She was born in 1887 and named Akkawiya (the one who belongs to ‘Akká) by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. She was the granddaughter of Hadji Abderrehim Yazdi, one of the first bearers of the Sacred Standard. Born in the fortress of ‘Akká, she grew up in the Sacred Household under the shelter of the Greatest Holy Leaf.
With her mother, she moved to Alexandria, Egypt where for a few months she was in charge of cleaning the private room of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and was asked by Him several times to sew some of His clothes. She was entrusted to be the Early Prayer Reader of His private quarters.She was the first woman to become a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Alexandria, and dedicated her time to deepening the women in her locality.
She passed away on October 6, 1971 and was buried in the Bahá’í Cemetery at Rabat, Morocco. Her funeral was attended by a large number of believers of Morocco, the majority native believers; also in attendance was a representative from the Íránian Embassy in Rabat. A message was sent from the Universal House of Justice to honour her life of service. [BN No 490 January 1972 p7]

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 Stanford Libraries preserves and makes accessible to all students and researchers a wealth of rare and unique archival materials and books on the Bahá'í Faith. The initial donation of the Jack H. Lee and Arden T. Lee Baha'i Collection in 2012, one of the most extensive private libraries of materials related to the Bahá'í Faith, includes thousands of books, letters, newspaper clippings, photographs and early Bahá'í publications from many countries and in various languages, from Urdu to Japanese to Greenlandic.
• Holdings in the Bahá'í Collection also include the personal materials from the life's work of renowned educator, psychologist and philosopher Daniel C. Jordan (which include the only original 16 mm film of his ballet, Metamorphosis of the Owls, as well as the Bahá'í Library of Hourolain and Nasrollah Maghzi, an important collection of Persian rare books.
• Donations to the physical collection or monetary contributions can be made. [Bahá'í Collection; Bahá'í Collection donations: Contributions are to specify "Stanford University Libraries and The Fund for the Jack and Arden Lee Baha’i Collection = account KBBLX"]

• The first Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh was Hájí Sháh-Muhammad-i-Manshádí, or Jináb-i-Sháh Muhammad from Manshád, Yazd who had become a believer in Baghdad. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 25 March, 1985]
• His title was Amínu'l-Bayán (Trustee of the Bayán).
• He made many journeys between Iran and the Holy Land carrying donations and petitions from the friends and returning with Tablets and news.
• See SABF47-48 for the story of the lost coin given as a donation by a very poor woman.
• He was tasked with receiving the casket of the Báb after the location had been discovered by a number of believers. He transferred it to the Mosque of Imámzádih Zayd in Tehran where it was buried beneath the floor of the inner sanctuary of the shrine. It was consequently discovered and moved to a series of private homes in Tehran until 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent for it for the internment. [ISC-1963p32]
• Hájí Sháh-Muhammad was in 'Akká when Áqá Buzurg, entitled Badí', came to confer with Bahá'u'lláh. He and Badí met on Mount Carmel as directed by Bahá'u'lláh.
• He was killed as a result of wounds incurred during an attack during a Kurdish revolt. [RoB3p73]

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. [Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 by Helen Basset Hornby p69; 77]

See History of Information.

MacNutt arrived in Chicago on August 8th. At ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s instructions, a feast was held on August 10, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Lesch, where the entire Chicago Bahá'í community was invited to be the guests of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. MacNutt delivered to the community ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s message of unity and love. The election was held the following day the 11th of August.

On Sunday evening, the 1rth of August, the Chicago Assembly selected a "Spiritual Meeling'' of nine, composed of men and women. whose service-according to the wish of Abdul-Ilahá -is, first, to propagate the teachings of the Revelation, and, second, to attend to other matters necessary lo the welfare of the assembly. [SoW Vol 3 No 9 20 August 1912 p16]

The report can be found on Bahá'í Library.

In August 1932 he died after a brief illness and was interred at Cypress Lawn cemetery. The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of San Francisco expressed its "grief and sense of serious loss" and paid tribute to "the untiring services and inspiring leadership of their first Chairman, Dr Frederick W. D'Evelyn". [Bahá'í Council website]

He subsequently wrote to Lt-Col Justin Sheil, the British Minister in Tihran on the 16th of January and again to Canning on the 25th of the month. [BBRp4, 83-90]

Anwer Cadir was one of Sri Lanka’s earliest civil engineers, who served under Lord Mountbatten in the Royal Engineering Corps at Peradeniya Gardens during World War II. After the war, he later worked for the Ceylon Public Works Department before traveling to Burma (Myanmar) to work as an engineer and there he married a Burmese lady. In Sri Lanka, he worked on the Gal Oya project and on the Norton Bridge Dam project. In Nigeria, he worked on the Niger River dam project,

On February 9, 2025 was the day of the launch in Sri Lanka of the biography, The Lamp of the Company Above – the life story of Anwer Cadir of Dehiowita. The author, Ian Bayly, came from Australia for this special occasion after releasing his book in India, Myanmar, Thailand and Nigeria, which were also countries in which the late Anwer Cadir lived in and served their communities. The book launch was held at Hill House, Pirivena Road, Dehiowita, which was Mr. Anwer Cadir’s family home, where he was born and passed away. [Sunday Observer]

In another message about a year later he provided further details. [MBW78-79]

Agnes Carey was the first person from Pretoria to become a Bahá'í and served as a member of the Local assembly from 1925 to 1929.