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Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1909, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1909 24 Dec
190-
The constitutional revolution effectively ended when the Shah's minister oversaw the expulsion of the deputies of the Second Majis with the support of 12,000 Russian troops. [Wikipedia] Iranian revolution; Iran, General history; Iran
1909 Dec
190-
Charles Mason Remey and Howard Struven spoke at the first Bahá'í public meeting held in Honolulu. [BFA2:348; SBR189] Charles Mason Remey; Howard Struven; Firsts, other; Honolulu, HI; Hawaii, USA First public meeting in Honolulu
1909 26 Nov
190-
Within a year of her arrival in Persia, Dr. Susan Moody opened the Tarbíyat School for Girls in Tihrán. [BBD221–2; BFA2:360–1]

Some of those serving at the school were: Susan Moody, Sydney Sprague, Lillian Kappas, Sarah Clock and Elizabeth Stewart. [GPB261]

  • Miss Lillian Kappes of Hoboken, New Jersey arrived in December of 1911 to serve as a teacher. She stopped in Thonon to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the way. [SoW Vol 2 No 17 Jan 19. 1912 p2] She died on the 1st of December, 1920 of typhus and was buried there.
  • She was replaced by Genevieve Coy, a qualified psychologist, a Ph.D. in 1922 who was followed by Adelaide Sharp in 1929. Her mother, Clara Sharp joined her in 1931. [BFA2p361, AY233]
  • Elizabeth Stewart who served as a nurse at the school accompanied Lillian Kappes on her arrival. Miss Stewart served until 1924 when she returned to Philadelphia where she died in 1926. [ABF43]
  • Munírih Khánum Ayádí, the mother of Dr Karím Ayádí (later famed as the Shah's much-trusted doctor) was Persia's first official Director of the Tarbíyat School for Girls. She was widely recognized as exceptional, at a time when Persia's Bahá'í women were only gradually emerging from their earlier state under Islam. Much respected by the men, her attitude toward them was one of total equality. Her greatness was in herself, her devotion to the Faith absolute, and she was made a member of such advanced committees as the Bahá'í Women's Committee. Her views were moderated by her sense of humour, which included self-deprecation so that she never subjected you to her piety. One day during the Bahá'í Fast, she asked Marzieh Gall: 'Do you think God would notice if I ducked into that room and sneaked a few puffs of tobacco?' [AY333]
  • Tarbiyat School, Tihran; - Bahá'í inspired schools; Susan Moody; Lillian Kappes; Genevieve Coy; Adelaide Sharp; Clara Sharp; Elizabeth Stewart; Women; Social and economic development; Munirih Khanum Ayadi; Karim Ayadi; Tehran, Iran; Iran; Sydney Sprague First Tarbíyat School for Girls
    1909 25 Nov
    190-
    Dr Susan Moody, a famed American homeopathist, arrived in Tihrán. She and four Persian Bahá'í doctors started the Sehat Hospital. Because the hospital was only accessible to the wealthy she established a private practice that was open to all women regardless of their ability to pay. [BFA2:359-360]
  • She spent two days in 'Akká en route to Persia and 'Abdu'l-Bahá conferred upon her the title Amatu'l-'Alí (Handmaid of the Most High). [BFA2:358]
  • Dr Sarah A. Clock arrived from Seattle in 1911 to assist her followed by Miss Elizabeth Stewart (nurse). [BFA2:361]
  • In 1925-1926, after the murder of Robert Imbrie, she travelled the US from the east to the west coast, raising awareness of the needs of the work in Iran.
      Dr Sarah Clock sailed from New York for Iran on 8 December 1910. She served the Bahá'í community of Iran with great sacrifice for years. While her main task was treatment of the sick, she never ceased educating the youth. She was an energetic tolerant and contented woman. Very often needy people were not only exempted from paying her meagre honoraria, but also received medicaments for free. She was highly respected by the Bahá'í community and non-Bahá'í alike. Finally after twelve years of devoted service, she died of pneumonia in Tehran. [OLOMp43-44]
  • Susan Moody; Sehat Hospital; Sarah Clock; Elizabeth Stewart; Women; Social and economic development; Homeopathy; Names and titles; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1909 8 Nov
    190-
    Hájí Haydar, a leading Bahá'í of Najafábád, was shot and killed at Isfahán. [BBR432]
  • BRXXX and BW18:387 says this occurred on 5 November.
  • For Western accounts of the incident see BRR432–4.
  • Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Isfahan, Iran; Iran
    1909 Nov
    190-
    Charles Mason Remey and Howard Struven left the United States on the first Bahá'í teaching trip to circle the globe. [BFA2:348, GPB261]
  • They went to Hawaii, Japan, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong and to Burma, India and `Akká. [BFA2:348–50; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 2min56sec]
  • Charles Mason Remey; Howard Struven; Travel Teaching; Hawaii, USA; Japan; Shanghai, China; China; Singapore; Myanmar; India; Akka, Israel First teaching trip to circle globe
    1909 Oct
    190-
    The Persian-American Educational Society was founded and inaugurated in Washington DC on the January 1910. [BFA2:XVII; 355–8; Washington Herald 9 January 1910]
  • Its primary purpose was to assist the Tarbíyat School in Iran by establishing scholarships. Mr. Sidney Sprague was the administrator of the school at this time. Many Americans contributed toward scholarships for children. [BFA2:357]
  • Bahá'í associations; Tarbiyat School, Tihran; - Bahá'í inspired schools; Education; Washington, DC, USA; United States (USA); Iran
    1909 Oct
    190-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá gradually moved His family from `Akká to Haifa. [DH214] `Abdu'l-Bahá, House of; Haifa, Israel; Akka, Israel
    1909 20 Aug
    190-
    Birth of Paul Haney, Hand of the Cause of God, in Chicago.
  • His given name was `Abdu'l-Bahá, bestowed upon him by `Abdu'l-Bahá Himself at his birth.
  • His mother was born Mary Ida Parkhurst. 'Abdul-Bahá gave her the name Mariam. [BW14p343-346]
  • Paul Haney; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Mariam Haney; Chicago, IL; United States (USA)
    1909 28 Jul
    190-
    Bahá'ís in Námiq, Khurásán, were killed. [BW18:386] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Námiq, Iran; Khurásán, Iran; Iran
    1909 July 23
    190-
    Louis George Gregory accepted the Bahá'í Faith after investigating since 1907 when he attended a lecture given by Lua Getsinger. Joseph and Pauline Hannen were his teachers and became friends for life. At the time of his acceptance of the Faith the Washington community was not fully integrated. [Wikipedia] Louis G. Gregory; * Hands of the Cause; Washington, DC, USA; United States (USA)
    1909 18 Jul
    190-
    The accession of Ahmad Sháh Qajar, the boy-king, to the throne of Iran. He was twelve years old and because of his youth a regency was established under Azudu'l-Mulk, the head of the Qájár family. Ahmad's official coronation took place on the 21st of July, 1914. His reign formerly lasted until October 1925 when he was deposed by the Majles while he was absent in Europe. He was the last of the Qajar dynasty which had begun around 1789. [BBR482; CBM57]

    The period of this reign was of the so-called pénétration pacifique, the technical term used euphemistically in contemporary Western works, during which the country was subjugated by the Western Powers and lost its sovereignty as well as its natural resources. [Colonialism, Nationalism and Jewish Immigration to Palestine: Abdu´l-Bahá's Viewpoints Regarding the Middle East by Kamran Ekbal p6]

    Ahmad Shah; - Shahs; Qajar dynasty; - Shahs, Throne changes; History (general); Iran, General history; Colonialism and imperialism; Iran
    1909 16 Jul
    190-
    After an armed revolt, Muhammad-`Alí Sháh abdicated and the Iranian Constitution was resurrected. [BBR354, 482; Wikipedia]
  • The country soon deteriorated and anarchy prevailed. It was effectively partitioned into two spheres of influence, British and Russian. [BBRSM:87]
  • Muhammad-`Alí Sháh; Qajar dynasty; Iranian constitution; Iran
    1909 Summer
    190-
    Sir Ronald Storrs, then a student of Arabic of Edward Granville Browne, visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Akka. [BW10p192; CH226] Ronald Storrs; E. G. Browne; Akka, Israel
    1909 27 Apr
    190-
    `Abdu'l-Hamid II was deposed. [BBR486]

    Sultan 'Abdu'l-Hamid II lived from 1842 to 1918) and reigned from 1876 to 1909. During his reign large portions of the Ottoman Empire were lost. Following his defeat in the war with Russia in 1878, Tunisia was occupied by France (1881), and Egypt was controlled by Britain (1882). In 1897, the Empire was forced by the Europeans to recognize the autonomy of Crete. The Sultán ruled as a despot, and brutally repressed the Armenians between 1894-6. In 1908, due to the lack of support among the army and the rise of the Young Turks, 'Abdu'l-Hamid was forced re-enact the Constitution of 1876 which he had suspended earlier, and which, for the first time in an Islámic state, defined the rights of both the ruler and his subjects. He was ultimately deposed when he attempted to plot a counterrevolution against the Young Turks and was exiled to Salonika, where he died in disgrace.

  • See AY189-191 for a description of his riches and his last years. He died in January of 1918.
  • Accession of Muhammad (-Rishád) V [BBR486]

    The last Ottoman Sultán, Muhammad VI, was deposed and was succeeded briefly by a cousin, but in 1924, the caliphate was abolished by Ataturk. The seat of the Caliphate had been located in Istanbul since 1517. [ALM3; PDC98-102]

  • `Abdu'l-Hamid II; - Sultans; Muhammad-Rishad VI; Armenian genocide; Caliphate; Ottoman Empire; History (general); Istanbul, Turkey; Turkey
    1909 22 Apr
    190-
    Three Bahá'ís are killed in Hisár, Khurásán, and their wives seriously injured. [BW18:386] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Hisar, Iran; Khurásán, Iran; Iran
    1909 Mar–Apr
    190-
    Bahá'ís of Námiq, Khurásán, were attacked and Kad-khudá Ismá'íl was killed. [BW18:386] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Námiq, Iran; Khurásán, Iran; Iran
    1909 (Months following Mar)
    190-
    Construction of the Eastern Pilgrim House in Haifa begins. [BBD178]
  • Mírzá Ja`far Rahmání, (also know as Áqá Mírzá Ja'far Shírází) a believer from `Ishqábád, was given permission by `Abdu'l-Bahá to build it. [DH177, SES25-26]
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá composed an inscription that was placed above the entrance that read, "This is a spiritual Hostel for Pilgrims, and its founder is Mírzá Ja'far Rahmani. AH 1327."
  • This was the first property to be granted tax exemption by the civil authorities. [GPB307, SES43-47]
  • Pilgrim House, Eastern; Pilgrim Houses; Mírzá Jafar Rahmani; Aqa Mírzá Jafar Shirazi; Pilgrimage; - Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; * Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel First property granted tax exemption
    1909 21 Mar
    190-
    On the same day as the interment of the sacred remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel the first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. [BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3; SBBH1:146]
  • It was held in the home of Corinne True. [CT82–3]
  • It was attended by 39 delegates from 36 cities. [GPB262; SBBH1:146]
  • 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] iiiii
  • Conventions, National; Corinne True; Bahá'í Temple Unity; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; First conventions; National Spiritual Assembly; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Chicago, IL; United States (USA); Canada First American Bahá'í Convention
    1909 21 Mar
    190-
    The first printing of Volume 1 of Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by the Bahá'í Publishing Society in Chicago.
  • Laura Dreyfus-Barney was credited as being one of the translators. [ABF9not53]
  • Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá (book); * Publications; Laura Clifford Barney; Chicago, IL; United States (USA)
    1909 21 Mar
    190-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá laid the sacred remains of the Báb in their final resting place at the Shrine in Haifa. [AB126; BBD210; DH138; GBF103; GPB276]
  • See AB126–30, CT84 and GPB273–8 for details of the occasion and its history.
  • The Shrine was a simple rectangular structure of six rooms. [DH71, ZK284]
  • The marble sarcophagus used for the remains of the Báb was a gift from the Bahá'ís of Rangoon. [AB129; MC155]
  • For details of the sarcophagus see RB3:431.
  • Báb, Shrine of; Báb, Sarcophagus for; Sarcophagus; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Marble; Gifts; - Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; * Bahá'í World Centre; - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Bahá'í World Centre; Mount Carmel; Yangon, Myanmar; Myanmar; Chicago, IL; United States (USA)
    1909 Mar
    190-
    The third upheaval in Nayriz. Eighteen or nineteen Bahá'ís were brutally assassinated in Nayríz when the Constitutionalists took control of the city. [BBR369; BW18:386; DH71, 138; GPB298; RB1:268] Constitutionalists; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Nayriz, Iran; Iran
    1909 Jan c.
    190-
    Isabella Brittingham organized 12 Bahá'í women into a `Unity Band' to write monthly to the 12 Bahá'í women's clubs formed in Iran. [BFA2:294] Isabella Brittingham; Women; Writing; New Jersey, USA; United States (USA); Iran
    1909 (In the Year)
    190-
    Martha Root became a Bahá'í. [SYH58] Martha Root
    1909 (In the year)
    190-
    The Bahá'í community of Saint Paul, Minnesota began in 1909 when Dr. Clement Woolson, who became a Bahá'í in New York City in 1899, moved to Saint Paul to establish a Bahá'í community there. Both Clement and his wife Leona were osteopathic doctors and active Bahá'ís. The Woolsons held weekly Bahá'í gatherings in their home in Saint Paul.

    In 1912 Clement was a delegate to the 4th Bahá'í National Convention in Chicago and Leona was the alternate delegate representing the Bahá'ís of Saint Paul. At the end of the convention, on May 1st, 1912, they were able to attend the large gathering in Wilmette, Illinois when Abdu'l-Bahá laid the cornerstone for the House of Worship.

    On September 20th, 1912, Abdu'l-Bahá spoke in the Woolson home on spiritual education. Dr. Clement Woolson was an eloquent speaker and as a result of their firesides, others were soon declaring their faith. By 1922 there were nine Bahá'ís in Saint Paul. Among those attending the gatherings at the Woolsons were the Abas, Kadrie and Hider families. These three families from Syria moved to New York in 1902 and on to Saint Paul in 1922. First Hassen Abas attended the gatherings and soon after Alex Kadrie and Kamel Hider were attending talks at the Woolson home. By 1930 or soon after all three had become Baha'is on fire with the Cause of Baha'u'llah. These were large families; Hassen Abas and his wife Madie had nine children of their own. Their daughter Gayle Abas accepted the Baha'i Faith in 1932 at the age of 19. Three years later, after Dr. Woolson's his first wife Leona died, Gayle Abas married Clement. Dr. Woolson passed away a few months later. In 1976 Gayle Woolson wrote a biography about the Abas, Kadrie and Hider families. [A Saint Paul Bahá'í Community History: The Early Years]

    St. Paul, MN; United States (USA)
    1909 (In the year)
    190-
    The publication of A Year With the Bahá'ís of India and Burma by Sydney Sprague. It was published by Priory Press in London. PDF1908 [Collins 7.2467]

    The book was republished in 1986 by Kalimat Press. PDF1986.

      This short memoir is the account of the first visit by a Western Bahá'í to South and Southeast Asia, at the behest of Master himself. Sprague has given us a priceless description of several early Bahá'í communities in the region. From the author's pilgrimage to 'Akka, and the instructions given to him by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, through trips to Bombay, Rangoon, and Mandalay, then to Delhi and Lahore, we see a broad spectrum of Bahá'í community and life at the turn of the twentieth century. Sprague paints a clear picture of the transforming power of the Faith's message of unity in diversity that could bring together Muslims, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, and Hindus as a single-family.
    the first visit by a Western Bahá'í to South and Southeast Asia
    1909 (In the year)
    190-
    The publication of Observations of a Bahai Traveller 1908 by Charles Mason Remey. The book was a narrative of travels in 1908 among the Bahá'ís of the Holy Land, Iran and Turkestan. [Collins 7.2254] Observations of a Bahá'í Traveller 1908; Charles Mason Remey; East Lansing, MI
    1909 (In the year)
    190-
    Juliet Thompson made a pilgrimage to 'Akka and met with 'Abdu'l-Bahá., [ABF19] Juliet Thompson; Pilgrims; Akka, Israel
    1909 (In the year)
    190-
    The passing of Robert Turner (b. 15 October, 1855 or 1856, Virginia d. 1909 California)
  • the first African-American Bahá'í and a member of the first Western Pilgrimage to Haifa in 1898, led by his employer Mrs. Phoebe Hearst. He was a butler in her household for more than 35 years. He was taught the Bahá'í Faith by Lua Getsinger in the process of serving tea and remained a devoted believer his entire life. "Such was the tenacity of his faith that even the subsequent estrangement of his beloved mistress from the Cause she had spontaneously embraced failed to becloud its radiance, or to lessen the intensity of the emotions which the loving-kindness showered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá upon him had excited in his breast." (GPB259) [A Vision of Race Unity, Ving p101, AZBF475, An Early Pilgrimage by May Maxwell]
  • He received a Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Bahá while on his deathbed and a tribute after his passing. [AY60, 61, 339, AB72]
  • He was one of the nineteen Western Bahá'ís designated as a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • A Tablet to him from 'Abdu'l-Bahá can be found in SWABpg114 #78 and 'Abdu'l-Bahá in America (website).
  • See also Bahaipedia, Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • Find a Grave. His grave was found in 1981 and identified with a gravestone placed by the National Spiritual Assembly. [Bahá'í News No 604 July 1981 p12]
  • Ask a Bahá'í.
  • Robert Turner; - Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá; Firsts, other; Phoebe Hearst; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Virginia, USA; California, USA; United States (USA) the first African-American Baha'i
    1909 (In the year)
    190-
    Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, became a Bahá'í. [BFA2:156]

    In the same year he was married to May Bolles. [WMSH16-17]

    Sutherland Maxwell; * Hands of the Cause; Montreal, QC; Quebec, Canada; Canada
    1909 (In the year)
    190-
    Karl Kruttner, a professor in Bohemia, became a Bahá'í, the first person to do so in the Austro-Hungarian empire. [Bahaipedia 1909] Karl Kruttner; First Bahá'ís by country or area; Bohemia, Czech Republic; Germany The first person to become a Bahá'í in the Austro-Hungarian empire..
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