Chronology: Date 1946

date	event	tags	firsts
1946 - 1963	The end of the First Epoch and the beginning of The Second Epoch of the Formative Age. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 5 February 1986; Mess63-86 p710-716] See the attachment for the above-referenced message entitled The Epochs of the Formative Age prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. It began with the launching of the second Seven Year Plan and the adoption of similar plans by other national communities throughout the Bahá'i world and ended with the conclusion of the Ten Year Crusade and the election of the Universal House of Justice. [Mess86-01p815]	Ages and Epochs; Formative Age
1946 (In the year)	In the second Seven Year Plan from 1946 to 1952, the American Bahá'í community was given the responsibility of working for the establishment of bahá'í communities in several european countries. A European Teaching Committee, which was responsible to the North American National Spiritual Assembly, was set up in Geneva in 1946. Its task was to coordinate the pioneer activities in ten European goal countries; Denmark, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal. [SBBR14p239] The Committee was chaired by Edna True. [SBBR14p241] Of the pioneers that arrived during this period, Dagmar Dole (stayed 1947 to 1951)) and Eleanor Hollibaugh (stayed May 1947 to October 1948 and March 1950 to October 1950) had the most influence on the growth of the community. [SBBR14p239-243] As of 1946 Geresina Campani of Florence was the only known Bahá'í in Italy. In her letter, published in part in Bahá'í News she wrote of the hardship due to the devastation caused by the Allied bombing. [SYH232]	European Teaching Committee; Edna True; Geresina Campani; Denmark; Norway; Sweden; Netherlands; Belgium; Luxembourg; Geneva, Switzerland; Switzerland; Italy; Spain; Portugal
1946 (In the year)	The restoration of the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Tihrán was completed.	House of Bahá'u'lláh (Tihran); Restoration; Tehran, Iran; Iran
1946 (In the year)	The first issue of the News Exchange was published by the International Bahá'í Bureau in Geneva. The last issue was published in December of 1956. It was published in English, French and German. [CBN No 89 June 1957 p5]	International Bahá'í Bureau; Bahá'í International Community; - Newsletters; * Publications; News Exchange; Anne Lynch; Geneva, Switzerland; Switzerland
1946 (In the year)	The publication of Abdul Baha's Questioned Will and Testament by Ruth White. The book contains the report of Dr C Ainsworth Mitchell, the handwriting expert for the British Museum.	Ruth White; Covenant-breakers; `Abdu'l-Bahá, Will and Testament of; Beverly Hills, CA; California, USA
1946 (In the year)	The first Bahá'í summer school in Argentina was held in Ezeiza. [BW11:45]	Summer schools; First summer and winter schools; Ezeiza, Argentina; Argentina	first Bahá’í summer school in Argentina
1946 (In the year)	An Egyptian Bahá'í, a Dr Ahmad, moved to Edinburgh in order to study medicine and to fulfill one of the goals of the Six Year Plan, He invited travel teacher to speak in Edinburgh and was soon joined by Jean Court from Canada. He returned to Egypt prior to the formation of the local spiritual assembly two years later. [from The Bahá'í Community in Edinburgh, 1946-1950 by Ismail Valesco in SBBH Vol 14 p275]	Dr Ahman; Jean Court; Edinburgh, Scotland; Scotland
1946 Jan-Feb	Canadian Elizabeth Greenleaf went on pilgrimage in Haifa. [SETPE1p114]	Elizabeth Greenleaf; Pilgrims; Haifa, Israel
1946 20 - 25 Jan	The first teaching conference in Latin America was held in Panama City on the instructions of Shoghi Effendi. Twenty–five delegates from ten South American countries attended. [BW10p707, Historical Background of the Panama Temple by Ruth Pringle]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, International; Teaching; Panama; Latin America	first teaching conference in Latin America
1946 11 Apr	Shoghi Effendi instructed Sutherland Maxwell to set plans in motion for the first stages of the building of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb. [GBF104–5]	Sutherland Maxwell; Báb, Shrine of; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; - Bahá'í World Centre; Mount Carmel; Haifa, Israel
1946 Ridván	India and Burma launched a Four and One-Half Year Plan, Indian 4½ Year Plan. (1946-1951) [Ruhi 8.2 p46; BW11p32; DND141-143; The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement) p2] The goals were: - To increase the number of Local Assemblies from 21 to 63 - To give special attention to areas marked by sharp cultural and political divisions As the plan unfolded, the National Assembly added the following additional goals: - To publish the Esslemont book - 'Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era' in eighteen new languages - To acquire a National Hazíratu'l-Quds in New Delhi - To carry the Bahá'í message to Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand	- Teaching Plans; - Teaching Plans, National; India, Pakistan and Burma Four and a Half Year Teaching Plan; India; Pakistan; Myanmar
1946 Ridván	The Second Seven Year Plan of the United States and Canada (1946-1953) was launched. [BBR180; BBRSM158, 185; MA87-89, MA89] For details of the plan see BW16:81–2. Objectives: Consolidate victories won; Complete interior ornamentation; Form 3 NSAs in Canada, Central and South America; Support spread of Faith into Europe; Supplemental goals to support Africa. [The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement)p2] This marked the end of the First Epoch and the beginning of the Second Epoch of the Formative Age. [CB316; CF5–6] The Second Epoch was marked by the global spread of the Faith and concluded with the election of the Universal House of Justice.	Second Seven Year Plan, US and CA (1946-1953); - Teaching Plans; - Teaching Plans, National; Formative Age; Ages and Epochs; USA; Canada
1946 Ridván	The first local spiritual assembly in Brazil was established in Rio de Janeiro.	Local Spiritual Assembly; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Brazil
1946 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria was re-established. [BN No 187 September 1946 p8-9] It was elected for the first time since 1937. Those elected were: Fred Kohler, Dr Adelheid Jäger, De Hermann Grossmann, Martha Brauns-Forel, Erwin Knorr, Paul Golfer, Edith Horn, Martel Weiss, Hede Schubert. [The German Baha'i Community under National Socialism p18] Three American servicemen, Bruce Davison, John Eichenauer, and Capt Henry Jarvis rendered service to the stricken community. See the article The Baha'i Faith: Banned by the Nazis and the Communists by Caroline Fowler on Bahá'í Teachings.org. It would appear that there was no Austrian representation at this National Convention nor at the National Convention the following year. [BW11p30] See The German Baha'i Community under National Socialism p21-26 for the persecution of the Bahá'í community before and during the war.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Germany; Austria
1946 Ridván	The first local spiritual assembly in Panama was established Panama City.	Local Spiritual Assembly; Panama	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Panama
1946 Jun	Rita Marshall, the first person native to St Vincent in the Caribbean to become a Bahá'í, accepted the Faith while in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her husband, Ernest Marshall, became a Bahá'í in November 1946.	First Bahá'ís by country or area; St. Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Halifax, NS; Nova Scotia, Canada; Canada	first Bahá'í of St Vincent
1946 21 Jun	The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. It was established as a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on this day in 1946. UN Document E/90]	United Nations; Commission on the Status of Women; New York, USA; New York, USA
1946 (In the year 1946 or 1947)	While visiting in Famagusta (Gazimağusa) Rúḥíyyih Khánum is quoted as saying: "Shoghi Effendi was working very intensely in Haifa and people were knocking on his door all the time to ask questions; because of that, during his unofficial travels to rest (holidays), he was traveling around quietly (incognito), and without contacting the believers. We came to Cyprus together for two or three weeks in one of the years 1946 or 1947 – if I look (in my diary) I can find the year. We went to Nicosia, and then we got a car and went to Famagusta, Larnaca and then again Nicosia. I can't remember whether we went to Limassol. Afterwards we went to St. Hilarion. There weren't good hotels in the Troodos area then, and because of that we stayed in a small house for a while. This is all I can say about this visit." [Notes of the Visit to Famagusta of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum in the home of Erol & Şafak Olkar Notes taken by: Erol Olkar. The English translation of the original Turkish language handwritten manuscript of Erol Olkar was by Deniz Oraç.]	Shoghi Effendi, Travels of; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum, Journeys of; Famagusta, Cyprus; Nicosia, Cyprus; Larnaca, Cyprus; St. Hilarion, Cyprus; Cyprus
1946 20 Jul	The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States enquired of the Guardian whether the existence of the United Nations in its present form changed the attitude of the Baha'is toward military duties which might require the taking of human life. The Guardian's reply, written by his secretary, was: ...the Bahá'ís should continue to apply, under all circumstances, for exemption from any military duty that necessitates the taking of life. There is no justification for any change of attitude on our part at the present time. The Universal House of Justice amplified this later statement: There is no objection in a Bahá'í enlisting voluntarily in the armed forces of a country in order to obtain a training in some trade or profession, provided that he can do so without making himself liable to undertake combatant service. [BW17:384–5]	Armed Forces; Military; Weapons; War; USA
1946 22 Jul	The passing of John David Bosch (named "Núraní by 'Abdu'l-Bahá) at his home near Geyserville, California (b. August 1, 1855 at Neu-St Johann, Canton Gall, Switzerland) He had become a Bahá'í in 1905. His teachers being Mrs Beckwith, Mrs Goodall, Mrs Cooper and Thornton Chase. He was buried in the Olive Hill Cemetery, Geyserville. [BW11p488] He and Louise Stapfer married on the 19th of January 1914 in San Francisco. 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent a Tablet. [WmSh21] He, along with George Latimer and Leroy Ioas, were appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly to find a location to establish a "Western Green Acre". John donated his 35 acre estate. For a pen portrait and biography of John and Louise Bosch see Other People Other Places by Marzieh Gail pages 182-194 or Bahá'í News page 705. For pictures of John and Louise Bosch see the Bosch Bahá'í School site. For Shoghi Effendi's tribute to him see MA106. See When the Moon Set Over Haifa by Angelina Diliberto Allen pages 11-52 for an account of the Bosch's time in Haifa during the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.	In Memoriam; John Bosch; Louise Bosch; Geyserville, CA; California, USA; USA; - Bahá'í schools (conference centres); Bosch Bahá'í School
1946 5 Aug	The Bahá'í Faith was registered as a cultural, religious and social organization in Haiti.	Recognition (legal); Haiti
1946 11 Aug	The passing of Orcella Rexford (b. Louise Cutts-Powell, 12 Jun 1887 in Tracey, Minnesota) in Los Angeles. She was buried near the grave of Thornton Chase in the Inglewood Park Cemetery. [BW11p495-498; Find a grave] Orcella first heard of the Bahá'í Faith from Mrs. Myrta Sandoz of Cleveland, Ohio, and was later confirmed by Dr. Edward Getsinger in Boston, Mass. She became a believer in 1918-1919. [BW11p495] For a brief biography see Bahá'í Chronicles. For a more extensive biography see Bahaipedia. See her article, Alaska, Our New Frontier. [BW9p918-922]	Orcella Rexford; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Cemeteries and graves; Thornton Chase; Los Angeles, CA; USA
1946 14 Sep	The first native Ecuadorian woman to accept the Faith was Judith Franco. [Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 p21]	Judith Franco; Quito, Ecuador; Ecuador	first Ecuadorian woman to accept the Faith
1946 Oct 11	The Bahá'ís of Iran launched a Forty-five Month Plan, the Persian 45 Month Plan ( 11 October 1946 to 9 July 1950, The Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb). Every province had specific assignments. [BBRSM158; CB316] The objectives of the plan included; 1. Consolidation of all local Bahá'í communities. 2. Reestablishment of 62 dissolved Assemblies. (93 LSAs formed) 3. Formation of 22 groups. (37 established) 4. Creation of 13 new centres. (24 localities established) 5. Development of Assemblies from groups in three adjoining countries, namely in Kabul, Afghanistan, Mecca, Arabia and Bahrein Island, Persian Gulf. 6. The formation of groups in four localities on the Arabian Peninsula. 7. The sending pioneers to India and 'Iráq to assist in the formation of new groups. The Bahá'ís of Tehran were called upon to send out 50 families into the pioneer field. (160 arose) Every individual Bahá'í was included in the operation of the Plan-as a volunteer, by deputizing a pioneer, by contributing funds, by circuit teaching or by providing hospitality to students whose parents had become pioneers. [BW4p34-35; BW11p34-36] Concurrent with the Forty-Five Month Plan the Bahá'ís of Iran made a concerted effort to remove Bahá'í women from the traditional shackles of a lack of education and an inability to participate in public affairs. Women's conferences were held, educational opportunities were created, equality of opportunity, right and privilege was declared to be an essential. [BW11p36].	- Teaching Plans; - Teaching Plans, National; Social and economic development; Women; Iran; India; Pakistan; Myanmar
1946 Oct	The Persian Women's Four Year Plan (1946-1950) was launched. Some goals were to: -Hold literacy classes for girls and adult women -Hold regional conventions semi-annually for Bahá'í women -Hold a national convention annually with the participation of representatives of regional committees -Issue a periodical covering topics of both Bahá'í and general history, science, literature, health, hygiene, housekeeping and care of children	- Teaching Plans; Iran
1946 22 Nov	Amelia Collins was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi. [PP258; PSBW878] He dId not make this appointment public until 24 December 1951 when he announced the first contingent of the Hands. [MoCxxiii]	Amelia Collins; - Hands of the Cause; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent
1946 13 Dec	The passing of Muhammad Taqí Isfahání. He had been born in Persia and was horrified by the behaviour of Mullá Muhammad Báqir (The Wolf) and Imám-Jum'íh who had killed the two brothers Muhammad Husayn and Muhammad Hasan so he left for Egypt and encountered many believers on his way. He passed through Akka and met both Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'-Bahá. His name is closely associated with the early progress of the Faith in Egypt. His house was the centre of activity and was were both Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl and Lua Getsinger spent their last days. He received 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His visit to Egypt. He was the chief member of the Publishing Committee and helped to translate many books into Arabic such as the Iqán and Some Answered Questions. The Guardian announced his elevation to the rank of Hand of the Cause of God two days after his passing and donated a sum of money to be used for his tomb. He is buried in the Bahá'í Cemetery. [MoCxxii, BW11p500-502]	- Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi; Hands of the Cause, Activities; In Memoriam; Muhamman Taqi Isfahani; Lua Getsinger; Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani; * Translation; Egypt
1946 23 Dec	Virginia Orbison, from the United States, left Brazil for a pioneer post in Madrid. The airplane she traveled in was named 'O bandeirante' ('The Pioneer').	Virginia Orbison; Madrid, Spain
Try also a shorter date like 194 try also the Chronology Canada — 1946 or 194

Home

Site Map

Links