bahá'í Religion in Community Education in Vietnam by Vu Van Chung] [key]
  • Saigon; Vietnam Shirin Fozdar; pioneer first pioneer to Vietnam. first person to become a beliver in Viet Nam
    1954 21 Feb Charles (‘Chuck’) and Mary Dayton from the United States, settled in Charlotte Amalie, on St Thomas, and wre named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Leeward Islands. [BW13:453] [key] Charlotte Amalie; St Thomas; Leeward Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 spring The Síyáh-Chál and some surrounding property was acquired by the Bahá’ís. [BW12:64–5; SE153; SS45]
  • The purchase cost was $400,000 which was contributed by a Persian believer Habib Sabet. [BW12:65; CBN No 53 June 1954 Insert p2] iiiii
  • Tihran; Iran Siyah Chal (Black Pit); Purchases and exchanges
    1954 Mar Greta Jankko arrived in the Marquesas Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454] [key] Marquesas Islands Greta Jankko; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 1 Mar Alvin J. Blum and his wife, Gertrude (née Gewertz), arrived in Honiara and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Solomon Islands. They were accompanied by their eight-year-old daughter Keithie. [BW13:456; BWNS291] [key] Solomon Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 1 Mar Shirin Fozdar visited Cambodia to receive the first medallion and Certificate of Satrei Vatthana (Champion of Women) from His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk. She was the first Bahá’í to enter the country.
  • She was not able to teach the Faith openly but she did speak about it to the king’s parents.
  • Cambodia Shirin Fozdar; King Norodom Sihanouk first medallion and Certificate of Satrei Vatthana (Champion of Women) recipient; first Bahá’í in Cambodia
    1954 Mar Qudratu’lláh Rawhání and Khudárahm Muzhgání arrived in Mahé and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454] [key] Mahe Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 4 Mar The arrival of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Elena (Marsella) and Roy Fernie in Kiribati (Gilbert Islands). They had come from the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama. [BWNS301, BW13:452]
  • They had left their home in Panama and their service on the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama to pioneer. They arrived on the island of Abaiang (aka Charlotte Island, of the Gilbert Islands), on March 4, 1954 and for this service they were named Knights of Baha'u'llah. About the first of June 1954, former Catholic seminarian and mission teacher Peter Kanere Koru became the first convert on the island.
  • Their teaching work brought opposition from the Roman Catholic priest who told his congregation not to attend the Bahá'í meetings. He began to criticize them in the Roman Catholic newsletter and actually contributed to the knowledge of the Faith because the newsletter had a wide distribution.
  • The priest persisted in his opposition by informing his bishop who asked the government to send the Fernies away and to send Peter Kanere, a native Bahá'í, back to his native island of Tabiteuea. At the time, to be a registered religious organization required a membership of at least 100 believers so the government-approved sending the Fernies away however, in a single night some 300 people registered. A certificate of registration was issued on the 24th of September, 1955, but not before they managed to exile Roy Fernie. Elena continued the teaching work on her own and was responsible for firmly establishing the Faith on Abaiang.
  • Meanwhile, Peter Kanere, back on his home island, managed to teach a Protestant minister who was under discipline of his church at the time. Together they spread the Faith on Tabiteuea. [Island Churches: Challenge and Change by Makisi Finau page 101]
  • For more details on the life of Roy Fernie see Bahaipedia.
  • See also The Origins of the Bahá’í Faith in the Pacific Islands: The Case of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands by Graham Hassall.
  • And Bahá'í Faith in the Asia Pacific: Issues and Prospects also by Graham Hassall.
  • Elena Maria Marsella published The Quest for Eden in 1966.
  • Tabiteuea; Kiribati; Gilbert Islands Knights of Bahaullah; First Bahais by country or area; Islands; BWNS first Bahá'í on Kiribati (Gilbert Islands)
    1954 Mar Olivia Kelsey and Florence Ullrich arrived in Monaco and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454]
  • See Bahá'í Chronicles for the story of the life of Florence Maria Ullrich Kelley (b. November 3, 1932 d. February 17, 2016)
  • Monaco Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 19 Mar Paul Haney was appointed Hand of the Cause of God following the death of Hand of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker. [GBF111; MBW57] [key] Paul Haney; Dorothy Baker; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments
    1954 21 Mar Shoghi Effendi announced that there were Bahá’ís in 219 countries. [MBW57] [key] Statistics
    1954 25 Mar The passing of Marion Jack (General Jack) (b. St. John, New Brunswick) at her pioneer post in Sofia, Bulgaria at the age of 87. She had been at her post since 1931. [BWNS385; Never be Afraid to Dare p. 227]
  • Shoghi Effendi called her ‘a shining example to pioneers of present and future generations of East and West’. [CF163]
  • For her obituary see BW12:674–7.
  • See also BFA2155; MC359.
  • For a photo of her gravestone see CBNOct1972p.10.
  • See Bahá'í Chronicles for a biography.
  • For a photo by the Bahá'ís of Sofia see BW5p464.
  • See also Marion Jack: Immortal Heroine by Jan Jasion
  • See CBN October1979 for tributes as well as a photo of her gravesite.
  • Sofia; Bulgaria Marion Jack; Pioneers; In memoriam; Births and deaths; Pioneers; BWNS
    1954 25 Mar Leland Jensen arrived on Réunion Island from the United States and ws named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455]
  • He was later declared a Covenant-breaker.
  • Reunion; France Leland Jensen; Knights of Bahaullah; Covenant-breakers
    1954 Apr Suhráb Paymán, together with his five-year old-daughter Ghitty, arrived in San Marino from Tihrán to join his wife. He was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh in April. [BW13:455] [key] San Marino Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Apr Mrs Mehrangiz Munsiff pioneered to the city of Douala in the French Cameroons (later Cameroon). Both she and Mr Samuel Njiki were honoured as Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for this territory. [Bahá'í Journal UK Vol 20, No 5 Jan/Feb 2004, BW13:451; BWNS249]
  • For a photo see Bahá’í Media Bank.
  • French Cameroon; Cameroon; Douala Meherangiz Munsiff; Samuel Njiki (Samuel Nyki); Knights of Bahaullah Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for Cameroons
    1954 Apr Bahá’í women in Iran were accorded full rights to participate in membership of both national and local Bahá’í assemblies. [MBW65]
  • This removed the ‘last remaining obstacle to the enjoyment of complete equality of rights in the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Persian Bahá’í Community’. [MBW65] [key]
  • Iran National Spiritual Assembly; Local Spiritual Assembly; Women; Equality
    1954 Apr The arrival of Knight Mr. Enoch Olinga in British Cameroon. [BWNS291] [key] British Cameroon; Africa Knights of Bahaullah; Enoch Olinga; BWNS
    1954 Apr Dr John Fozdar arrived in Brunei in April 1954 and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450]

    See Remembering Dr John Fozdar.

    Brunei John Fozdar; Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 6 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced the creation of five Auxiliary Boards with the following number of members: Asia 7; America 9; Europe 9; Africa 9; Australia 2. [BW13p335; CBN No 53 June 1954 p6; MBW44, 58-60]
  • Their function was to ‘act as deputies of the Hands in their respective continents’, to ‘aid and advise them in the effective prosecution of the’ and to assist them ‘in the discharge of their dual and sacred task of safeguarding the Faith and of promoting its teaching activities’. [MBW63]
  • See also BBD26; BBRSM127; MC3.
  • These boards were mandated with the propagation of the Faith.
  • BWC Auxiliary Boards; Appointed arm; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Ten Year Crusade; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Funds, Continental; Shoghi Effendi, Works of
    1954 6 Apr Five Continental Bahá’í Funds were inaugurated by Shoghi Effendi. [MBW59, 63] [key] BWC Funds; Funds, Continental; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1954 6 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced that plans for the International Bahá’í Archives had been completed and that steps had been taken to begin its construction. [PP264BBD22–3; DH169; GBF117–8; MBW64] [key] BWC; Mount Carmel; Haifa International Bahai Archives; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of
    1954 6 Apr The site for the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Holy Land has been selected--an area of approximately twenty thousand square meters--situated at the head of the Mountain of God, in close proximity to the Spot hallowed by the footsteps of Bahá'u'lláh, near the time-honored Cave of Elijah, and associated with the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, the Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centers of the Faith on that mountain. Funds totaling one hundred thousand dollars have, moreover, been contributed by one of the Hands of the Cause*, residing in the Holy Land, and negotiations have been initiated with the Israeli authorities for the purpose of effecting the immediate purchase of the selected site. [MBW63; DoH175; MBW78-79]
    *MillyCollins
    BWC; Mount Carmel; Haifa Mashriqul-Adhkar, Haifa; Funds; Amelia Collins the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Holy Land
    1954 (April) A mere eight months after settling in British Cameroons, Enoch Olinga, along with the community of new believers at his pioneering post received a cable from Shoghi Effendi asking for African believers to settle in British Togoland, French Togoland, the Ashanti Protectorate and in the Northern Territories Protectorate before the following Ridván.

    Although Bahá'ís for only a few months, their response was instantaneous; the largest difficulty arose in limiting themselves to the four names required to fulfill the designated posts. This was determined by a vote. David Tanyi, Edward Tabe, Benedict Eballa, and Martin Manga were duly selected. Samuel Nyki was sent to French Cameroon. Each one established a Local Spiritual Assembly in their assigned posts within two years. [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p4; KoB71] [key]

    Cameroon; British Togoland (Ghana); French Togoland (Togo); Ashanti Protectorate (Ghana); Northern Territories Protectorate (Ghana) Pioneering; David Tanyi; Edward Tabe; Benedict Eballa; Martin Manga; Samuel Njiki (Samuel Nyki)
    1954 9 Apr Gayle Woolson and her companion, Rebecca Kaufman, arrived in the Galapagos Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [Heroes of God p59] [key] Galapagos Islands; Ecuador Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 11 Apr Bula Mott Stewart arrived in Swaziland and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] Swaziland Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 12 Apr Shoghi Effendi accepted the bid made by the firm of Enrico Pandolfini of Pietrasanta in Tuscany, Italy for the supply of the obelisk will mark the place of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Holy Land. After the delivery of the materials circumstances did not allow for the obelisk to be erected. The Universal House of Justice completed the project in August, 1971. Haifa; BWC; Pietrasanta; Tuscany; Italy Mashriqul-Adhkar, Haifa; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Obelisks; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1954 13 Apr David Tanyi, a tailor, arrived in French Togoland from British Cameroons and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] French Togoland (Togo); Togo Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Apr Edward Tabe, a youth from Cameroon, no older than fourteen, and Albert Buapiah from the Gold Coast arrived in British Togoland and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450; KoB78-79; BWNS249] [key] British Togoland (Ghana); Ghana Knights of Bahaullah; Edward Tabe; Albert Buapiah
    1954 Apr The arrival of Knight Martin Manga to Northern Territories Protectorate (now part of Ghana). [BWNS249; BW13:455] [key] Northern Territories Protectorate (Ghana); Ghana Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1954 Apr Benedict Eballa arrived in Ashanti Protectorate (Now part of Ghana) and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449; BWNS249] [key] Ashanti Protectorate (Ghana); Ghana Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 18 Apr John and Valera Allen arrived in Swaziland and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] Swaziland Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Apr Habíb Isfahání arrived in Dakar and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for French West Africa. [BW13:452] [key] Dakar; French West Africa Habib Isfahani; Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Ridván In his cablegram of October 8, 1952, Shoghi Effendi called upon all 15 "continental" Hands to appoint, during Ridván, 1954, five Auxiliary Boards, one on each continent, composed of nine members each to work as their deputies along with the National Assemblies to assist in the execution of the twelve teaching plans. [BW13p335, MBW44, 63] [key] Auxiliary Board Members; Assistants; Appointed arm; Auxiliary Boards
    1954 Ridván Adelaide Sharp, who had been in Iran since 1929, was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, the first woman elected to that body. [BFA2:361] [key] Iran Adelaide Sharp; NSA; Firsts, Other; Women first woman elected NSA Iran
    1954 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in the Malay Peninsula was established in Seremban. Seremban; Malay Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Malay Peninsula
    1954 Ridván The first all African local spiritual assembly in Tanganyika was formed in Bukoba. Bukoba; Tanganyika (Tanzania) Local Spiritual Assembly first all African Local Spiritual Assembly in Tanganyika
    1954 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly was formed in British Cameroons. British Cameroon Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly British Cameroons
    1954 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly was formed in Ruanda-Urundi. Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi)
    1954 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Algeria was formed in Algiers. Algiers; Algeria Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Algeria
    1954 21 Apr Bruce Matthew arrived at Goose Bay and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for Labrador. [BW13:453] [key] Goose Bay; Labrador; Canada Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Ridván In Uganda, 2 years previous, there were no Bahá'ís. By this time there were over 700 Bahá'ís, with 24 Spiritual Assemblies. [That Promising Continent 18] [key] Uganda Statistics
    1954 Apr Kay Zinky arrived in the Magdalen Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Magdalen Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Apr Howard Gilliland arrived in Labrador and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Labrador Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 26 Apr President of Israel Ben Zvi and his wife visit the Shrines on Mount Carmel, the first official visit paid by a head of a sovereign state to the Shrines of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. [GBF139–140; MBW68; PP2923] [key] Haifa; Mount Carmel Ben Zvi; Presidents; Prominent visitors; Bab, Shrine of; Firsts, Other first official visit head of a sovereign state to Shrine of the Báb
    1954 Apr Corporal Richard Walters and his wife, Evelyn, and Richard and Mary L. Suhm arrived in Tangier from the United States and were all named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Morocco (International Zone). BW13:454] [key] Tangier; Morocco Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Apr John and Marjorie Kellberg of Oak Park, Illinois, arrived in the Dutch West Indies (Netherlands Antilles) and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] Dutch West Indies (Lesser Antilles); Lesser Antilles Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Apr Robert B. Powers, Jr., a member of the U.S. armed forces at the Navy Air Station, arrived in Guam and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Mariana Islands. [BW13:454] [key] Guam; Mariana Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Apr The site for the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Holy Land was selected. [DH175; MBW63] [key] Haifa Mashriqul-Adhkar, Haifa; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship) first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Holy Land
    1954 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced that there were Bahá’ís in 228 countries and that Bahá’í literature has been translated into 130 languages. [MBW61–2] [key] Statistics
    1954 May Elinore Putney arrived in the Aleutian Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u‘lláh. [BW13:449] [key] Aleutian Islands; Alaska; United States; Russia Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 2 May The arrival of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Mavis Nymon and Vivian Wesson in French Togoland (now called Togo). [BWNS329 ] [key] French Togoland (Togo); Togo Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1954 2 May Cynthia R. Olson of Wilmington, Delaware, settled in Barrigada, the largest village in Guam, and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Mariana Islands. [BW13:454; BWNS303] [key] Barrigada; Guam; Mariana Islands; Oceania Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 4 May Shoghi Effendi closed the Roll of Honour, except for those pioneers who have already left for their posts and those first arriving in the remaining virgin territories inside and outside the Soviet Republics and satellites. [MBW69] [key] Haifa; BWC Roll of Honour; Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 4 May Elizabeth Stamp, an Irish-American widow from New York City, arrived in St Helena and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] St Helena Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 5 May Sabrí and Fahima (Ra’isa) Elias, an Egyptian couple with four children, arrived in Djibouti and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for French Somaliland. [BW13:451] [key] French Somaliland (Djibouti); Djibouti Sabri Elias; Raissa Elias; Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 2 May Mavis Nymon and Vivian Wesson, both Americans, arrived in French Togoland and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451] [key] Togo; Africa Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 17 May The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Elise Lynelle (then Schreiber) in Bata, the capital of Rio Muni, Spanish Guinea, and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for a second time, this time for Spanish Guinea. [BW13:456; BWNS330] [key] Bata; Spanish Guinea; Equatorial Guinea Elise Schreiber (later Lynelle); Knights of Bahaullah; BWNS
    1954 26 May Shoghi Effendi, Rúhíyyih Khánum and Leroy Ioas returned the visit of President Ben Zvi by visiting him in Jerusalem. [GBF140; PP293–4] [key] Jerusalem; Israel Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Leroy Ioas; Ben Zvi; Presidents
    1954 29 May Haik (Haig) Kevorkian arrived in the Galápagos Islands and settled on the island of Santa Cruz. He was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. Haig had been present in Guayaquil as an itinerant pioneer-teacher in 1945 when the first local Assembly of that city was formed. He returned in 1954 to fill the virgin goal of the Galapagos. [BW13:452; Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 p24; 61]
  • On March 8, 1955 on the island of Santa Cruz, Señor Moyses Mosquera Zevallos enrolled as the first believer of the Galapagos. He was a school teacher from the mainland of Ecuador working on the island. Later he was dismissed from his job and was forced to leave theGalapagos due to accusations made against him of immoral acts with some of his students in spite of the fact that the teaching space was such that his wife was constantly with him. He had been the victim of an attack by the parish priest[ibid p76]
  • Haig returned to his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina in January 1956. His family came from Turkey but he was born in Syria on October 1, 1916 and came to Argentina as a youth with his family. He married his fiancée Miss Aurora de Eyto on October 19, 1957. His wife reported that he had colds continuously after returning from the islands, and on August 3, 1970 Haig passed away at .the age of 54. [ibid p75] [key]
  • Galapagos Islands; Ecuador Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Haik Kevorkian; Haig Kevorkian
    1954 Jun Harold and Florence Fitzner arrived in Portuguese Timor and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Portuguese Timor; East Timor Harold Fitzner; Florence Fitzner; Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Jun Louise Groger arrived on Chiloé Island and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Chiloe Island Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Jun Shawqí Riyád Rawhání (Shoghi Riaz Rouhani), an Iranian from Egypt, arrived in Las Palmas and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Canary Islands. [BW13:450] [key] Las Palmas; Canary Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 9 Jun The passing of Alain LeRoy Locke (b. September 13, 1885, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.) in New York. He was laid to rest in Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC.
  • Locke graduated from Harvard University and was the first African American to win a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Despite his intellect and clear talent, Locke faced significant barriers as an African American. Though he was selected as the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, Locke was denied admission to several colleges at the University of Oxford because of his race. He finally gained entry into Hertford College, where he studied from 1907 to 1910. Locke also studied philosophy at the University of Berlin during his years abroad. He subsequently received a doctorate in philosophy from Harvard and taught at Howard University. Locke publicized the Harlem Renaissance to a wide audience.
  • Locke declared his belief in the Bahá'í Faith in 1918. He is thus among a list of some 40 known African Americans to join the religion during the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His philosophical writings promoted pluralism, cultural relativism and self-expression. Locke, the compiler of literary works and principal interpreter of the watershed Harlem Renaissance, rarely proselytized his Bahá'í views, but he did integrate them into his copious writings and lectures [Uplifting Words; Wikipedia]
  • See his article "Impressions of Haifa". [BW3p527-528]
  • See also his article "The Orientation of Hope". [BW5p527-528]
  • See Alain Locke: Bahá'í Philosopher by Christopher Buck.
  • See Alain Locke: Faith & Philosophy by Christopher Buck
  • See Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • See Bahá'í Teachings.
  • See Uplifting Words.
  • The US Postal Service issued a series of stamps entitles Great Literary Movement: The voices of the Harlem Renaissance Forever on 21 May 2020.
  • Find a grave.
  • Philadelphia; New York Alain Locke; In Memoriam; Philosophy; Race amity; Race unity; Harlem Renaissance; African Americans the first African-American Rhodes Scholar,
    1954 18 Jun The first islander to become a Bahá’í in the Seychelles, Marshall Delcy, a local school teacher, enrolled. Seychelles First Bahais by country or area; Islands first islander Bahá'í in Seychelles
    1954 19 Jun The first Canary Islander to become a Bahá’í, Sr. José Jacinto Castillo y Gonzalez, enrolled. Canary Islands First Bahais by country or area first Canary Islander Bahá’í
    1954 24 Jun Shápúr Rawhání and Ardishír Furúdí, Iranian residents of India, arrived in Bhutan by foot and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. They spent about two months in Bhutan. However, circumstances did not permit them to remain longer and they had to return to India. [BW13:449]
  • They were accompanied to the Bhutan border by the prime minister of Bhutan, Jigme Dorji.
  • In about 1961 Dr. Anayat Soroosh Yaganagi, a Bahá'í of Zoroastrian background from Bangalore pioneered to Bhutan. See the brief history of his family and the development of the Faith in the country in "Bahá'í Recollections" written by one of his daughters, Geeti Yaganegi.
  • Bhutan; India Shapur Rawhani; Ardishir Furudi; Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Jul c. The first person to become a Bahá’í in Brunei, Daphne Hassan, enrolled. Brunei Daphne Hassan first Bahá’í in Brunei
    1954 Jul José Marques arrived in Portuguese Timor and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:455] [key] Portuguese Timor; East Timor Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Jul Dr John George Mitchell, an English physician who became a Bahá’í in 1950, arrived in Malta and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454] [key] Malta Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Jul Reginald Stone and Allan Delph became Bahá’ís in British Guiana, the first two people to accept the Faith in that country. British Guiana; Latin America First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'ís in British Guiana
    1954 5 Jul Violet Hoehnke, an Australian, arrived in Papua New Guinea and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Admiralty Islands. [BW13:449] [key] Papua New Guinea; Admiralty Islands Knights of Bahaullah
    1954 Second half of the year The first Somali to become a Bahá’í in Djibouti, ‘Alí ‘Abdu’lláh, a 21-year old employee of a commercial firm, enrolled. Djibouti; Somalia; Africa First Bahais by country or area first Somali Bahá’í
    1954 12 Jul Dudley Moore Blakely, an artist, sculptor and designer, and his wife, Elsa (‘Judy’), British citizens living in Maine, arrived on Tongatapu and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for Tonga Islands. [BW13:456] They shared the honour with Dr. Stanley Bolton. [BWNS286] [key] Tonga Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 12 Jul The first South African to become a Bahá'í enrolled in the Faith on this day. [That Promising Continent 20] [key] Pretoria; South Africa First Bahais by country or area first South African to become a Bahá'í
    1954 15 Jul The first person to become a Bahá’í in Macau, Harry P. F. Yim (Yim Pui Foung), a 45-year-old small business proprietor born in Canton, China, enrolled. Macau Harry P. F. Yim (Yim Pui Foung) first Bahá’í in Macau
    1954 7 Aug Marcia Steward de Matamoros Atwater arrived in the Marshall Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454] [key] Marshall Islands Marcia Atwater; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 28 Aug Mihribán Suhaylí (Mehraban Sohaili) arrived on the Comoro Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Comoro Islands Mihriban Suhayli (Mehraban Sohaili); Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1954 Sep Four people had become Bahá’ís in Zanzibar by this date. Zanzibar (Tanzania) Statistics
    1954 6 Sep The first people to become Bahá’ís in Bechuanaland (Lesotho), Chadwick and ‘Maselai (Mary) Mohapi, enrolled. [BW17:449–52] [key] Bechuanaland (Lesotho) Lesotho; Africa first Bahá’ís in Bechuanaland (Lesotho)
    1954 26 Sep The first native Greek to become a Bahá’í, Emmanuel Petrakis, enrolled in Crete. Crete Emmanuel Petrakis first native Greek Bahá’í
    1954 Oct A National Haziratu'l-Quds was established in Kabul. [MBW70; 81] [key] Kabul; Afghanistan Haziratul-Quds
    1954 1 Oct Shoghi Effendi announced that there were Bahá’ís in 235 countries and territories and over 3000 centres around the world. [MBW69–70] [key] Worldwide Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade
    1954 1 Oct Anthony and Mamie Seto arrived in Hong Kong. Hong Kong; Asia Knights of Bahaullah; Anthony Seto; Mamie Seto
    1954 1 Oct The title of the a parcel of land on Mount Carmel was transferred to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, Israel Branch. The title deed was for Parcel No. 304, Block 10811 Mount Carmel, Haifa. Mount Carmel; Haifa; Israel; BWC Purchases and exchanges
    1954 1 - 3 Oct Bahá'ís of Germany and the European Hands of the Cause invited the Bahá'ís of Europe to the Haziratu'l-Quds in Frankfurt am Main to develop plans and to coordinate action in the work of the second phase of the Ten-Year Crusade. [BN No 285 Nov 1954 p5] [key] Frankfurt; Germany Conferences, Teaching; Conferences first Bahá'í European Conference to meet in Germany
    1954 3 Oct Shoghi Effendi designated Martha Root as a Hand of the Cause of God posthumously. She had passed away on September 28, 1939 in Hawaii.
  • Shoghi Effendi called her the ‘archetype of Bahá’í itinerant teachers’, the ‘foremost Hand raised by Bahá’u’lláh since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing’, ‘Leading ambassadress of His Faith’ and ‘Pride of Bahá’í teachers’. [GPB386] [key]
  • Hand of the Cause of God; Martha root
    1954 Oct The first person to become a Bahá’í in Nassau, Bahamas, Winfield Small, a young police officer from Barbados, enrolled.
  • Mr Small opened Barbados to the Faith.
  • Nassau; Bahamas; Barbados First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í in Nassau, Bahamas
    1954 8 Oct Richard Nolen and his family, (Lois A. (Warner), Linda Jean, Cynthia and John), arrived in the Azores, for which he and his wife were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. Two more children,Christopher Lee and Sylvia Louise, were born to the Nolens during their time there. Due to Richards failing health, the family returned to the United States and settled in Tacoma, Washington in August of 1962. After a prolonged illness Richard passed away on the 5th of May 1964. [Bahaipedia] Azores Richard Nolen; Lois Nolen; Linda Jean Nolen; Cynthia Nolen; John Nolen; Knight of Bahaullah
    1954 22 Oct Mr and Mrs Suleimani arrived in Keelung, Taiwan by ship. They spent the rest of their lives there.

    Ridvaniyyih Suleimani served on the Auxiliary Board and the National Spiritual Assembly. She passed away in Taiwan on the 18th of March 1981. [BW18p752-754]

    Suleiman Suleimani served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan from its formation in 1967 until 1978. He also served as a deputy of the institution of the Huqúqu'lláh for about two decades. [BW20p889-891]

    The Suleimanis, originally from Iran, had lived for about 28 years in Shanghai where Mrs Ridvaniyyih Suleimani's father, Mr Husayn Ouskouli Uskuli (or Uskui) had long resided and conducted a business. Mr and Mrs Suleimani had left Shanghai permanently in 1950 because of the difficult situations for foreigners in China but Mr Ouskouli decided to stay on and won the admiration of the Guardian. He died in Shanghai at the age of 86. [The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle by Barbara R. Sims p3; PH39; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 7 min 57 sec] [key]

    Keelung; Taiwan; Shanghai; China Knights of Bahaullah; Suleimani, Mr. and Mrs.; Husayn Ouskouli Uskuli; Auxiliary Board Members
    1954 Nov A plot of land of slightly less than half an acre (1,300 metres) owned by Farah Sprague (Farahangiz Khanum), a Covenant-breaker, was purchased (after expropriation by the Finance Minister of the state of Israel on the recommendation of the mayor of Haifa), overcoming the final obstacle to beginning the construction of the International Bahá’í Archives. This concluded a thirty-year struggle in the acquisition of land on the Arc for the Guardian. [LI210-211; DH169; MBW73–4; CBN No 60 January 1955 p1]
  • He said, in a letter dated the 27th of November 1955...

      "The truculence, greed and obstinacy, of this breaker of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, demonstrated by her persistent refusal to sell and by the exorbitant price subsequently demanded, raised, during more than thirty years, an almost insurmountable obstacle to the acquisition of an area, which, however circumscribed, occupies a central position amidst the extensive Baha'i domains in the heart of God's holy Mountain, is situated in the vicinity of the Báb's Sepulchre, overlooks the Tomb of the Greatest Holy Leaf, and adjoins the resting-places of the Brother and the Mother of Abdu'l-Bahá, and which, through deliberate neglect, has. been allowed to become an eyesore to all those who throng the embellished precincts of a Mausoleum rightly regarded as the second holiest Shrine in the Bahá'í world.
      The ownership of this plot will now enable us to locate the site, excavate the foundations, and erect the structure, of the International Bahá'í Archives, designed by the Hand of the Cause, Mason Remey, President of the International Bahá'í Council, which will serve as the permanent and befitting repository for the priceless and numerous relics associated with the Twin Founders of the Faith, with the Perfect Exemplar of its teachings and with its heroes, saints and martyrs, and the building of which constitutes one of the foremost objectives of the Ten-Year Plan. [CBN No 60 January 1955 p1]
  • Haifa Farah Sprague (Farahangiz Khanum); Covenant-breakers; International Bahai Archives; Purchases and exchanges; Mount Carmel; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens
    1954 20 Nov The first person to become a Bahá’í in Tonga, Harry Terepo, born in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, enrolled.
  • He was a teacher, interpreter and guide living in Ohonua on the island of Eua.
  • Tonga First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í in Tonga
    1954 27 Nov Shoghi Effendi announced the commencement of "the excavation for the foundations of the International Archives heralding the rise of the first edifice destine to inaugurate the establishment of the seat of the World Baha'i Administrative order in the Holy Land". [MBW75] [key] BWC International Bahai Archives
    1954 27 Nov Shoghi Effendi described the significance of the world administrative centre of the Faith and the ‘structures, which will serve as the administrative seats of such divinely appointed institutions as the Guardianship, the Hands of the Cause, and the Universal House of Justice’ to be ranged along a ‘far-flung arc’. [MBW74] [key] BWC; Mount Carmel; Haifa Guardianship; Hands of the Cause; Universal House of Justice, Seat of; Arc (World Centre); - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; World Centre; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1954 8 Dec Bahá’ís in Ádharbáyján were dismissed from their employment in the Ministries of Health and Public Highways. [BW18p390] [key] Adharbayjan Persecution, Adharbayjan; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1954 16 Dec Shoghi Effendi announced the death of Avarih in Iran, "CONDEMNED POSTERITY MOST SHAMELESS, VICIOUS, RELENTLESS APOSTATE ANNALS FAITH, WHO THROUGH CEASELESS VITRIOLIC ATTACKS RECORDED VOLUMINOUS WRITINGS CLOSE ALLIANCE ITS TRADITIONAL ENEMIES, ASSIDUOUSLY SCHEMED BLACKEN ITS NAME SUBVERT FOUNDATIONS ITS INSTITUTIONS.
  • In the same message he announced the death of Ameen Fareed in North America; "HISTORY WILL RECOGNIZE ONE MOST PERFIDIOUS AMONG KINSMEN INTERPRETERS CENTER COVENANT, WHO, DRIVEN BY UNGOVERNABLE CUPIDITY COMMITTED ACTS CAUSING AGONIES GRIEF DESTRESS BELOVED MASTER CULMINATING OPEN ASSOCIATION BREAKERS BAHA'U'LLAH'S COVENANT HOLY LAND."
  • Likewise he announced the death of Falah in Turkey; "CHIEFLY REMEMBERED PRIDE, OBSTINACY INSATIABLE AMBITION IMPELLING HIM VIOLATE SPIRITUAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRECEPTS FAITH."
    • Ne'matullah Falah had left Iran at the time of Baha'u'llah's exile and had finally settled in Iskenderun, Turkey, where he had become a successful businessman. He had been appointed Honorary Iranian Consul in that city, a post he had taken upon the explicit encouragement of the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Upon his accession to the Guardianship Shoghi Effendi had considered that it would serve the Cause better if Baha'is refrained from all political activities. He therefore asked Falah to resign his post. This Falah refused to do, especially as he had a letter from the Master urging him to take the post. This resulted in the expulsion of Falah and his family from the Cause.
    [Bahá'í History] [key]
  • Iran; Turkey; United States Covenant-breakers; Abdul-Husayn Avarih (Abd al-Hosayn Ayati); Ameen Fareed (Amin Farid); Nematullah Falah
    1955 to 2007 The fifth Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh was 'Ali-Muhammad Varqá. He inherited both the Trusteeship and the station of Hand of the Cause of God from his father upon his passing. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 25 March, 1985]
  • During his tenure the compilation Huqúqu'lláh was published (1985) by the Universal House of Justice.
  • The delegates gathered at the National Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States in 1984 petitioned the Universal House of Justice to make the Law of the Huqúqu'lláh applicable in their country. (Up to this point the law only applied to Bahá'is of Persian origin.) The Universal House of Justice replied that it was not yet time for such a measure but did agree to make more information available in preparation for such a time. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 3 January, 1985, AWH30]
  • Friends in Austria and the United States published codifications on the Law of the Huqúqu'lláh. To the benefit of the believers everywhere the Research Department at the World Centre was asked to prepare a brief history and a Codification. This information was sent to all national assemblies in the Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 25 March, 1987.
  • In 1991 the Central Office of Huqúqu'lláh was established in the Holy Land under the direction of the Chief Trustee in anticipation of the worldwide application of the law. Subsequently regional and national boards were established. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 26 November, 1991]
  • With the publication of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in English in 1992 the law of the Huqúqu'lláh became universally applicable.
  • In 2005 an International Board of Trustees of the Huqúqu'lláh was established to guide the regional and national boards. Three members appointed to the Board were Sally Foo, Ramin Khadem, and Grant Kvalheim. Their term of office was to be determined. [Ridván 2005]
  • The last Hand of the Cause of Cause and Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh, Alí Muhammad Varqá, passed away in Haifa on the 22nd of September, 2007. [BWNS579] [key]
  • BWC; Haifa Huququllah; Varqa, Ali-Muhammad; Huququllah, Trustees of; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Varqa; BWNS
    1955 (In the year) The first person to become a Bahá’í in The Gambia, Mr Nichola Banna, a Lebanese merchant, enrolled. Gambia, The First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í in The Gambia
    1955 (In the year) The first indigenous Samoan to become a Bahá’í, Sa’ialala Tamasese, enrolled.
  • He was a member of one of the three royal families of Samoa. [BINS, No. 100, 1 MARCH 1979, p. 1] [key]
  • Samoa First Bahais by country or area; Bahai royalty; Royalty first indigenous Samoan Bahá’í
    1955 (In the year) Labíb Isfahání arrived in Abidjan, French West Africa, from Dakar, the first Bahá’í to settle in what is now the Ivory Coast. Abidjan; French West Africa Habib Isfahani; First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í to settle in Ivory Coast
    1955 (In the year) The first person to become a Bahá’í in Spanish Sahara, ‘Abdu’l-Salam Salím Al-Sbintí, enrolled. Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara) First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í in Spanish Sahara
    1955 (In the year) Twenty–two African Bahá’ís were expelled from the Belgian Congo. Belgian Congo Persecution, Belgian Congo; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1955 (In the year) The first person to become a Bahá’í in Grenada, John Protain, a waiter at the Santa Maria Hotel, enrolled. Grenada John Protain first Bahá’í in Grenada
    1955 Jan Dorothy Senne became the first Bahá'í in South Africa. [BWNS270] [key] South Africa Dorothy Senne; BWNS First Bahá'í in South Africa.
    1955 c. Jan The first Tswana Bahá’í, Stanlake Kukama, enrolled in Mafikeng. Mafikeng; South Africa First believers by background first Tswana Bahá’í
    1955 8 Jan Señor Moyses Mosquera Zevallos became the first believer of the Galapagos Islands to accept the Faith. As a result of his becoming a Bahá'í he was persecuted by the priest and both he and his wife lost their jobs as teachers. He was wrongfully accused of immoral acts with some of his students in spite of the fact that the teaching space was such that his wife was constantly with him.

    Moses was dismissed from his position because of the influence of the priest but he was asked to return to Naranjal because of the demands of the parents of his students. He remained at this school until his retirement during the late 1970's. [a href="https://bahai-library.com/pdf/h/hornby_heroes_god.pdf'>Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 by Helen Basset Hornby p69; 77] [key]

    Santa Cnuz; Galapolos; Ecuador the first to accept the Eahá'i Faith in the Galapagos.
    1955 18–22 Jan Five Bahá’ís were arrested and beaten in Hisár, Khurásán, Iran; four of these are dragged around the town; Bahá’í houses were attacked, looted and set on fire. [BW18p390] [key] Hisar; Khurasan; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Destruction; Persecution
    1955 Feb The first local person to become a Bahá’í in Mauritius, Mr Yam-Lim, a Chinese Catholic, enrolled. Mauritius First Bahais by country or area first local Bahá’í in Mauritius
    1955 4 Feb Bahá’í women in Hisár, Khurásán, Iran, were assaulted. [BW18:390] [key] Hisar; Khurasan; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1955 8–15 Feb The first people to become Bahá’ís in Réunion, Paul and Françoise Tayllamin (8 Feb) and Jean Donat and Julien Araye (15 Feb), enrolled. Reunion; France First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’ís in Réunion
    1955 Mar The first person to become a Bahá’í in the Solomon Islands, William Gina, a 43-year-old Solomon Islander from the Western Solomon Islands, enrolled. Solomon Islands; Oceania First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í in Solomon Islands
    1955 Mar Kamálí Sarvístání arrived on Socotra Island and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456] [key] Socotra Island Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1955 4 Mar The first Tongan to become a Bahá’í in Tonga, Tevita Ngalo’afe, enrolled. Tonga First believers by background; First Bahais by country or area first Tongan Bahá’í in Tonga
    1955 14 Mar The first person to become a Bahá’í in Guam, Charles T. Mackey, a United States civil service employee, enrolled. Guam First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í in Guam
    1955 20 Mar Shoghi Effendi announced the acquisition of 36,000 square metres of land for the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Holy Land. [DH175; MBW78–9]
  • The entire sum of $180,000 for the purchase was donated by Amelia Collins. [MBW79]
  • In April Shoghi Effendi reported that $50,000 had been contributed by the Hand of the Cause, Amelia Collins for the purpose of establishing Bahá'í national endowments in no less than fifty countries, situated in all five continents of the globe. [MBW81-82]
  • See the letter from the Guardian dated the 1st of October 1954 for a list of other properties/ buildings that were acquired due to the generosity of Millie Collins. [CBN No58 Nov 1954 p1; BN No 285 November 1954 p1] [key]
  • BWC; Haifa; Worldwide Mashriqul-Adhkar, Haifa; Purchases and exchanges; Amelia Collins; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; World Centre; Endowments; Donations first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Holy Land
    1955 Apr The first person to become a Bahá’í in the Bahamas, Molly Newbold, enrolled.
  • As she did not remain a Bahá’í, Arnold Wells, a tinsmith who became a Bahá’í on 20 April, is regarded as the first Bahá’í. Christine Thompson, who owned a small fruit and vegetable shop, and Frank Ferguson, who owned a gas station, also enrolled on 20 April.
  • Bahamas First Bahais by country or area; Islands first Bahá’í in Bahamas
    1955 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced that the Bahá’í Faith was represented in 236 countries, in 3,200 locations, by over 40 ethnic groups. Bahá’í literature was translated into 176 languages. [MBW76–8] [key] Worldwide Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade
    1955 18 Apr After the violent storm of persecutions against the Bahá'í's in Iran broke loose, the Bahá'í International Community delegates presented their case and Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, intervened with the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs and brought an immediate end to the physical persecution and lifted the danger of a massacre. [Bahá'í International Community History, 18 April 1955] [key] Iran UN; United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Bahai International Community
    1955 21 April The Báb's only child, Ahmad, was still-born or died soon after birth. Khadíjih Bagum had a very difficult delivery and almost died as a result. The child was buried under a pine (or cypress) tree in the shrine of Bíbí-Dukhtarán (meaning Matron or Mistress of the Maidens).
  • In the opening days of 1955, the Shíráz municipality decided to construct a school on the site which would have destroyed the grave. When advised of the situation Shoghi Effendi responded: "Guardian approves transfer remains Primal Point's Son Gulistán Jávíd. Ensure befitting burial."
  • The Spiritual Assembly arranged for the remains to be exhumed, laid in a silk container, and placed in a cement coffin. For three months, the coffin was kept in the western part of the local Hadiratu'l-Quds. On the 21st of April 1955, which coincided with the day of the Báb's martyrdom reckoned by the lunar calendar, a special ceremony for the reinterment was held. It was the largest Bahá'í gathering in Shíráz in the history of the Bahá'í Faith. Multitudes of believers from all parts of the country participated in the historic event. In a prayerful atmosphere, the remains were reinterred in the Bahá'í cemetery of Shíráz. The Guardian heard the details and, on 24 April, cabled his joy: "SHIRAZ ASSEMBLY CARE KHADEM TEHERAN. OVERJOYED HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT CONGRATULATE VALIANT FRIENDS LOVING REMEMBRANCE SHRINES SUPPLICATING BOUNTIFUL BLESSINGS. SHOGHI." [The Afnán Family: Some Biographical Notes by Ahang Rabbani 2007 Note <44>]
  • In the first báb of the fifth vahíd of the Persian Bayán, the Báb asks for a befitting structure to be built over the resting-place of Ahmad for the faithful to worship God. [Bahaipedia] . [key]
  • Shiraz Ahmad (son of the Bab); Bab, Life of; Bab, Family of; Cemeteries and graves; Births and deaths
    1955 Ridván (The) design (for the) Mother Temple (in the) cradle (of the) Faith (was) unveiled (in the) presence (of) pilgrims (and) resident believers assembled (within the) Haram-i-Aqdas (on the) first day (of) Ridvan. SHOGHI [CBN No65 Jun 1955 p1] [key] Bahji
    1955 Ridván The first five local assemblies in Bechuanaland (Botswana) were formed in Seqonoka, Maseru, Mafeteng, Maphohloane and Sephapos’ Gate. Seqonoka; Maseru; Mafeteng; Maphohloane and Sephapos Gate; Lesotho Local Spiritual Assembly first five Local Spiritual Assemblies in what is now Lesotho
    1955 Ridván The first four local spiritual assemblies in The Gambia were formed in Bathurst (Banjul), Serrekunda, Lamin and Brikama. Banjul (Bathurst); Serrekunda; Lamin and Brikama; Gambia, The Local Spiritual Assembly first four Local Spiritual Assemblies in The Gambia
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) was formed in Salisbury (Harare). [CG21] [key] Salisbury (Harare); Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly of French Togoland (Togo) formed at Lomé. Lome; French Togoland (Togo); Togo Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in French Togoland (Togo)
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual in Mozambique was established in Lourenço Marques. [BW13:290] [key] Lourenco Marques; Mozambique Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Mozambique
    1955 Ridván The first native Mozambican Bahá’í, Festas Chambeni, took the Bahá’í Faith to Angola. [BW13:290] [key] Angola Festas Chambeni first native Mozambican Bahá’í
    1955 Ridván The first Local Spiritual Assembly in Italian Somalia was formed in Mogadishu. Mogadishu; Italian Somaliland LSA first LSA in Italian Somaliland
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Madagascar was formed in Tananarive (Antananarivo). Tananarive (Antananarivo); Madagascar Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Madagascar
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in the Seychelles was formed in Victoria. Victoria; Seychelles Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Seychelles
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in the Bahamas was formed in Nassau. Nassau; Bahamas Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Bahamas
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Vietnam was formed at Saigon-Cholon (Cholon is the Chinese section of Saigon). [BN No 293 July 1955 p5; Bahá'í Religion in Community Education in Vietnam by Vu Van Chung]
  • This body was also the first local assembly to be formed in Indochina.
  • Saigon-Cholon; Vietnam Local Spiritual Assembly, formation first Local Spiritual Assembly in Vietnam
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Zanzibar (Tanzania) was formed. Zanzibar (Tanzania) Local Spiritual Assembly, formation firstLocal Spiritual Assembly in Zanzibar
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Réunion was formed. Reunion; France Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Réunion
    1955 23 Apr Ramadán began. Shaykh Muhammad-Taqí known as "Falsafí" made an inflammatory speech against the Bahá’ís from a mosque in Tihrán. [BW18p390]
  • This was broadcast on national radio and stirred up the people against the Bahá’ís. [BW18:390]
  • Beatings, killings, looting and raping went on for several weeks, usually incited by the local ‘ulamá. [BW18:390–1; MC16–17; ZK215–6]
  • The House of the Báb in Shíráz was attacked and damaged by a mob led by Siyyid Núru’d-Dín, a mujtahid.
  • See a publication in the newspaper Shahin Tehran about his "work".
  • Tihran; Shiraz; Iran Bab, House of (Shiraz); Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Mobs; Persecution; Falsafi; Shaykh Muhammad-Taqi
    1955 May-Jul Persecutions against the Bahá’ís continued throughout Iran. [BW18p391]
  • Many Bahá’ís were beaten, including women and children.
  • Bahá’í houses and shops were looted and burned.
  • Bahá’ís employed in government service were dismissed.
  • Bodies of dead Bahá’ís were disinterred and mutilated.
  • Young Bahá’í women were abducted and forced to marry Muslims.
  • Several Bahá’í women were publicly stripped and/or raped.
  • Crops and orchards belonging to Bahá’ís were looted and destroyed.
  • Bahá’í children were expelled from schools.
  • The House of the Báb in Shíráz was damaged and almost destroyed by an anti-Bahá'í mob.
  • Shiraz; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Destruction; Persecution; Bab, House of (Shiraz)
    1955 2 May The police locked the doors of the National Bahá’í Centre in Tihrán thus preventing the holding of the final day of the National Bahá’í Convention. [BW18:390] [key] Tihran; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Conventions, National; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 4 May Sylvia Ioas was appointed to the International Bahá’í Council as its ninth member. [BW19:612; GBF110; MBW86; PP253; CBN No65 Jun 1955 p1; BN No 292 Jun 1955 p3] [key] Haifa Sylvia Ioas; International Bahai Council
    1955 7 May The Iranian army occupied the National Bahá’í Centre in Tihrán. [BW18:390] [key] Tihran; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 8 May Bahá’ís were beaten at Dámghán, Khurásán, Iran. [BW18:390] [key] Damghan; Khurasan; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1955 8 May The Bahá’í centre at Rasht, Iran, was attacked and taken over. [BW18:390] [key] Rasht; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 9 May Bahá’í houses were attacked and looted at Shíráz, Iran. [BW18:390] [key] Shiraz; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1955 9 May The Bahá’í centre at Ahváz, Iran, was taken over. [BW18:390] [key] Ahvaz; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 16 May The Bahá’í centre at Isfahán, Iran, was taken over. [BW18:390] [key] Isfahan; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 17 May The Iranian Minister of the Interior announced in parliament that the Government had issued orders for the suppression of the ‘Bahá’í sect’ and the liquidation of the Bahá’í centres. [BBRSM174; BW18p391] [key] Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 22 May The dome of the National Bahá’í Centre in Tihrán was demolished with the personal participation of several high-ranking army officers. The publication of the pictures of this episode encouraged a widespread outburst of persecution of Bahá’ís throughout Iran. [BW18:391]
  • After the coup in 1953 the Shah was indebted to the clergy for their support and so they were given a greater latitude to persecute the Bahá'ís. In an attempt to show his gratitude the Shah sent a high ranking officer to ask if they had any special requests and they called for the Bahá'í Centre in Tehran to be destroyed. The army occupied the Centre and high-ranking officers and clerics jointly demolished the dome. [Towards a History of Iran’s Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]
  • For pictures see BW13:293–4.
  • Photo.
  • Tihran; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Destruction; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 23 May The Bahá’í International Community submitted its Proposals for Charter Revision to the United Nations for the Conference for Revision of the UN Charter. [BW13:788, 795–802] [key] New York; United States Bahai International Community; United Nations Charter; United Nations
    1955 24 May The Bahá’í centre at Karaj, Iran, was taken over. [BW18p391] [key] Karaj; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 27 May The Bahá’í centre at Máhfurúzak, Iran, was demolished. [BW18p391] [key] Mahfuruzak; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Destruction; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 30 May Bahá’ís were attacked and wounded and their houses attacked at Ábádih, Iran. [BW18p391] [key] Abadih; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1955 (Spring) Travelling by foot, Udai Narain Singh arrived in Tibet from Gangtok, Sikkim, and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, his second such distinction.
  • He was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh in spring 1956. [BW13:456] [key]
  • Tibet; Sikkim; India Udai Narain Singh; Knights of Bahaullah
    1955 1 Jun The House of Bahá’u’lláh in Tákur, Mázandarán, Iran, was taken over. [BW18p391] [key] Takur; Mazandaran; Iran House of Bahaullah (Takur); Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1955 2 Jun The first pioneer to settle in Laos, Dr Heshmat Ta’eed, arrived in the country from Thailand. Laos First travel teachers and pioneers first pioneer to Laos
    1955 3 Jun Shoghi Effendi announced to all National Assemblies that Majdi'd-Din, "the most redoubtable enemy of 'Abdu'l-Baha" and "the incarnation of Satan", someone who played a leading role in the kindling of the hostility of 'Abdu'l-Hamíd and Jamál Páshá and who was the instigator of Covenant-breaking and archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, died at the age of one hundred after being struck with paralysis affecting his limbs and his tongue. [MBW87-88, 94]
  • He was the son of Bahá'u'lláh's only full brother Mírzá Músá, also know as Áqáy-i-Kalím. He was married to Samadiyyih, Bahá’u’lláh's daughter from his second wife Fatimih Khanum making him brother-in-law to Mírzá Muhammad `Alí.
  • Both Majdi'd-Dín and Samadiyyih were eventually declared Covenant-breakers for supporting Mírzá Muhammad `Alí. Majdi'd-Din was a scribe for Bahá'u'lláh. It was he who on June 6th or 7th, 1892, read the Kitáb-i-'Ahd to a large crowd in front of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh in which Bahá'u'lláh appointed 'Abdu'l-Bahá as his successor. [CBN No69 Oct 1955 p2] [key]
  • Covenant-breakers; Majdid-Din; Abdul-Hamid; Jamal Pasha; Mirza Musa; Samadiyyih Khanum; Fatimih Khanum
    1955 3 Jun Shoghi Effendi announced that a thousand groups and local Assemblies telegraphed appeals to the Iranian authorities and that all National Assemblies addressed written communication to the Shah, the government, and to parliament pleading for justice and protection. [MBW89] [key] BWC Persecution, Iran
    1955 4 Jun Frank Wyss of Australia arrived on Cocos and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] [key] Cocos Knights of Bahaullah
    1955 28 Jul Seven Bahá’ís were stabbed and beaten to death by a mob in Hurmuzak, Iran. [BW18p391; Towards a History of Iran’s Baha’i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]
  • Several other Bahá’ís, including women, were beaten and injured; Bahá’í houses and property were damaged. [BW18:391]
  • See also M. Labíb, The Seven Martyrs of Hurmuzak.
  • See entry for 26 September, 2016.
  • Hurmuzak; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Mobs; Persecution; Seven martyrs of Hurmuzak; Seven martyrs
    1955 Aug Appeals were made by National Spiritual Assemblies around the world through the Bahá’í International Community to the UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to ask the Iranian government to halt the attacks on the Bahá’ís. [BW13:789–91; BW16:329; MBW88–9; PP304, 311; CBN No 81 October 1956 p1]
  • The intervention of the Secretary-General of the UN, along with the efforts of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, brought an end to the physical persecution of the Bahá’ís, although their human rights are still denied. [BW13:790; BW16:329]
  • This marked the first time the Faith was able to defend itself with its newly born administrative agencies. An “Aid the Persecuted Fund” was established.
  • Historian Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi noted that the 1955 anti-Bahá'í campaign was both the apogee and the point of separation of the state-clergy co-operation. The Shah succumbing to international pressure to provide human rights, withdrew support. The result was that the period from the late fifties until 1977-1978 was a period of relative safety. [Towards a History of Iran’s Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.] [key]
  • New York; United States; Iran Bahai International Community; United Nations; NSA; Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1955 5 Aug In a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles he requested that Bahá'ís withdraw from Churches, Synagogues, Freemasonry and other secret societies. A number of letters had been written before and were written after on the same subject. [LoGno.1387; LoGno.1388 (1956); LoGno.1389 (1956); LoGno.1390 (1956); LoGno.1391 (1951)]
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá had previously permitted such membership in the Masons. [ABL127] [key]
  • Church Membership; Secret Societies; Masons; Masonry
    1955 15 Aug The passing of Mabel Hyde Paine (b. 7 December 1877 in Rockville, CT, d. 15 August 1955 in Urbana, IL). She was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Urbana. [Find a Grave]

    Mabel Paine was a Bahá'í teacher and an author. She is remembered as the compiler of The Divine Art of Living that was first published by the Bahá'í Publishing Committee in Chicago in 1944 and saw numerous reprints and revisions until the four revisions. It is still in publication. [BEL 4.114 - 4.117]

  • See also Paine, Mable Hyde; Obituary by Garrett Busey.
  • Rockville, CT; Urbana, IL In Memoriam; Mabel Hyde Paine
    1955 23 Aug Shoghi Effendi announced plans to begin construction on the House of Worship in Kampala, Uganda in light of the fact that the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár that had been planned for Tehran during the Ten Year Crusade had to be postponed due to circumstances in Iran. [MBW90; PP312; BW13p713; CG42-43; Bahá'í Faith, The: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963 compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land] [key] Kampala; Uganda Mashriqul-Adhkar, Kampala; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Tehran
    1955 Sep-Oct Bahá’ís in Iran continued to be dismissed from their employment. Bahá’í students were expelled from Shíráz University. [BW18p391] [key] Shiraz; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Education; Persecution; Haziratul-Quds
    1955 Sep Fowzieh Sobhi arrived in British Somaliland from Egypt, the first Bahá’í to reside in the country. British Somaliland Fowzieh Sobhi first pioneer to British Somaliland
    1955 23 - 25 Sep International Teaching Conference was held in Nikko, Japan. [Japan Will Turn Ablaze p87, 97] [key] Nikko; Japan Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, International; Teaching; First conferences first conference held in Japan
    1955 Oct Daniel Haumont arrived in the Loyalty Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:453] [key] Loyalty Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1955 12 Nov Hand of the Cause of God Valíyu’lláh Varqá passed away in Stuttgart.
  • For his obituary see BW13:831–834.
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii] [key]
  • Stuttgart; Germany Varqa, Valiyullah; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Varqa
    1955 15 Nov Shoghi Effendi announced that for the construction of the International Bahá’í Archives thirty of the fifty-two pillars, each over seven metres high, had been raised and that half of the nine hundred tons of stone ordered from Italy had been safely delivered at the Port of Haifa. He also said that a contract for over $15,000 had been placed with the tile factory in Utrecht for over 7,000 green tiles to cover the 500 square metres of the roof. [MBW95]
    He announced as well:
  • the purchase of a plot of land adjacent to the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf for $100,000,
  • the purchase of the dilapidated house situated south of the Mansion at Bahjí in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá used to receive friends, among them the first party of Western pilgrims after Bahá'u'lláh's passing,
  • a plot of land situated in the neighbourhood of the Shrine of the Báb,
  • and that the formalities had been completed in the purchase of the site of the future Mashriqu'lAdhkár on Mt. Carmel. [MBW78-79, 95]
  • The transfer of the deeds for the above plots of land were being transferred to the name of the Israel branches of the United States, The British, the Persian the Canadian and the Australian Baháa'í National Spiritual Assemblies. [MBW95] [key]
  • BWC International Bahai Archives; Bahji; Bab, Shrine of; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Haifa; Abdul-Baha, Tea House of; Arc
    1955 15 Nov ‘Alí Muhammad Varqá was appointed a Hand of the Cause to succeed his father. [GBF111; MBW91] [key] Varqa, Ali-Muhammad; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Varqa
    1955 Dec The first Samoan woman to become a Bahá’í, Mrs Lotoa Refiti (later Lotoa Rock), enrolled. [Koala News, No. 22, February 1956] [key] Samoa Lotoa Refiti (later Lotoa Rock) first Samoan woman Bahá'í
    1956 (In the year) The publication of Religion for Mankind by Horace Holley. There were subsequent publications by George Ronald in 1966, 1969, and 1976 and the Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Wilmette and a printing in 1967. It was transcribed into braille in 1970. [BEL7.1222-7.1226; 8.100]
  • "A collection of cogent essays on several aspects of the Bahá'í social programme and the dynamic of community and administrative life. [BEL7.1222] [key]
  • Horace Holley; Publications
    c. 1956 Shoghi Effendi acquired the title to the Pilgrim House at Bahjí from the Israeli government as part of the exchange for the Bahá’í properties at Ein Gev. [BBD177; DH226] [key] Bahji; BWC; Haifa Pilgrim House, Bahji; Pilgrim Houses; Purchases and exchanges
    1956 (In the year) The first indigenous person to become a Bahá’í in Dutch Guiana (Suriname), George van Axel Dongen, enrolled. Dutch Guiana (Suriname) George van Axel Dongen first indigenous Bahá’í in Dutch Guiana (Suriname)
    1956 (In the year) The first Tlinget to become a Bahá’í in Alaska, Joyce Anderson Combs, enrolled. Alaska; United States First Bahais by country or area first Tlinget Bahá’í in Alaska
    1956 (In the year) The first people to become Bahá’ís in Cape Verde enrolled. Cape Verde First Bahais by country or area; Islands first Bahá’ís in Cape Verde
    1956 (In the year) The first indigenous person to become a Bahá’í in New Guinea, Apelis Mazakmat, a school teacher and member of the local government council, enrolled. New Guinea Apelis Mazakmat first indigenous Bahá’í in New Guinea
    1956 (In the year) Kedarnath Pradhan, from neighbouring Sikkim, arrived in Nepal, the first pioneer to the country. [Bahá'í Faith In Nepal by Prof. Anil Sarwal] [key] Nepal; Sikkim; India First travel teachers and pioneers first pioneer to Nepal
    1956 (In the year) A Roman Catholic priest lodged a complaint against the Bahá’ís of Morocco with the Moroccan Security Service. Morocco Persecution, Morocco
    1956 c. The first person in Tibet to become a Bahá’í, Chiten Tashi, a young businessman from the village of Chombethan, enrolled. Tibet First Bahais by country or area first Bahá'í in Tibet
    1956 Jan The first Bahá’í pioneer in what is now the Central African Republic, Samson Nkeng, arrived in Bangui from the British Cameroons1 Central African Republic Samson Nkeng; pioneer first pioneer in Central African Republic
    1956 12 Feb The first four people to become Bahá’ís in Hong Kong, Nari Sherwani, Ng Ying Kay, Chan Lie Kun and Chan Lie Fun, enrolled. [PH75] [key] Hong Kong First Bahais by country or area first four Bahá’ís in Hong Kong
    1956 21 Feb The first Bahá’í pioneer, Marguerite Allman, (later Miners), formerly of Hamilton and her pioneer post in the Queen Charlotte Islands (now Haida Gwaii), arrived in 1956. She taught the second Icelandic Bahá’í, Erica Petursson. [BN No 487 October 1971 p20; BN303 May 1956 p13] [key] Reykjavik; Iceland; Hamilton, ON Pioneer
    1956 25 Feb Husayn Uskuli, (b. 1875) long-time pioneer to Shanghai from ‘Ishqábád, passed away in Shanghai at the age of 82 and was buried in the Kiangwan Cemetery in Shanghai. [PH29, BW13p871-873]
  • He had heard about the Faith at the age of 18 from Mírzá Haydar-'Alí. After his marriage he moved to 'Ishqábád where he was very active in the community. After his move to Shanghai his home was the centre of activity and hospitality for all those passing through. He was the only foreign-born Bahá'í to remain in China after the regime change. The xenophobic attitude of the government precluded any meaningful contact with the local citizenry.
  • He was survived by four daughters and a son.
  • Ishqabad; Turkmenistan; Shanghai; China Husayn Uskuli; In Memoriam; Births and deaths
    1956 (Early) In early 1956, Rudolfo Duna, his wife Angelica, and eleven year old daughter Julia, early Mozambican Bahá'ís, undertook the arduous train journey from Johannesburg, South Africa to Luanda, Angola, covering over 5,000 kilometers. Within a week after their arrival in Luanda, a community large enough to establish a Local Spiritual Assembly was formed.

    Another example of a new African believer arising was the case of Dorothy Chivunda in Zambia. When word of the Faith reached the church Dorothy attended, it aroused the curiosity of the congregation. The church decided to send Dorothy to investigate the claims of this new religion. Within three weeks, she declared as a Bahá'í, promptly organizing a teaching trip to her native village in Kawiku, in Chibwakata area of North Western Province. This trip, and the others that followed, involved over 300 kilometers of travel over rough terrain. It set in motion a process that would lead to the enrolment of thousands of her fellow tribesmen, the Lunda of Zambia, into the Faith.

    [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p3] [key]

    Luanda; Angola Pioneering; Rudolfo Duna; Angelica Duna; Julia Duna; Dorothy Chivunda
    1956 9 Mar The passing of Albert R Windust (b. 28 March 1874 in Chicago) in Berrien County, Michigan. He was buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery, Chicago.

    Albert, in spite of his meagre education, was a deep student of the Writings, an able speaker, and a profound teacher of the Laws and Ordinances. His classes on the Covenant and Bahá’í Administration were most helpful both to newcomers and Bahá’ís of long association with the Faith. There was a freshness and vigor in his teaching; he radiated a love that reached the hearts. In his every-day life he demonstrated the power of the revealed Word of Bahá’u’lláh.

      “Deeply grieved passing much loved greatly admired staunch ardent promoter Faith, Albert Windust, Herald Covenant, whose notable services Heroic Formative Ages Faith unforgettable. Assure friends relatives fervently supplicating progress soul Kingdom.” – Shoghi [BW13p873-874
    ]

    At the age of fourteen Albert became an apprentice in the printing firm where his father worked. Later he became the first publisher of the Writings of the Faith in America. He printed booklets, early editions of prayers, and the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (16 March 1900 BFA2p25). In 1910 he founded and started printing the first Bahá’í monthly publication, Star of the West. He gathered and published the well-known three volumes of Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from Tablets written to the Bahá’ís in North America. He also assisted Howard MacNutt in publishing Promulgation of Universal Peace. Albert also helped in the compilation and publication of the first five volumes of The Bahá’í World for the years 1926 to 1934.

    When his father died on May 21st, 1913 Albert wrote to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and asked Him to pray for him. 'Abdu'l-Bahá responded by sending a Tablet with a prayer. It was published in SoW Vol 11 Issue 19 p219 and has been printed in Spiritual Strength for Men p82-83 published by Kalimat Press and in Family Worship p66 compiled by Wendi Momen and published by George Ronald.

  • See also Prayer for Fathers by 'Abdu'l-Bahá as translated by Ahmad Sohrab.
  • Chicago, IL In Memoriam; Albert Windust
    1956 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced that the remaining 22 pillars of the International Bahá'í Archives had been erected and that the last half of the 900 tons of marble from Italy had been delivered. Forty-four tons of glazed green tiles from Utrecht had been placed in position. [MBW108]
    He also announced that:
  • the dilapidated house located near the Mansion had been restored,
  • Negotiations were underway with the Development Authority of the State of Israel for the acquisition of two plots to the north and south of the Shrine.
  • the destruction of a row of sheds near the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh,
  • that an expropriation order had been published in the Israel Official Gazette related to the buildings enclosed within the Haram-i-Aqdas regarding the occupancy of these buildings of the Covenant-breakers. [MBW108-109] [key]
  • BWC; Bahji International Bahai Archives; Haram-i-Aqdas; Covenant-breakers; Abdul-Baha, Tea House of
    1956 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced that the Bahá’í Faith was established in 247 countries, in 3,700 localities and that there were more than 900 local spiritual assemblies, of which 168 were incorporated. Bahá’í literature had been translated into 190 languages. [MBW92–3] [key] Statistics
    1956 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced the extension to Egyptian Bahá’í women of the right to be elected to the National Spiritual Assembly and to participate in the national convention. [MBW96–7] [key] Egypt National Spiritual Assembly, women; Women; Equality; Middle East
    1956 Apr The publication of Ade-rih-wa-nie-ton On-kwe-on-we Neh-ha: A Message to the Iroquois Indians in the Canadian Bahá'í News. This pamphlet was translated to the Mohawk language by Mr. Charles Cooke of Ottawa and there is reason to believe the translation was commissioned by the Québec Regional Teaching Committee. [Letter from the National Spiritual Assembly to Dr. C Buck 6 January 2021; CBN No69 Oct 1955 p4; CBN 45 April 1956 p.11]
  • See Deganawida, the Peacemaker by Dr Christopher Buck published in American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies Supplement XXVI (2015)
  • See as well Native Messengers of God in Canada?: A Test Case for Bahá'í Universalism by Christopher Buck published in Bahá'í Studies Review, 6, pages 97-133 London: Association for Bahá'í Studies English-Speaking Europe, 1996. Also Native Messengers of God in Canada? A test case for Bahá'í universalism, by Christopher Buck:Commentary by William P. Collins.
  • Also of interest on the same subject is his article Dr. David Ruhe’s Tribute to Indigenous Messengers of God.
  • See as well Messengers of God in North America, Revisited: An Exegesis of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablet to Amír Khán by Christopher Buck and Donald Addison.
  • For information about the Tablet to Amír Khán see Tablet to Amir Khan and Tablet of the Holy Mariner by / on behalf of Universal House of Justice.
  • Bahá'í Universalism and Native Prophets by Christopher Buck.
  • See the series Indigenous Messengers of God.
  • Canada Indigenous Messengers of God; Iroquois; Native Americans
    1956 7 Apr The first indigenous person to become a Bahá’í in Micronesia, 22-year-old Joe Erie Ilengelkei from Palau, Caroline Islands, enrolled. Palau; Caroline Islands Joe Erie Ilengelkei first indigenous Bahá’í in Micronesia
    1956 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of South and West Africa was formed with its seat in Johannesburg, South Africa. The National Convention was held at the Sears farm. Those elected to serve were: John Allen, Festus Chembeni, Walter Dlamini, William Masehla, Robert Miller, Andrew Mofokeng, John Robarts, William Sears and Max Seepe. In January 1957 Walter Dlamini resigned and Marguerite Sears was elected to replace him. [BW13:284; MBW71-72; BN no608 November 1981 p11]
  • Its area of jurisdiction was the Union of South Africa, Basutoland, Zululand, Swaziland, Bechuanaland, South West Africa, Angola, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Mozambique, Madagascar, Réunion Island, Mauritius and St Helena Island. See the Guardian's message to this Assembly. [That Promising Continent 28-29] [key]
  • Johannesburg; South Africa National Spiritual Assembly, formation first Regional Spiritual Assembly of South and West Africa
    1956 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of Central and East Africa was formed with its seat in Kampala, Uganda. [BW13:284; MBW71-72]
  • Its area of jurisdiction was Uganda, Tanganyika, Kenya, Belgian Congo, Ruanda-Urundi, French Equatorial Africa, Zanzibar, Comoro Islands and Seychelles Islands. See the Guardian's message to this Assembly. [That Promising Continent 30]
  • Ali Nakhjavani, Hassan Sabri, Philip Hainsworth, Oloro Epyeruj, Jalal Nakhjavani, Aziz Yazdi, Tito Wanantsusit, Max Kenyerezi, and Sylvester Okurut were members of the first regional national assembly. [History of the Bahá’í Faith in Tanzania]
  • This regional assembly was dissolved at Ridván 1964. [BW14p96] [key]
  • Kampala; Uganda National Spiritual Assembly, formation first Regional Spiritual Assembly of Central and East Africa
    1956 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of North West Africa was formed with its seat in Tunis, Tunisia. [BW13:284]
  • Its area of jurisdiction was Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco (International Zone), Spanish Morocco, French Morocco, Rio de Oro, Spanish Sahara, French West Africa, Gambia, Portuguese Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gold Coast, Ashanti Protectorate, British Togoland, French Togoland, Nigeria, British Cameroons, French Cameroons, Northern Territories Protectorate, Spanish Guinea, St Thomas Island, Cape Verde Islands, Canary Islands and Madeira. [MBW71-72]
  • See the Guardian's message to this Assembly. [That Promising Continent 27, 32]
  • Tunis; Tunisia National Spiritual Assembly, formation first Regional Spiritual Assembly of North West Africa
    1956 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly was formed in Morocco (International Zone). Morocco Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Morocco
    1956 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa was formed by expanding the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly of Egypt and Sudan. [BW13:284]
  • Its area of jurisdiction now included Egypt, Sudan, Abyssinia, Libya, Eritrea, British, French and Italian Somaliland and Socotra Island.
  • From this date forward all African territories originally allocated to the United States, the Persian, the Egyptian, the Indian, and the British National Spiritual Assemblies became, in the course of the Ten-Year Plan, to benefit from the advantages of sustained assistance by these Assemblies Spiritual Assemblies. [MBW71-72]
  • Since 1956 National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa had been led by the former National Spiritual Assembly of Egypt and the Sudan. In 1960 difficulties in Egypt made it impossible to administer territories outside of Egypt a regional administrative committee was formed and this, in turn, was replaced with a new National Spiritual Assembly with its headquarters in Addis Abba. [BW13p287] [key]
  • Egypt; Libya; Sudan; Eritrea; French Somaliland (Djibouti); Djibouti; Italian Somaliland; Ethiopia; Socotra Island; British Somaliland; Abyssinia; Eritrea National Spiritual Assembly, formation first Regional Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa
    1956 Ridván In his message to the four African Conventions for the National Spiritual Assemblies of Central and East Africa, North East Africa, North-West Africa, and South and West Africa, the Guardian announced that there were "over three thousand avowed supporters, five-sixths of whom belong to the Negro race, scattered throughout more than fifty territories and islands, and residing in over four hundred localities. Representatives of no less than one hundred and forty of its tribes have, moreover, enlisted under the banner of the Faith. Over a hundred and twenty Bahá'í Local Assemblies are already functioning throughout its territories. Into more than fifty of its indigenous languages Bahá'í literature has been and is being translated. The process of incorporating the newly formed Local Assemblies has furthermore been inaugurated. A National Administrative Headquarters has been established in each one of its four pivotal centres, while three Temple sites situated within its confines have been recently purchased, on one of which the Mother Temple of Africa is soon to be erected." [That Promising Continent 24-26] [key] Africa Statistics
    1956 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Bermuda was formed. Bermuda Local Spiritual Assembly firstLocal Spiritual Assembly Bermuda
    1956 Ridván The first local spiritual assemblies in Korea were formed at Seoul and at Kwangju. Seoul; Kwangju; Korea Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assemblies Korea
    1956 Ridván With the enrolment of the first Micronesian Bahá’í, the first local spiritual assembly of Guam was formed. Guam Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Guam
    1956 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly of Hong Kong was formed. Hong Kong Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Hong Kong
    1956 Ridván The local spiritual assembly of Addis Ababa incorporated, the first one in Africa to do so. [BW13:287] [key] Addis Ababa Local Spiritual Assembly, incorporation first Local Spiritual Assembly to incorporate in Africa
    1956 Ridván Formation of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Guam. Guam Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Guam.
    1956 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Taiwan was formed in T’ainan. [The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle by Barbara R. Sims p15] [key] Tainan; Taiwan Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tainan, Taiwan
    1956 Ridván After their pilgrimage Harlan and Elizabeth Ober travelled to South Africa where they helped form the first all-African Local Spiritual Assembly in Pretoria as had previously been request of them by the Guardian. They returned in December as pioneers. [BW13869] [key] Haifa; Pretoria Harlan Ober; Elizabeth Ober; pioneers first all-African Local Spiritual Assembly
    1956 May Mary Zabolotny (later Mrs Ken McCulloch), of Ukrainian background, arrived on Anticosti Island, Canada, and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449] [key] Anticosti Island; Canada Knights of Bahaullah; Mary Zabolotny McCulloch; Islands
    1956 20 May Louisa Mathew Gregory, (b. 1 February 1866 in Penge, Kent, England) whose wedding to Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory in 1912 was the first interracial western Bahá’í marriage, passed away in Eliot, Maine. [BW13:878; SYH19, 239]
  • She had been introduced to the Faith by Edith Sanderson in Paris in about December of 1909. Edith had been taught by May Maxwell in 1902. [SYH5, 206]
  • For her obituary see BW13:376–8. Error in this article
    • There was no Bahá'í Congress in Prague in 1928
    • She did not attend Cambridge.
    • 'Abdu'l-Bahá did not attend her marriage on the 27 September 1912. He was in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. [SYHvii-viii; 28]
    [key]
  • Eliot; Maine; United States; Penge; Kent Louisa Mathew Gregory; Louise Gregory; Edith Sanderson; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Firsts, Other first interracial western Bahá’í marriage
    1956 21 Jul As a result of the intervention of the UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold in July of 1955, promises were given by the Iranian government officials that the persecutions would cease however, that was not the case. The Bahá'í International Community, as an accredited member of the Non-Governmental Organizations at the United Nations, sent delegates to Geneva to attend the meetings of the Economic and Social Council and to present the Bahá'í case to the sub-Committee on the Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. At Geneva the Bahá'í representatives met a number of delegates to the Economic and Social Council enlisting their sympathy in the case and requesting them to inform their Foreign Offices. Following a news conference held by the Bahá'í representatives a full story appeared in the New YorkTimes of July 21, 1956. [CBN No 81 October 1956 p1-2] [key] Iran Persecution, Iran
    1956 11 - 12 Nov First All-Taiwan Teaching Conference was held in Tainan, Taiwan. The conference was attended by then Auxiliary Board Member Agnes Alexander from Japan. She would visit Taiwan two more times, in 1958 and 1962-as a Hand of the Cause. [The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle by Barbara R. Sims p17] [key] Tainan; Taiwan Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Teaching; First conferences; Agnes Alexander; Auxiliary Board Members first Teaching Conference held in Taiwan
    1956 Dec It was announced that Mr Ugo Giachery, Mr Navidi, Mr John Ferraby, Mrs Mildred Mottahedeh and Mr Amin Banani had been appointed to an international committee to represent the Bahá'í International Community in relation to the United Nations in matters connect with the persecution of the Bahá'ís of Persia. [CBN No 83 December, 1956 p2] [key] BWC BIC; Ugo Giachery; Aziz Navidi; John Ferraby; Mildred Mottahedeh; Amin Banani; Bahai International Community
    1956 9 Dec The passing of Juliet Thompson (b. Washington, DC 1873 - d. December 9th, 1956 New York). [BW13:862-864]
  • For her memorial service at the House of Worship see Bahá'í News p475, 493.
  • After learning of the Bahá'í Faith in Washington DC near 1898 she traveled to Paris at the invitation of Laura Dreyfus-Barney's mother. Later in 1901 in Paris she met Thomas Breakwell, who gave her Arthur de Gobineau's description in French of the Execution of the Báb which confirmed her faith. In Paris she took classes on the religion from Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl. [Wiki]
  • She published her book I, Mary Magdalene in 1940. It is available at bahai-library.com/. The Diary of Juliet Thompson was published by Kalimat Press in 1983 from her 1947 typescript.
  • The restoration of Juliet's grave took place on December 5, 2010. After a 54 year delay, the new gravestone, commissioned by the NSA, was unveiled in the Beechwood Cemetery in New Rochelle, New York, engraved with this moving tribute from Shoghi Effendi:

    "Deplore loss of much-loved, greatly admired Juliet Thompson, outstanding, exemplary handmaid of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Over half-century record of manifold, meritorious services, embracing the concluding years of Heroic and opening decades of Formative Ages of Bahá'í Dispensation, won her enviable position in the glorious company of triumphant disciples of the beloved Master in the Abha Kingdom. Advise hold memorial gathering in Mashriqu'l-Adhkar to pay befitting tribute to the imperishable memory of one so wholly consecrated to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and fired with such consuming devotion to the Center of His Covenant."

    [December 6, 1956] (Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, p. 170)

  • New Rochelle; New York Juliet Thompson; In Memoriam
    1956 20 Dec The publication in the Official Gazette of the government of Israel of the issue of an expropriation order against the Covenant-Breakers in possession of the holy Shrines at Bahji. This order was immediately appealed by the Covenant-Breakers to the Supreme Court. BWC; Haifa Bahji; Covenant-breakers
    1957 (In the year) The first contacts with the Aboriginal people were made in Kampong Jus in Malacca by Saurajen, as reported at a special meeting held with Hand of the Cause of God, Dr. Muhajir in Malacca on 29 December 1957. [Jewel Among Nations, Splendour Publications, Author A. Manisegaran. Pages 221-222] Kampung Jus; Malacca; Malaysia Rahmatullah Muhajir; Saurajen; Aboriginal people; Firsts, Other first contact with aboriginal population of Malayan peninsula
    1957 (In the year) The first indigenous person to become a Bahá’í in the Dutch West Indies, Rhoma Matthew enrolled. Dutch West Indies (Lesser Antilles); Lesser Antilles First believers by background first indigenous Bahá’í in the Dutch West Indies
    1957 (In the year) The first member of the Newari ethnic group of Nepal to become a Bahá’í, Rishi Prasad Joshi, enrolled. Nepal First believers by background first Newari Bahá'í of Nepal
    1957 (In the year) Charles Winfield Small, a native of Barbados and the first to become a Bahá’í in the Bahamas, returned to Barbados, the first Bahá’í to settle in the country. Barbados; Central America First Bahais by country or area first Bahá’í in the Bahamas; first Bahá’í to settle in Barbados
    1957 (In the year) The Berbers in Algeria were first contacted by the Bahá’ís and a number of Berber families enrolled. Algeria First believers by background; Berbers first Berber Bahá'ís
    1957 (In the year) Bahá’í activity in Czechoslovakia was banned by the authorities, several members of the Prague community were arrested and Vuk Echtner was imprisoned for two years. [BW20p196] [key] Prague; Czechoslovakia Persecution, Czechoslovakia; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution
    1957 (In the year) Nagoya, Japan, became the only spiritual assembly to be made up entirely of Japanese believers. Nagoya; Japan Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly all Japanese
    1957 c. The first local person to become a Bahá’í in Cambodia, Mr Lim Incchin, a young Chinese, enrolled. [Servants of the Glory page23]
  • The country was first settled by two pioneers one of whom was a Professor Avaregan. [Servants of the Glory page21] [key]
  • Cambodia Lim Incchin; Professor Avaregan first Bahá’í in Cambodia
    1957 (In the year) The land for the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Langenhain was acquired. [from the pamphlet "First European Bahá'í House of Worship" published by the NSA of Germany] [key] Langenhain; Germany Mashriqul-Adhkar, Langenhain; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship)
    1957 (In the year) The publication of The Secret of Divine Civilization by 'Abdu'l-Bahá as translated by Marzieh Gail in Wilmette Il by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust. It was earlier translated as The Mysterious Forces of Civilization by another translator, this was 'Abdu'l-Bahá's message to the government, clergy and people of Iran on the requirements of true civilization. It applies as well to the present as mankind's traditional political and social philosophies have shown themselves incapable of renewing human civilization. [BEL 3-107 p13]
  • See Bahá'í-library.com for documents related to the work by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • Wilmette; IL; USa Abdu'l-Baha, Writings of; Marzieh Gail
    1957 1 Jan In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian it was state that there were no Bahá'ís in the republics of the Soviet Union.
      Republics of Russia with no Bahá'ís: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Ukraine, and White Russia (Belarus)
      Satellite countries with no Bahá'ís: Albania Roumania (Romania) Mongolia, Sakhalin Island, and Hainan Island. [1 January 1957]
    [key]
    Soviet Union Statistics
    1957 3 Feb Enoch Olinga arrived in the Holy Land, the first black African Bahá’í to go on pilgrimage. [BW13p288] [key] Haifa Enoch Olinga; First pilgrims; Pilgrims first black African Bahá’í on pilgrimage.
    1957 25 Mar Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend passed away in Dublin, Ireland. (b.14 June, 1896) [BBD226, BW02-03p169]
  • For his obituary see BW13:841–846.
  • See also David Hofman's biography, George Townshend.
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
  • His pamphlet entitled The Old Churches and the New World Faith was his statement upon severing his relationship with his colleagues in the Anglican Church. [CBN No 89 June 1957 p1]
  • A talk given by O.Z. (Zebby) Whitehead at an Irish Bahá'í Summer School.
  • See The Covenant: An Analysis, a study guide on the idea of a covenant, Messengers and their missions, the covenant between the Messenger and the faithful, and covenant-breaking. Includes an appendix, compilation on the covenant. It was published in Manchester in 1950.
  • Dublin; Ireland Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; George Townshend; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent
    1957 27 Mar Agnes Alexander was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God on the passing of Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend. [GBF112; MBW174; PP255] [key] Agnes Alexander; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; George Townshend
    1957 c. Apr - 1958 Apr The first Tuareg to become a Bahá’í enrolled in Rabat, Morocco. Rabat; Morocco First believers by background first Tuareg Bahá’í
    1957 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced that the Faith had been established in 251 countries, that there were more than a thousand local spiritual assemblies, that Bahá’ís lived in more than 4,200 localities, and that every territory mentioned in the Tablets of the Divine Plan had been opened to the Faith. Bahá’í literature had been translated into 230 languages. [MBW105–6] [key] Statistics; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Works of
    1957 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced that the Treasury Department of Israel had issued an expropriation order for the remaining property held by Covenant-breakers at Bahjí, mainly the dilapidated building north of the mansion. [MBW109] [key] Akka Bahji; Covenant-breakers
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Benelux Countries was formed with its seat in Brussels, Belgium. [BW13:274]
  • Its area of jurisdiction was Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
  • Brussels; Belgium; Netherlands; Luxembourg; Benelux National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Benelux Countries
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly for the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) was formed with its seat in Madrid, Spain. [BW13:274]
  • The Assembly was disbanded in 1962 when Spain and Portugal established independent National Assemblies.
  • Madrid; Spain; Portugal National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Iberian Peninsula
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of Mexico and the Republics of Central America was formed at Panama City, Panama. [BW13:257]
  • The countries involved were: Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.
  • Mexico; Panama; Costa Rica; Nicaragua; Honduras; El Salvador; Guatemala National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Mexico and the Republics of Central America
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia was formed at Buenos Aires, Argentina. [BW13:257]
  • Prior to this time, since 1951 it had been administer by the National Spiritual Assembly of South America. [Bahaipedia NSA; South America] [key]
  • Buenos Aires; Argentina; Chile; Uruguay; Paraguay; Bolivia National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela was formed at Lima, Peru. [BW13:257]
  • Prior to this time, since 1951 it had been administer by the National Spiritual Assembly of South America. [Bahaipedia NSA; South America] [key]
  • Lima; Peru National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Greater Antilles was formed with its seat in Kingston, Jamaica The Assembly was disbanded in 1961 when individual National Assemblies were formed for the constituent countries.. [BW13:257]
  • The countries involved: Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic [BN No 312 p7] [key]
  • Kingston; Jamaica National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Greater Antilles
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of North East Asia was formed with its seat in Tokyo, Japan. [BW13:304]
  • Its area of jurisdiction was Japan, Korea, Formosa, Macau, Hong Kong, Hainan Island and Sakhalin Island.
  • Tokyo; Japan National Spiritual Assembly, formation; North East Asia first NSA North East Asia
    1957 - 1963 The launch of the Northeast Asia Six Year Plan (1957-1963)

    The Regional Spiritual Assembly of North East Asia had an area of jurisdiction embracing Japan, Korea, Formosa, Macao, Hong Kong, Hainan Island, and Sakhalin Island. [JTA80-86] [key]

    Japan; Korea; Formosa (Taiwan); Macau; Hong Kong; Hainan Island; Sakhalin Island Plans; Northeast Asia Six Year Plan
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of South East Asia was formed with its seat in Djakarta. [BW13:289,302]
  • Its area of jurisdiction was Borneo, Indo-China, Indonesia, Malaya, Sarawak, Siam, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Philippines, Dutch New Guinea, Mentawai Islands, Cocos Islands, Portuguese Timor and Brunei.
  • A subsidiary Six-Year Plan was formed. [BW13:302]
  • This assembly was dissolved in 1964. [BW14p99] [key]
  • Djakarta; Indonesia National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA South East Asia
    1957 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of Pakistan was formed with its first National Convention in Karachi. Previously it was administered by the Regional Assembly of India, Pakistán and Burma. The "mother assembly" reverted by to its former name, The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India and Burma and was so until 1959. [BW13p299]
  • On May 28th the Assembly was incorporated. [BW13p300] [key]
  • Karachi; Pakistan National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Pakistan
    1957 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand was formed. [BW13p306]
  • Since 1934 they were part of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand.
  • New Zealand National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA New Zealand
    1957 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska was formed and incorporated immediately upon formation. [HE31]
  • This was the first time a political entity (i.e. the United States) was subdivided to form a national spiritual assembly. [BW13:270]
  • In 1927 the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada resolved, in their Declaration of Trust and By-law of the National Spiritual Assembly, to exclude Alaska and Hawaii and all United States trusts and territories including Puerto Rico from their jurisdiction. [Constitution of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States]
  • Picture.
  • Alaska; United States Incorporation; National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Alaska; first time a political entity subdivided to form NSA
    1957 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden) plus Denmark and Finland was formed with its seat in Stockholm, Sweden. [BW13:274] [key] Stockholm; Sweden National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Scandinavia and Finland
    1957 Ridván The formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Arabian Peninsula with its seat in Bahrayn. [BW15p296]
  • The area was altered in 1972 for the formation of two National Spiritual Assemblies, Eastern Arabian and Kuwait. [BW15p297] [key]
  • National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1957 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Cape Verde was formed in Praia. Praia; Cape Verde Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Cape Verde
    1957 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Nyasaland was formed at Lilongwe. Lilongwe, Malawi; Nyasaland (Malawi) Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Nyasaland
    1957 Ridván In his last Ridván message Shoghi Effendi announced that the exterior of International Bahá’í Archives had been completed and that the roof was in place. [VBHP38; DH169; GBF63–4; PP264–6]
      It had cost approximately a quarter of a million dollars and was, like the Shrine of the Báb, ordered in Italy, entirely carved and completed there, and shipped to Haifa for erection; not only was each separate stone numbered, but charts showing where each on went facilitated its being place in its proper position." [PP265]
  • Ugo Giachery supervised the work in Italy and Leroy Ioas in Haifa. Because the landscaping had been completed prior to the completion of the construction, it had to be built from the rear with only a space of about 5 metres on three sides to work in. [PP265]
  • For details of its construction and photographs see BW13:403–33.
  • BWC; Mount Carmel; Haifa International Bahai Archives; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; World Centre; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of
    1957 Ridván The formation of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canberra, the last capital city in Australia to form. Canberra; Australia Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canberra
    1957 Ridván The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Apia, Western Samoa was formed. The members were: Lilian Ala'i, Ghodsieh Ala'i, Nemat Ala'i, To'alima Sa'ialala, Lotoa Rock, Emanuel Rock, William I Laing, Sa'ialala Tamasese, and Suhayl A Ala'i. [CBN No99 April, 1958 p5] [key] Apia; Samoa Local Spiritual Assembly; Lilian Alai; Ghodsieh Alai; Nemat Alai; Toalima Saialala; Lotoa Rock; Emanuel Rock; William I Laing; Saialala Tamasese; Suhayl A Alai first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Apia
    1957 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Brunei had already been formed. [BW 13:302] [key] Brunei Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Brunei
    1957 May Pouva Murday of Mauritius arrived in the Chagos Archipelago and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. Chagos Archipelago Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1957 7 May Shoghi Effendi sent a fragment of the plaster from the room of the Báb in the Fortress of Máh-Kú to Australia to be set in the foundations of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Sydney. [LANZ134; SBR172] [key] Sydney; Australia Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Mashriqul-Adhkar, Sydney; Fortress of Mah-Ku; Gifts; Relics; Boxes containing dust, earth or plaster; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1957 31 May The judgement of the Supreme Court of Israel against the Covenant-Breakers appeal, resulted in their removal from the properties in Bahjí. Bahji; BWC; Haifa Bahji; Covenant-breakers
    1957 Jun The Covenant-breakers completely abandoned Bahjí. [CB367–9; DH215; MBW120–2; PP233–4] [key] Akka Bahji; Covenant-breakers
    1957 4 Jun Shoghi Effendi added protection of the Cause to the duties of the Hands of the Cause. They were to perform this function in collaboration with the national spiritual assemblies. [BBRSM127; CB380; MBW122–3; CBN No 93 Oct 1957 p3] [key] BWC; Haifa Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Institution; Protection; Appointed arm
    1957 8 – 21 Jun Hokkaido Island was opened to the Faith by Rouhollah Mumtazi and Gekie Nakajima with the enrolment of new believers Kinkichi Shimatani and Yoshiro Sasaki of Sapporo, Japan. Hokkaido Island; Japan first Bahá'í on Hokkaido Island
    1957 9 Jun The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States designated the second Sunday in June as Race Unity Day. The purpose of Race Unity Day is to promote racial harmony and understanding and to focus attention on racial prejudice, which Bahá’ís believe is the most challenging moral issue facing our nation. Since then, communities throughout the country have held celebrations, open to the public, every year on the second Sunday in June. [Race Unity Day by Christopher Buck published in Religious Celebrations, pages 727-732] [key] United States Race Unity Day
    1957 Jul Margaret Bates and her daughter Jean Frankel of the United States arrived in the Nicobar Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:454; PH63] [key] Andaman and Nicobar Islands Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1957 18 Jul It was reported in the Canadian Bahá'í News, based on the Guardian's message of the 18th of July, that the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran had the intention of publishing a newsletter every 60 days. The publication was to be sent to all National Spiritual Assemblies as well as their local communities. They reported that:
  • The Faith had been established in more than 1060 centres in Iran, this was up from 750 when the persecutions started in 1955.
  • They reported that the persecutions were gradually subsiding. The government agreed to return the Haziratu'l-Quds and the National Hazira to the Bahá'is under the proviso that no meetings be held in the buildings.
  • They disseminate the news of the victories in other parts of the world to all the communities in Iran.
  • They said, "One fortunate circumstance that compensates for all the persecution of the Friends in Iran is the constant communication with the World Centre of the Cause of God and the Beloved Guardian.
  • The Friends are going on pilgrimage and upon their return shared the messages and news from the Holy Land. There were 64 pilgrims in the year 113.
  • Since the National Spiritual Assembly was responsible for the administration of the Faith in Turkey, the Turkish pilgrims have been providing the Iranians with their messages and glad-tidings. There were 32 pilgrims from Turkey the previous year. [CBN No 93 Oct 1957 p5] [key]
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Statistics
    1957 27 Jul In July, 1957 the sacred remains of Mirzá Buzurg, the father of Bahá’u’lláh, were identified and removed to a Bahá’í cemetery. On July 27 of that year, Hands of the Cause ‘Ali Akbar Furfltan, Shu‘é‘u’llah ‘Alá’í and ‘Ali Muhammad Varqa arrived from Ṭihrán to join Hand of the Cause Tarézu’lláh Samandari in paying homage, on behalf of the Guardian, to the memory of that “blessed and highly revered personage.” [BW13p297 ] Baghdad; Iraq Mirza Buzurg
    1957 6 Sep Shoghi Effendi announced ‘the complete evacuation of the remnant of Covenant-breakers and the transfer of all their belongings from the precincts of the Most Holy Shrine’. [MBW124]
  • See VSE166 for Audrey Robarts' observation of the Covenant-breakers at Bahjí during her pilgrimage in 1955.
  • Akka; BWC; Haifa Bahji; Covenant-breakers; Bahaullah, Shrine of
    1957 28 - 30 Sep First Bahá'í Summer School held in Taiwan. [The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle by Barbara R. Sims p21] [key] Taiwan Summer schools; First summer and winter schools first Bahá'í Summer School held in Taiwan
    1957 Oct The third contingent of Hands of the Cause of God was appointed: Enoch Olinga, William Sears, John Robarts, Hasan Balyuzi, John Ferraby, Collis Featherstone, Rahmatu’lláh Muhájir and Abu’l-Qásim Faizí. [GBF111; MBW127; PP254, 442; SS47]
  • See TG160 for the story of how Enoch Olinga reacted to the news of being appointed a Hand of the Cause of God.
  • Haifa Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Contingents; Hands of the Cause, Third Contingent; Enoch Olinga; William Sears; John Robarts; Hasan Balyuzi; John Ferraby; Collis Featherstone; Rahmatullah Muhajir; Abul-Qasim Faizi
    1957 Oct From a message from the Guardian dated October 1957
  • Number of Bahá'í Centres from 2500 to 4500
  • Number of sovereign States and Dependencies: from 128 to 254
  • Number of National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies; from 12 to 26
  • Number of Local Spiritual Assemblies; more than 1,000
  • Number of islands open to the Faith: 70
  • The erection and completion of the International Bahá'í Archives Building at a cost of $250M
  • The enlargement of the scope of Bahá'í international endowments in the twin cities of 'Akka and Haifa at a present value of $5.5m
  • The Bahá'í holdings in Iran estimated at over 40m tumans
  • The acquisition of 48 National Haziratu'l-Quds at more than $500
  • The founding of Bahá'í national endowments in no less than 50 capitals and chief cities on all five continents, at a cost of at least $150,000
  • The initiation of the construction of the Mother Temples of both Africa and Australia
  • The purchase of 11 Temple sites for over $400,000
  • The incorporation of over 90 national and local Spiritual assemblies raising the global total to over 200
  • The translation of Bahá'í literature into 148 languages bringing the total to 237
  • BWC Statistics; Endowments
    1957 Oct Shoghi Effendi designated the Hands of the Cause the ‘Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World commonwealth’. [MBW127] [key] BWC Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Institution; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Appointed arm; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of
    1957 Oct Shoghi Effendi called for the convocation of a series of Intercontinental Conferences to be held successively in Kampala, Uganda (Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central and East Africa); Sydney, Australia (National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia); Chicago, United States (National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America,; Frankfurt, Germany (National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and: Austria); and Djakarta, Indonesia (Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of South-East Asia). [BW13:311–12; MBW125]

    The five-fold purpose of the International Conferences was:

    1. offering humble thanksgiving to the Divine Author of our Faith, Who has graciously enabled His followers, during a period of deepening anxiety and amidst the confusion and uncertainties of a critical phase in the fortunes of mankind,
    2. to prosecute uninterruptedly the Ten-Year Plan formulated for the execution of the Grand Design conceived by 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
    3. of reviewing and celebrating the series of signal victories won so rapidly in the course of each of the campaigns of this world-encircling Crusade,
    4. of deliberating on ways and means that will insure its triumphant consummation,
    5. and of lending simultaneously a powerful impetus, the world over, to the vital process of individual conversion -the preeminent purpose underlying the Plan in all its ramifications - and to the construction and completion of the three Mother Temples to be built in the European, the African, and Australian continents. [CBN No 94 Nov 1957 p1] [key]
    BWC; Kampala; Uganda; Sydney; Australia; Chicago; United States; Frankfurt; Germany; Djakarta; Indonesia Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade
    1957 Oct Shoghi Effendi announced the appointment of a second Auxiliary Board responsible for the protection of the Faith. [MBW127–128; PP442] [key] BWC Auxiliary Board Members; Assistants; Appointed arm
    1957 4 Nov Passing of Shoghi Effendi

    Shoghi Effendi passed away in London of coronary thrombosis after a bout of Asian influenza. [CB377; PP446 BW13:207-225]

    • The 1957 influenza pandemic (the "Asian flu") was a category 2 flu pandemic outbreak of avian influenza that originated in China in early 1956 lasting until 1958. It originated from a mutation in wild ducks combining with a pre-existing human strain. A vaccine for H2N2 was introduced in 1957, and the pandemic slowed down. There was a second wave in 1958, and H2N2 went on to become part of the regular wave of seasonal flu. Estimates of worldwide deaths vary widely depending on the source, ranging from 1 million to 4 million, with WHO settling on "about two million". [Sino Biological website]
  • He was in London to purchase some furniture to complete the interior of the International Archives Building at the time of his passing. [PP445]
  • For a tribute to Shoghi Effendi written by Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum see BW13:58–226.]
  • See also Rabbání, The Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith and The Priceless Pearl.
  • London; United Kingdom Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Passing of; Shoghi Effendi, Travels of; International Bahai Archives; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Appointed arm; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Covenant (general); Shoghi Effendi, Works of
    1957 9 Nov The funeral of Shoghi Effendi took place in the Great Northern Cemetery, London. [BW13:222; PP448]
  • See BW13:222 for details of the funeral service.
  • See BW13:222–5 and PP449–50 for a description of the funeral.
  • For an a account of the funeral see AY314-319.
  • The Resting Place is located at 51°37'21.85"N, 0°8'35.41" W.
  • London; United Kingdom Shoghi Effendi, Passing of
    1957 10 Nov The Hands of the Cause met in London. [TG157]
  • See SDSC191-195 and SDSC430 note 8 for excerpts from the transcript of the talk recorded in shorthand by Rose M Wade and given by Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum to the gathered Hands and other friends.
  • London; United Kingdom Shoghi Effendi, Passing of; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum
    1957 15 Nov Hands of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins and Leroy Ioas, accompanied by Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery, entered the apartment of Shoghi Effendi and sealed with tape and wax the safe where his important documents were kept as well as the drawers to his desk. [BW13:341]
  • The keys to the safe were placed in an envelope, which was sealed and signed by the five Hands and then placed in the safe of Leroy Ioas. BW13:341] [key]
  • Haifa Shoghi Effendi, Passing of; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Leroy Ioas; Ugo Giachery
    1957 18–25 Nov The first conclave of the Hands of the Cause of God convened at Bahjí. Twenty-three Hands were present. [BBRSM128; DH215; MoC8–11, 25-51; TG158]
  • This was the first meeting of the Hands of the Cause as a group.
  • For a personal account of the Conclave by Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem. see ZK119.
  • For the nature of the six Conclaves see MoC9–10, 12.
  • For picture see MoCiv.
  • Akka; BWC; Haifa Bahji; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Hands of the Cause, Conclaves; Zikrullah Khadem
    1957 18 Nov The Hands of the Cause conducted a memorial meeting for Shoghi Effendi in the Haram-i-Aqdas. [BW13:341; MoC35] [key] Akka Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Haram-i-Aqdas; Bahji
    1957 19 Nov Nine Hands of the Cause were chosen by Rúhíyyih Khánum to examine Shoghi Effendi’s apartment. [BW 13:341]
  • They were the five members of the International Bahá’í Council (Rúhíyyih Khánum, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery and Leroy Ioas), an Afnán (Hasan Balyuzi), a representative of the Hands of the Western Hemisphere (Horace Holley), a representative of the Hands of the African continent (Músá Banání) and the Trustee of the Huqúqu’lláh (‘Alí Muhammad Varqá). [BW13:341]
  • After seeing that the seals were intact, the Hands examined the contents of Shoghi Effendi’s safe and desk. [BW13:341]
  • The nine Hands signed a document testifying that no Will or Testament of any nature executed by Shoghi Effendi had been found. This was reported to the entire body of Hands assembled in the Mansion of Bahjí. [BW13:341]
  • See CB378–9 for an explanation of why Shoghi Effendi left no Will.
  • Haifa; Bahji Shoghi Effendi, Passing of; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; International Bahai Council; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Ugo Giachery; Leroy Ioas; Hasan Balyuzi; Horace Holley; Musa Banani; Varqa, Ali-Muhammad
    1957 25 Nov A proclamation was issued stating that Shoghi Effendi left no heir and made no appointment of another Guardian. [BW13:341–5; MC25–30]
  • See LOG310 for an explanation of the various meanings of the word ‘Guardianship’.
  • See CB388–9 for a discussion of the continuation of the institution of the Guardianship.
  • Haifa; BWC Shoghi Effendi, Passing of; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Covenant (general); Hands of the Cause, Activities; Guardianship; Custodians; Appointed arm; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded
    1957 25 Nov Nine Hands were chosen to serve as Custodians of the Faith residing in the Holy Land. [BBD57; BW13:342; DH215]
  • The Hands residing in the Holy Land were established as a legal body under the title ‘The Custodians of the Bahá’í World Faith’.
  • The Hands chosen as first Custodians are Rúhíyyih Khánum, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Leroy Ioas, Hasan Balyuzi, ‘Alí Akbar Furútan, Jalál Kházeh, Paul Haney and Adelbert Mühlschlegel. [BW13:345–6; MC40–1] [key]
  • Haifa; BWC Shoghi Effendi, Passing of; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Hands of the Cause, Institution; Custodians; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Leroy Ioas; Hasan Balyuzi; Ali Akbar Furutan; Jalal Khazeh; Paul Haney; Adelbert Muhlschlegel; Appointed arm
    1957 Nov-1963 Apr Interregnum

    Following the passing of Shoghi Effendi the international administration of the Faith was carried on by the Hands of the Cause of God with the complete agreement and loyalty of the National Spiritual Assemblies and the body of the believers. This was in accordance with the Guardian’s designation of the Hands as the “Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth.” [Message of 9 March 1965]

    The beginning of the six year ministry of the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land, or ‘Custodians’. [BW16:90; WG45–6]

  • This period is known as the ‘interregnum’. [BBD 120]
  • See BW14:467 for a summary of the work of the Hands of the Cause during this period.
  • The International Bahá’í Council continued to perform its duties at the World Centre under the direction of the Custodians. The appointed Council was replaced by an elected Council at Ridván of 1961. All National Assemblies and Regional National Assemblies participated in the election by postal ballot. [BBD118]
  • See alsoThe Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963: An Account of the Stewardship of the Hands of the Cause.
  • Haifa; BWC Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Custodians; Interregnum; Ministry of The Custodians (book); International Bahai Council; Universal House of Justice; Shoghi Effendi, Passing of; Appointed arm; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Covenant (general)
    1957 Dec The first summer school in Malaysia was held at Malacca. Malacca; Malaysia First summer and winter schools; Summer schools first summer school in Malaysia
    1957 2 Dec The titles to the Shrine of the Báb, the Mansion of Bahjí, and all other buildings and lands which the Covenant-Breakers had owned were transferred to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. BWC; Mount Carmel; Haifa; Bahji Covenant-breakers; Ownership
    1957 2 Dec On the advice of their lawyer, Dr Abraham Weinshall, the Custodians ask each National and Regional Assembly to send a letter recognizing them as the supreme body in the Cause. [MC40–1] [key] Haifa National Spiritual Assembly
    1957 25 Dec The Hands of the Cause announced the destruction of the long, two-storey house previously occupied by Covenant-breakers which was located near the garden wall of the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh and of which Shoghi Effendi had acquired legal possession shortly before his passing. [MC11, 51]
  • The rubble was used to complete the terraces begun by Shoghi Effendi north of the mansion and forcompleting the northern gardens planned by him. iiiii
  • Bahji; BWC; Haifa Bahji; Covenant-breakers
    1957 26 Dec The passing of Mirzā Asad-Allāh, known as Fāżel Māzandarāni (b. Bábol, Persia 1881).
  • He became a Bahá'í in Tehran in 1909. He travelled to Egypt in 1919-1911 where he met with 'Abdu'l-Bahá and was send to India and Burma to promote the Faith.
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent him to North America for the period 1920-1921. He arrived in North America with Manúchihr Khán in time to speak at the National Convention. His purpose was to assist and stimulate the Bahá'í communities. He departed for the Holy Land on the 9th of July, 1921. [AB443; SBR88]
  • Mírzá Asadu'lláh Fádil-i-Mázandarání visited North America again in 1923-1925 at the request of Shoghi Effendi. [Fádl Mázandarání, Mírzá Asadu'lláh by Moojan Momen]
  • See Jináb-i-Fádil Mazandarání in the United States by Fadl Mazandarani (published as Jinab-i-Fadil Mazandarani) compiled by Omeed Rameshni for transcripts of his talks.
  • In about 1924 Shoghi Effendi wrote to the Central Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia, asking them to gather materials towards the compilation of a general history of the Bahá'í faith. Initially this work was handed to a committee and Fāżel served as the liaison between this committee and the Assembly, of which he was himself a member at the time. However, after the committee failed to make significant progress, Fāżel took on the responsibility to compile this work himself. His work, Ẓohur-al-Ḥaqq (variously also called Tāriḵ-e Ẓohur-al-Ḥaqq and Ketāb-e Ẓohur-al-Ḥaqq) is said to be the most comprehensive history of the first century of the Bahá'í faith yet written. It records the full biographies of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and ʿAbdu'l-Baháʾ, the Faith’s leading disciples and learned members, poets, martyrs, and other prominent personalities. It covers the history of the persecutions of the Bahá'ís; discusses the internal crises of the faith and, more significantly, contains excerpts from the holy writings and includes documentation and a considerable number of pictures. It was compiled in nine volumes: volumes 1-3 completed in May of 1932, the fourth in February, 1936, and the final volume in 1943. For various reasons it has not been translated into English. [Ẓohur-al-Ḥaqq]
  • Other works of Fāżel include his dictionary of commonly used proper terms and titles in Bahá'í literature, Asrār al-āṯār, which was published in five volumes (1967-72) of more than 1,600 pages.
  • Fāżel’s other major work, Amr wa ḵalq, contains hundreds of selections from the Bahá'í holy writings grouped under topics related to philosophical, theological, religious, and administrative matters. The work was published in Iran (1954-74) in four volumes.
  • The Collected Works of Asadu'llah Fadil Mazandarani.
  • Wikipedia page.
  • Babol; Iran; Tihran; India; Myanmar (Burma); United States Mirza Asadullah Fadil-i-Mazandarani; Amr va Khalq; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Bahai studies; Bahai history; Zuhur al-Haqq (Zuhurul-Haqq); Translation
    1958 (In the year) The first local spiritual assembly of Nepal was formed in Kathmandu.
  • Prof. Anil Sarwal says it was 1960-1961
  • The first Local Spiritual Assembly was established in the capital city Kathmandu in 1961. [Yellow Place] [key]
  • Kathmandu; Nepal Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Nepal
    1958 (In the year) The first Aleut to become a Bahá’í, Vassa Lekanoff, enrolled in Unalaska. Unalaska; Alaska; United States First Bahais by country or area first Aleut Bahá’í
    1958 In the late 1950's In the late 1950s a meeting that was held in Famagusta at which representatives of all three main generations of Bahá'ís were present including: Jalal Azal representing the followers of Mirza Yahya (Bayanic), `Ismat and others represented the followers of Mirza Muhammad `Ali (Unitarian Baha'is), and Ahmad Sohrab represented those opposed to any form of administration. One of the aims of this conference was to build a mausoleum over the grave of Mirza Yahya. [The Cyprus Exiles p102 by Moojan Momen] [key] Famagusta; Cypus Mirza Yahya (Subh-i-Azal); Covenant-breakers; Ahmad Sohrab; Jalal Azal; Ismat
    1958 (In the year) Adrienne and Dempsey Morgan went to Vietnam and over succeeding years helped establish administrative procedures among the Local Spiritual Assemblies of Vietnam. For lack of visa they left for Thailand in 1959, staying for two years before continuing to Phnom Penh. They returned to Saigon in 1961 before the end of the year. [Servants of the Glory p5-9; Bahaipedia] [key] Vietnam Dempsey Morgan; Adrienne Morgan
    1958 1 Jan The passing of Lillian Stevens, a founding member of the first Torquay Spiritual Assembly in 1938. Torquay Lillian Stevens; In Memoriam
    1958 23–28 Jan The first Intercontinental Conference held at the mid-point of the Crusade convened in Kampala, Uganda. [BW13:317]
  • Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, who had been designated by the Guardian as his representative, attended, accompanied by Dr Lutfu’lláh Hakím.
  • For the message of the Custodians to the conference see MC56–60.
  • For a report of the conference see BW13:317.
  • Kampala; Uganda; Africa Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Lutfullah Hakim; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; First conferences first Intercontinental Conference at the mid-point of Crusade in Kampala
    1958 26 Jan The foundation stone of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Africa was laid by Hands of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and Músá Banání. [BW13:317]
  • The Guardian had sent special gifts to be presented during the laying of the foundation stone. These included a Persian carpet from the Holy Shrine at Bahji, some plaster from the prison of Máh-Kú and a silver box containing the earth from Bahá'u'lláh's Shrine. These last two items were placed beneath the foundation stone by Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and Hand of the Cause Músá Banání. [CG44] [key]
  • Kampala; Uganda Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Mashriqul-Adhkar, Kampala; Foundation stones and groundbreaking; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Musa Banani first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Africa
    1958 21–24 Mar The second Intercontinental Conference was held at the mid-point of the Crusade convenes in Sydney, Australia. [BW13:319]
  • Hand of the Cause Charles Mason Remey, who had been designated by the Guardian as his representative and who was the architect of the Mother Temple of Australasia, attended, accompanied by four other Hands of the Cause. [BW13:317]
  • For the message of the Custodians to the conference see MC72–5.
  • For a report of the conference see BW13:319–21.
  • Sydney; Australia; Australasia Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Charles Mason Remey; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Sydney; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Design; Architecture; Architects
    1958 22 Mar The foundation stone of the first Mashriqul-Adhkár of the Antipodes in Sydney was laid by Hands of the Cause Charles Mason Remey and Clara Dunn. [BW13:321] [key] Sydney; Australia Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Mashriqul-Adhkar, Sydney; Charles Mason Remey; Clara Dunn; Foundation stones and groundbreaking first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Antipodes
    1958 20 Apr Mírzá Ahmad (Esphahani) Sohrab, the Covenant-breaker who rebelled against Shoghi Effendi, died. [MC90; CBN No 102 July 1958 p1]
  • For the story of his defection from the Faith see CB343–7.
  • He was buried in the Saint Paul Episcopal Church Cemetery, Glen Cove, Nassau County, New York.iiiii
  • Glen Cove; Nassau County; New York; United States Ahmad Sohrab; Covenant-breakers; New History Society
    1958 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in the Kingdom of Tonga was formed at Nuku’alofa. Nukualofa; Tonga Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Kingdom of Tonga
    1958 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly of Macau was formed. Macau Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Macau
    1958 Ridván The formation of the first local spiritual assembly of Taipei. [The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle by Barbara R. Sims p25] [key] Teipei; Taiwan Local Spiritual Assembly The formation of the first local spiritual assembly of Taipei, Taiwan
    1958 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of France was formed. [BW13p274]
  • For the message of the Custodians to the French National Convention see MC86–9.
  • France National Spiritual Assembly, formation first Local Spiritual Assembly France
    1958 Ridván The first Spiritual Assembly was formed on Terceira Island in the Azores. It was not until December of that year that the first two native believers embraced the Faith. [BW14p317] [key] Terceira, Azores Local Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1958 26 Apr The passing of Dr M Khodad Fozdar in Singapore.

    He was the first Indian Parsi to accept the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. In 1950 he and his wife Shirin moved to Singapore. He pioneered to the Andaman Islands and became a Knight of Baha'u'lláh in response to the Indian seven-year plan. [BW13p892] [key]

    Singapore M Khodad Fozdar; In Memoriam; Knight of Bahaullah; Shirin Fozdar first Indian Parsi to accept the Faith
    1958 May The first local spiritual assembly in Papua New Guinea was formed in Madina Village, in New Ireland.
  • This was the first all-indigenous local spiritual assembly in the South Pacific.
  • Madina Village; New Ireland Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly Papua New Guinea; first all-indigenous Local Spiritual Assembly in South Pacific
    1958 2–4 May The third Intercontinental Conference was held at the mid-point of the Crusade convened in Wilmette, Illinois. [BW13:323]
  • Hand of the Cause Dr Ugo Giachery, who had been designated by the Guardian as his representative, attended, accompanied by four other Hands of the Cause. [BW13:323]
  • For the message of the Custodians to the conference see MC90–8.
  • For a report of the conference see BW13:323–5.
  • See Notes by Emma Maxie Jones and Anonymous.
  • Wilmette; Illinois; United States; America Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Ugo Giachery; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade
    1958 12 Jun The Custodians released the ‘Statement regarding the Guardianship’, explaining that Shoghi Effendi had left no heir, that only he could appoint a second Guardian and that the Bahá’ís must dismiss all hopeful expectation that a Will appointing a second Guardian will be found. [MC100-2] [key] Haifa Guardianship
    1958 26 Jun Paul Adams, from Reading, England, having obtained permission to accompany Svalbard’s chief hunter on a fishing tour in the summer and to spend the winter with him in Sassen Fjord, arrived in Spitzbergen and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:456]
  • See also Adams, Arctic Island Hunter published by George Ronald in 1961. iiiii
  • Spitzbergen Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1958 25–29 Jul The fourth Intercontinental Conference was held at the mid-point of the Crusade and convened in Frankfurt, Germany. [BW13:327]
  • Amelia Collins, who had been designated by the Guardian as his representative, attended, accompanied by ten other Hands of the Cause. [BW13:327]
  • For the message of the Custodians to the conference see MC102–6.
  • For a report of the conference see BW13:327–9.
  • Frankfurt; Germany; Europe Amelia Collins; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade
    1958 14 Sep A week before the fifth Intercontinental conference is due to convene in Djakarta, Indonesia, the government withdrew the permit to hold the conference. [BW13:331]
  • For the story of why the permit was revoked see DM83–5.
  • The cancellation of the conference in Djakarta began a period of severe repression of the Faith in Indonesia which eventually led to the Faith being banned in 1962. [DM85, 88] [key]
  • Indonesia Persecution, Indonesia; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade
    1958 21 Sep Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas arrived in Indonesia and was plunged into negotiations regarding the holding of the conference.
  • He met with local Bahá’ís and anointed them with attar of roses as they passed to the room to view the portrait of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:331–2] [key]
  • Indonesia Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Leroy Ioas
    1958 23 Sep Chartered planes took the conference delegates to Singapore. Singapore
    1958 27 – 29 Sep The fifth Intercontinental Conference was held at the mid-point of the Crusade and convened in Singapore. [BW13:331]
  • Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas, who had been designated by the Guardian as his representative, attended, accompanied by eight other Hands of the Cause. [BW13:331–2]
  • For the message of the Custodians to the conference see MC111–6.
  • For a report of the conference see BW13:331–2.
  • Singapore; Asia Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Leroy Ioas; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade
    1958 1 Nov The monument marking Shoghi Effendi’s resting place was completed. [MC117]
  • Dust from the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh was placed in the foundations. [MC117] li>For a description of the resting place see BBD194–5 and MC135–6.
  • The monument was paid for from a Memorial Fund established after Shoghi Effendi’s passing. Money in excess of the amount required was spent on the teaching work and on the construction of the Temples. [MC132]
  • Marble for the monument came from Chiampo, Italy as for the Archives Building, the Shine of the Báb, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, The Terraces project, the Monument Gardens and the Houses of Worship in India and Samoa. It was cut and chiseled by a firm called Margraf, formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini. [BWNS1223; PP450 ] [key]
  • London; United Kingdom Shoghi Effendi, Resting place of; Bahaullah, Shrine of; BWNS; Margraf
    1958 21–28 Nov The Second Conclave of the Hands of the Cause convened at Bahjí. [BW13:347–8; MoC55-125]
  • It was attended by 25 of the 27 Hands of the Cause. [BW13:347; MoC118]
  • The Hands of the Cause called for the election of the Universal House of Justice at the time of the Most Great Jubilee in 1963. [BBRSM129; BW13:351; MoC122]
  • Picture of the Hands gathered in the house of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • Akka Hands of the Cause, Conclaves; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Most Great Jubilee; Centenaries
    1959 (In the year) The establishment of a Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Iran.

    Since 1899, Bahá'í sacred texts had been hectographed and mimeographed by Mīrzā ʿAlī-Akbar Rūḥānī (known as Moḥebb-al-Solṭān) and others. Although the restrictive laws of the country prohibited the Bahá'ís from printing their literature by letterpress, through the establishment of the Trust, Bahá'í literature was regularly and systematically published in typewritten or calligraphic form until 1979 when the Trust was closed under the Islamic régime. Between 1959 and 1979, several hundred titles were produced and distributed. The trust was also responsible for the publication of circulars, newsletters, pamphlets, and magazines. In 1975 alone, it produced 181,390 copies of books and pamphlets totaling 31 million pages. In the early 1970s an audiovisual center was established in Iran which made rapid growth during the few years of its existence. In the mid-1970s the centre produced 27 cassette programs containing prayers, songs, and speeches amounting to 40,000 copies. They also produced 28 reels of film. [BW12p292; BW16p263; BW12p570; BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati] [key]

    Iran Publishing Trusts; Mirza Ali-Akbar Ruhani; Mohebb-al-Soltan
    1959 (In the year) The mansion at Mazra‘ih was renovated. [MC219] [key] Akka; BWC; Haifa House of Bahaullah (Mazraih); Restoration; World Centre; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens
    1959 (In the year) The first Inuit in Alaska to become a Bahá’í, William Wiloya, enrolled in Nome. Nome; Alaska; United States First Bahais by country or area; First believers by background; Inuit first Inuit Bahá’í Alaska
    1959 (In the year) Bahá’í communities in the United States began the observation of World Peace Day to call attention to the need for world peace. [BBD175]
  • This was replaced in 1985 by the observance of the UN International Day of Peace, which occurs on the third Tuesday in September. [BBD175] [key]
  • United States World Peace Day; United Nations; International Day of Peace; Peace; World peace (general)
    1959 (In the year) The House of ‘Abbúd was renovated and restored. [MC219] [key] Akka; BWC; Haifa House of Abbud; Restoration; World Centre; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens
    1959 1 Feb The ‘first Dependency of the Mashriqul-Adhkár in Wilmette’, the Bahá’í Home for the Aged, opened. [BW13:747]
  • For the history of its building see BW13:743–8.
  • For pictures see BW13:742, 744–7.
  • See National Bahá'í Review No 4 April 1968 p11.
  • Wilmette; United States Bahai home for the aged; Homes for the aged; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Dependencies of first Dependency the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár Wilmette’
    1959 Mar A number of Bahá’ís, members of the local spiritual assembly, were arrested in Ankara, Turkey. [MC306]
  • The incident received wide coverage in the press and the Bahá’ís were eventually released from prison. [MC306]
  • A court case was subsequently brought against the Bahá’ís by the public prosecutor, who claimed that the Faith is a ‘Tarighat’, a sect forbidden by the law of the land, and lengthy litigation followed. [MC306–7] [key]
  • Ankara; Turkey Persecution, Turkey; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; LSA; Court cases
    1959 10 Apr Representatives of the Bahá’í International Community presented to the President of the Human Rights Commission, Ambassador Gunewardene of Ceylon, a statement endorsing the Genocide Convention. [BW13:791–4] [key] New York; United States Human Rights; United Nations; Genocide; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements
    1959 Ridván Separate national spiritual assemblies were formed for Germany and Austria. [BW13p274, 283; BBRSM186]
  • For the letter of the Custodians to the national convention of Austria see MC158–60.
  • For a photo of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Austria see WMSH244. The members were: Johanna (Hauff) von Werthern, Franz Pollinger, Bertha Matthisen, Leopoldine Heilinger, Dr Mehdi Varqá, Gunther Hang, Ursula Kohler, Dr Masoud Berdjis and Dr Aminolláh Ahmedzadeh.
  • Austria; Germany National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Austria; first NSA for Germany
    1959 Ridván Separate National Spiritual Assemblies were formed for India and Burma. Up until 1957 this group had included Pakistan. [BW13p300]
  • For the letter of the Custodians to the national convention of Burma see MC155–7.
  • See a picture of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Burma.
  • Myanmar (Burma); India National Spiritual Assembly of India; National Spiritual Assembly of Myanmar (Burma); Custodians; National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Burma
    1959 Ridván Upon the establishment of an independent Spiritual Assembly for Burma, the National Assembly of India and Burma was succeeded by the present-day National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India. [BW13p300] [key] New Delhi; India National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1959 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of Turkey was formed.
  • For the letter of the Custodians to the national convention see MoC148–51.
  • Election of the first National Assembly of Turkey had to be carried on by mailed ballots because difficulties visited upon the Faith in that country prevented the holding of the Convention. Hand of the Cause Dhikru’lláh Khádem, officially representing the Hands of the Cause, was able to visit Turkey for the occasion, as did Professor Manfichihr Ḥakím, representing the National Assembly of Persia. [BW19p297-298] [key]
  • Turkey National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA Turkey
    1959 Ridván The Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific Islands was formed with its seat in Suva, Fiji. [BN No 267 MY 1953 P1]
  • Its area of jurisdiction comprised of ten island groups: Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Loyalty Islands, Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, and Tonga. [BW13:308]
  • For the letter of the Custodians to the national convention see MC151–5.
  • In 1963 the Universal House of Justice announced that the Assembly was to be dissolved and succeeded by a National Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific Ocean, and a National Spiritual Assembly of the South West Pacific Ocean, with the new Assemblies being formed the following year.
  • Suva; Fiji; Samoa; New Caledonia; New Hebrides Islands (Vanuatu); Loyalty Islands; Gilbert and Ellice Islands; Marshall Islands; Cook Islands; Solomon Islands; Tonga National Spiritual Assembly, formation first NSA South Pacific Islands
    1959 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Grenada was formed in St George’s Parish. St Georges; Grenada Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Grenada
    1959 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Cambodia was formed in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh; Cambodia Local Spiritual Assembly first Local Spiritual Assembly in Cambodia
    1959 Ridván The Custodians announced that the number of national and regional spiritual assemblies had risen to 31, the Faith was established in 255 countries, Bahá’ís lived in over 5,200 localities and had formed nearly 1,275 local spiritual assemblies, and Bahá’í literature had been translated into 261 languages. [MC137–8] [key] Worldwide Custodians; Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade
    1959 Ridván The Custodians announced that the resting place of the remains of the father of Bahá’u’lláh had been identified. [MC144] [key] Haifa Bahaullah, family of
    1959 7 May Donald Corbin, a pioneer to Grenada Island, made a trip to Dominica specifically to try to reach the Carib Indians. [BN No 343 September 1959 p10-11] [key] Dominica; Grenada Pioneer; Donald Corbin; Indigenous people
    1959 2 Jun The first Greek woman to become a Bahá’í, Ketty Antoniou, enrolled in Greece. Greece Ketty Antoniou first Greek Bahá'í woman
    1959 14 Jun The Hands of the Cause announced that the remains of the cousin of the Báb had been identified and had been transferred to a cemetery. [MC161] [key] Haifa Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities
    1950 Aug John Z. T. Chang arrived in Hainan Island and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452] [key] Hainan Island Knights of Bahaullah; Islands first pioneer Hainan Island
    1959 18 Aug Cheong Siu Choi (John Z. T. Chang), the Chinese headmaster of the Leng Nam Middle School and a highly respected leader in Macau, arrived with his family on Hainan Island and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:452]
  • PH75 says this was August 1958.
  • Hainan Island Knights of Bahaullah; Islands
    1959 19 Aug John Chang, his wife and child visited Hainan Island, just off China. He thought someone with a family would attract less attention than a single man but he was asked to leave by authorities after only 14 days. [KoB 3,171] [key] Hainan Island John Chang; Knight of Bahaullah shortest duration of stay for any Knight of Baha'u'llah
    1959 Sep Clifford and Catherine Huxtable arrived in the Gulf Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh (albeit on 14 September 1969 see LNW101). [BW13:457] [key] Gulf Islands Clifford Huxtable; Catherine Huxtable; Knights of Bahaullah; Islands first pioneers Gulf Islands
    1959 23 Oct - 1 Nov The third Conclave of the Hands of the Cause of God was convened at Bahjí. [BW13:351; MC127-173]
  • For the agenda of the meeting see MC163–4.
  • Charles Mason Remey unsuccessfully attempted to convince his fellow Hands that the Guardianship should continue. [BBRSM130; MC217] [key]
  • Akka Bahji; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Charles Mason Remey; Guardianship; Covenant-breakers
    1959 4 Nov The Hands of the Cause issued a message from their third Conclave. [MC166–70]
  • The date for the election of the Universal House of Justice was fixed at Ridván 1963. [MC166]
  • They called for the election at Ridván 1961 of 21 national spiritual assemblies in Latin America. [MC167–8]
  • They called for the election at Ridván 1962 of 11 national spiritual assemblies in Europe. [MC168]
  • They called for the election at Ridván 1961 of the International Bahá’í Council by postal ballot of the members of the national and regional spiritual assemblies constituted at Ridván 1960. [MC168]
  • The name of Hand of the Cause Charles Mason Remey was missing from the list of signatories to this letter. [MC170] [key]
  • Akka Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Universal House of Justice, Election of; International Bahai Council; Charles Mason Remey; Covenant-breakers
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