This chronology is an updated, expanded version of A Basic Baha'i Chronology by Glenn Cameron and Wendi Momen. To help add or correct entries, contact Glenn. |
World | |||
date | event | tags |
1866 1 Dec
186- |
Birth
Marion Jack, prominent Bahá'í travel teacher, pioneer and artist, known affectionately as 'General jack' for her services to the Bahá'í community, in Saint John, New Brunswick.
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Marion Jack; General Jack; Saint John, NB |
1874 14 Nov
187- |
Birth of William Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, in Montreal. | William Sutherland Maxwell; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Montreal, QC |
1893 11-27 Sep
189- |
The World Parliament of Religions, the largest of the congresses held in conjunction with the World Columbian Exposition, was the first formal inter-religious dialogue worldwide of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. The conference included new religious movements of the time, such as Spiritualism and Christian Science. The latter was represented by its founder Mary Baker Eddy. Rev. Henry Jessup addressing the World Parliament of Religions was the first to mention the Bahá'í Faith in the United States (it had previously been known in Europe. A number of Canadians who attended sessions at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Illinois in 1893 became Bahá'ís. Since then Bahá'ís have become active participants in the World Parliament of Religions. [OBCC1-2] | Parliament of the World's Religions; Chicago, IL |
1893 (Late summer)
189- |
Fourteen year old Edith Magee of London was sent by her parents to visit and aunt and uncle in Chicago, Mr and Mrs Guy Magee. He was the editor of the Chicago Tribune and had been in close contact with many of the leading figures of the Parliament of Religions. He was attracted by the quotation of E G Browne in the presentation of Dr Henry Jessup and further investigation led him to Ibrahim Kheirullah who was gathering a class of interested inquirers. Edith's mother had raised her two daughters to share her passion to look for religious truth. Upon learning of the Faith Edith hurried home to share her findings with her mother and other relatives. Mrs Magee left immediately for Chicago, found Kheirullah and enrolled in his first class. She returned to London a Bahá'í and with her two daughters, Edith and Harriet formed the first Bahá'í group in Canada. In 1902 Edit moved to New York to study music. When her father John Magee passed away her mother and sister Harriet followed her. All three women remained steadfast believers, active in the New York and Green Acre communities. Harriet became a friend of Abdu'l-Bahá's translator Ahmad Sohrab and his letters to her after His departure from America have become a valuable account of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's movements and activities. Edit Magee became Mrs Edith Englis and spent her last years in Alexandria, Virginia with her son and daughter-in-law. [CBN September 1966 p6; OBBC1; BFA2p156] |
Edith Magee; Harriet Magee; Mrs Magee; Ahmad Sohrab; London, ON |
1893 23 Sep
189- |
First public reference in North America to the Bahá'í Faith.
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Henry Jessup; Ester Magee; Edith Magee; Harriet Magee; Mrs Jonathon Magee; George A. Ford; Chicago, IL; London, ON |
1893 23 Sep
189- |
Bahá'u'lláh's recent passing in Akká was announced to the World Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago, in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition, 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492, Rev. George A. Ford of Syria read a paper written by Rev. Henry H. Jessup, D.D., Director of Presbyterian Missionary Operations in North Syria to the audience. In his paper Reverend Jessup called Bahá'u'lláh "a famous Persian Sage" and "the Bábí Saint" "the Glory of God" had died recently in Akká. Jessup described how Professor Edward Granville Browne of Cambridge University had visited and interviewed Bahá'u'lláh in Bahji just outside the fortress of Akka on the Syrian coast in April 1890 and that during those four interviews Bahá'u'lláh had expressed "sentiments so noble, so Christ-like" that the author of the paper, in his "closing words," wished to share them with his audience. Jessup described Bahá'u'lláh as head of a group of Persians who "who accept the New Testament as the word of God, and Christ as the deliverer of man; who regard all natives as one, and all men as brothers." Jessop closed his paper with these words,(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, page 256; (Jessup, Henry H., Ed. 1894. Neely, F. Tennyson Neely. 1894. "The Religious Mission of the English-Speaking Nations." Neely's History of the Parliament of Religions and Religious Congresses of the World's Columbian Exposition. Chicago. pages 637-641.)
"That all nations should become one in faith, and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should, and differences of race, be annulled; what harm is there in this? Yet so it shall be. These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the "most great peace" shall come. Do not you in Europe need this also? Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this that he loves his kind." -Bahá'u'lláh |
Chicago, IL |
1894 (In the year)
189- |
Kate Ives (b.1863-d.1927) of Newfoundland parentage, who lived in Chicago, accepted the Faith in Chicago in February. She is considered the first steadfast North American Bahá'í woman. [OBCC17, 108] Other Canadians who accepted the Faith in Chicago were: |
Esther Rennels; Paul K. Dealy; William Henry Jackson; Honoré Jaxon; James Oakshette; Aimee Montfort; James Carmichael; Kate Ives; Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; New Brunswick, Canada |
1902 (In the year)
190- |
Bahá'í groups were established in Canada. [BBRSM:106-7; BFA2:160; SBBH1:135; CBN No 82 November, 1956 p1] | Bahá'í Groups; Canada |
1902 8 May
190- |
May Bolles married Sutherland Maxwell in London and moved from Paris to Montreal. [BW8:635; GPB260] It can be said that the history of the Bahá'í Faith in Canada began at this point. | May Bolles; Sutherland Maxwell; London, ON; Montreal, QC |
1903 (In the year)
190- |
Thornton Chase, considered the 1st American Bahá'í, visited Winnipeg, MB on a business trip. [OBCC34] | Thornton Chase; Winnipeg, MB |
1905 (In the year)
190- |
Agnes Alexander, living in Japan at the time, became the first Bahá'í to travel to the Yukon. [OBCC306] | Agnes Alexander; Yukon, Canada |
1906 (In the year)
190- |
Alí Kuli Khán, his wife Florence Breed and son Rahím, then living in Washington, DC, visited Montreal early in the year becoming the first Persian Bahá'í to visit Canada. During their nine-day visit May Maxwell rented a house for them and he taught the Faith to large gatherings. [OBCC35] | `Alí Kulí Khán; Florence Breed; May Maxwell; Montreal, QC |
1906 16 Sep
190- |
Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a tablet to the Montreal Community through Percy Woodcock. [BFA2p157, Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas, vol.II, pp.531-3] | Percy Woodcock; Montreal, QC |
1907 (In the year)
190- |
Honoré Jaxon gave an address to the trades and labour congress in Winnipeg. [Bloodworth, Grains of Wheat p6; Free Press 4 October 1909] | Honoré Jaxon; Winnipeg, MB |
1908 (In the year)
190- |
There were 16 Bahá'ís in Montreal.
|
Percy Woodcock; James Oakshette; Montreal, QC; Brockville, ON; Toronto, ON |
1908 22 May
190- |
Thornton Chase was the first Bahá'í to visit Victoria, BC. [OBCC34] | Thornton Chase; Victoria, BC |
1908 (Summer)
190- |
Mirza Enayatullah and Prof. M. Barakatullah were the guests of Percy Woodcock in Brockville, ON. During their stay there, Mr. Woodcock invited from time to time several ladies and gentlemen to introduce them to his guests.
Prof. Barakatullah attended the Sunday school in the Presbyterian church in Brockville for three consecutive Sundays and took part in a debate on the subject of the "Millennium." [Bahá'í Bulletin Vol 1 No 1 p13] |
Percy Woodcock; Mírzá Enayatullah; Prof. M. Barakatullah; Brockville, ON |
1909 (In the year)
190- |
Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, became a Bahá'í. [BFA2:156] | Sutherland Maxwell; * Hands of the Cause; Montreal, QC |
1909 21 Mar
190- |
"The first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. [BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3; SBBH1:146]
|
National Convention; Corinne True; Bahá'í Temple Unity; Constitution; Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity; Chicago, IL |
1910 (In the year)
191- |
A Bahá'í, Marielle C. Ladd, resided in Benson Siding until 1923, a settlement 35mi southwest of Nelsen, BC. [BFA2p157, OBCC122] | Marielle C. Ladd; Benson Siding, BC |
1910 (In the year)
191- |
Mr and Mrs Henry Stark Culver, Bahá'ís from New York City, settled in Saint John, NB where they actively taught the Faith and became the second Bahá'í group in Canada in the "teens". [BFA2p157]
|
Henry Stark Culver; Mrs Stark Culver; Saint John, NB |
1910 5 Jan
191- |
On this date a contribution was recorded to "Temple Unity" from an unknown Bahá'í in Winnipeg. [Bloodworth, Grains of Wheat p6] | Winnipeg, MB |
1911 (In the year)
191- |
The first Alberta Baha'i, Esther Rennels, is reported to have lived in Edmonton from 1911-1917. The Bahá'í community has been in continuous existence only since 1940. [OBCC152; History of the Bahá'ís of Edmonton] | Esther Rennels; Edmonton, AB |
1912 (In the year)
191- |
It is estimated that there were no more than two dozen Bahá'ís in Canada at this point. [BFA2p158] | Statistics |
1912 Jan (Early)
191- |
Letter from May Maxwell to Star of the West... "Early in January we received a visit from Mirza Ahmad Sohrab who announced the coming of Abdul-Baha to America and spoke of his visit to England and France. Among those who heard this address was the leader of the Socialist party of Montreal and other Socialists, the editor of the leading newspaper of Canada and several people connected with public work. Later this paper published a very good article on the Bahai Message and the coming visit of Abdul-Baha." [SoW Vol 3 No 1 March 21, 1912] | Ahmad Sohrab; May Maxwell; Montreal, QC |
1912 Jan
191- |
Letter from May Maxwell to Star of the West... A few weeks later another talk given by a Montreal Bahai, on the significance of Abdul-Baha's visit to the occident, which was shortly followed by an address by Mr. Honore Jaxon, of Chicago, who presented the Bahai Message from the standpoint of the working class movement. Mr. Jaxon had just returned from England where he had been doing a work of seed-sowing and preparation among the organized labor people and socialists, and in his very broad and comprehensive talk in Montreal he showed the vital connection between these world-wide movements and the Teachings of Baha'o'llah. Mr. Jaxon spoke to several bodies and societies in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec in such a spirit as to arouse interest and establish ties of good-will and fellowship, which will no doubt be the means of opening wide many doors for the reception of Abdul-Baha and the all-embracing Truth. [SoW Vol 3 No 1 March 21, 1912] | Honoré Jaxon; May Maxwell; Montreal, QC; Ottawa, ON; Toronto, ON; Québec City, QC |
1912 25 Jan
191- |
Regina, SK | |
1912 C. 21 Aug
191- |
Ali Kuli Khan, a Persian Bahá'í diplomat posted to Washington,DC, visited Lethbridge to attend an agricultural conference leaving Washington during 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í visit to do so. [AY83; The Distance Traversed a presentation by Bev Knolton and Joan Young 2022]
|
`Alí Kulí Khán; Lethbridge, AB |
1912 30 Aug (Friday)
191- |
`Abdu'l-Bahá left Malden for Boston. He left Boston at 9AM by train for Montreal, arriving at midnight and was met by Sutherland Maxwell. He took only two of His attendants with Him, Mírzá Ahmad Sohrab and Mírzá Mahmúd-i-Zarqání, HIs chronicler. [239D:132; AB132; BW8:637]
|
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; Maxwell residence; Montreal Shrine; Malden, MA; Boston, MA; Montreal, QC |
1912 31 Aug (Saturday)
191- |
His first act in the morning was to heal the sick child of a neighbouring family, the Birks. The nine year old had been an invalid all her life. Caressingly He laid His hands on her head and shoulders and then told the family that she must go out every day, in the middle of the day, on the ground, and that in time she would be entirely healed. Nine months later, she was perfectly healthy and strong. On leaving their home He went directly to their store and bought a number of watches and rings which He used as gifts on the rest of His trip. [ABC53]
"As only material education is imparted and only natural philosophy is taught, these universities do not produce highly talented scholars. When both the natural and divine philosophies are expounded, they will bring forth outstanding souls and evince great advancement. The reason for the success of the Greek schools was that they combined both natural and diving philosophies". [MD228] "Behold what eleven disciples of Christ have accomplished, how they sacrificed themselves! I exhort you to walk in their footsteps. When a person is detached, he is capable of revolutionizing the whole world. The disciples of Christ met together in consultation on top of a mountain. They pledged themselves to undergo all manner of hardships, to accept every affliction as a bounty and to consider all difficulties easy to overcome. 'He who is tied to a family, let him arrange to leave it; he who is not should remain single. He should forgo his comfort and his life'. Consulting thus, they descended from the mountain and each on went a different way and never returned. It is for this reason that they were able to leave behind such achievements. After Christ, the disciples truly forgot themselves, and not merely in word." [MD228-229]
|
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; Maxwell residence; Montreal Shrine; Reverend F.J. Griffin; Martha McBean; Eddie Elliot; Montreal, QC |
1912 1 Sep (Sunday)
191- |
'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk at the Unitarian Church, the Church of the Messiah, located on the corner of Simpson and Sherbrooke Sts in Montreal. (Architects: The Maxwell Bros. Built 1907, destroyed by fire 1937) [PUP297; ABC17-22; MD261]
|
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; May Maxwell (Bolles); Sutherland Maxwell; Montreal, QC |
1912 2 Sep (Monday)
191- |
On this day He and HIs companions moved into the Windsor Hotel where He rented three rooms. At the hotel He was able to accomodate much larger numbers of seekers. [HD237]
|
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; May Maxwell (Bolles); Sutherland Maxwell; Montreal, QC |
1912 3 Sep (Tuesday)
191- |
'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed Socialtists and Labour leaders of the day in Coronation Hall, 204 St. Lawrence Street. [ABC31-36, 48] | `Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; Coronation Hall; Montreal, QC |
1912 5 Sep (Wednesday)
191- |
He was visited by the Bishop of Montreal visited Him and expressed his pleasure at the meetings being held and gratitude for "the address concerning the purpose of the Manifestation of Christ and the other holy Manifestations." 'Abdu'l-Bahá invited him to the talk in the Methodist Church later that day. [239D136]
|
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; `Abdu'l-Bahá, St James Methodist Church; - Film; Fred Rohani; Faramarz Rohani; Laylee Delaine; Montreal, QC |
1912 6 Sep (Thursday)
191- |
'Abdu'l-Bahá had caught a cold the previous evening and so His departure was delayed for a few days. During this time He only went to the Maxwell home and many came to visit Him at the hotel. [MD247] | `Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; Montreal, QC |
1912 7 Sep (Friday)
191- |
A group of people came to visit Him at His hotel. He explained that just as in the physical world, in the realm of religion there is a time of heavenly and spiritual springtime.
|
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; Windsor Hotel; Montreal, QC |
1912 8 Sep (Saturday)
191- |
On His last full day in Montreal with the friends 'Abdu'l-Bahá said: "I have sown the seed. Now water it. You must educate the souls in divine morals, make them spiritual, and lead them to the oneness of humanity and to universal peace." [239D137]
|
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; Montreal, QC |
1912 9 Sep (Sunday)
191- |
The hotel bill for $700 was paid and the party was taken to the railroad station. The chief officer at the Customs and his assistants passed the baggage through indicating that the baggage of the Bahá'ís did not have to be inspected.
|
Montreal, QC; Buffalo, NY |
1913 (In the year)
191- |
Esther R. Rennels was first recorded Bahá'í in Alberta. [Edmonton Bahá'í History; OBCC306; A.Pemberton-Pigott Thesis p23] | Esther Rennels; Edmonton, AB |
1913 (In the year)
191- |
Edward W. Harris, a farmer who had homesteaded in the Gull Lake area, (specifically Carmichael) was the first Bahá'í known to have lived in SK. After his passing in 1922 his son, Edward D. Harris continued to operate the family farm with his mother and followed the Faith from 1934 to 1941. After the passing of his mother (Annie E. Harris b.1869 - d.20 October, 1941) he abandoned the farm taking only his clothes. Beatrice Magee, a neighbour who lived near the Harris farm, found an apple box full of Bahá'í literature and as a result become a Bahá'í in 1978. [OBCC121]
|
Edward William Harris; Annie E. Harris; Beatrice Magee; Gull Lake, SK |
1914 Jan
191- |
Mrs J. A. Clift (not a Bahá'í) gave a public talk on "Bahaism" ot the Current Events Club of the Ladies Reading Room in St. John's. The local newspaper carried news of this event and printed the text of the talk. [OBCC109] | Mrs J. A. Clift; St. Johns, NL |
1914 30 Apr
191- |
The marriage of Dr Zia Bagdadi, an Arab from Syria and devoted companion of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Zeenat Khánum, daughter of Hasan Aqá Tabrízí, a personal attendant of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká. It was the wish that these two Middle-Eastern Bahá'ís should be married in the Maxwell home. It was the first Bahá'í marriage in Canada. [OBCC73] | Marriage; Zia Bagdadi; Zeenat Khanum; Montreal, QC |
1916 Mar
191- |
Mrs Caroline Lehman (née Yaekel b.16 November 1846 in Prussia) was a resident of West Gravenhurst, ON in March of 1916. She was of German extraction, her previous religion was Lutheran and she had been taught by Isabelle Brittingham, Mother Beecher and Ali Kul Khan during a visit to New York City to visit her daughter. Notice of her passing appeared in the American Bahá'í News. [BN No 137 July 1940 p10; information from a message from Dr van den Hoonard to Heidi Lakshman 30 August 2000 Nine Star Solutions 19 Jul 2020]
|
Mrs Caroline Lehman; West Gravenhurst, ON |
1916 (Summer)
191- |
Susan Rice spent her vacation in Alaska and during that time made a trip to Whitehorse and Dawson City. [SoW Vol 7 Issue 11 Sept 1916 p102] | Teaching; Susan Rice; Whitehorse, YT; Dawson City, YT |
1916 Oct
191- |
The North American Bahá'í community began a teaching campaign aiming to teach the Faith in the many states named in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, and Montreal was designated the centre of the Northern Territory of the Campaign, which was assigned the responsibility of teaching the Faith in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Mackenzie, Keewatin, Ungava, Franklin Island, and Greenland .[SoW Vol 7 No 12 16 October 1916 p112] | Tablets of the Divine Plan; Montreal, QC |
1917 (In the Year)
191- |
Marion Jack and Rhoda Nichols travelled to PE and NS holding meetings in different villages with no visible results. [OBCC109-110] | Marion Jack; Rhoda Nichols; Prince Edward Island, Canada; Nova Scotia, Canada |
1917 (In the Year)
191- |
Newfoundland was first visited by Marion Jack and Kate Cowan Ives where Jack visited her aunt and uncle, Elizabeth Neville and John Thomas. [OBCC109] | Marion Jack; Kate Cowan Ives; Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
1919 (Summer)
191- |
Mrs Dyar (formerly Wellesca Pollock Allen), named "Aseyeh" by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, spent the summer of 1919 on an extended teaching tour through Alaska and the Canadian North-west. [SBBH2p145] | Mrs Dyar; Wellesca Pollock Allen; Aseyeh; Aseyeh Dyar; Teaching |
1919 26 Jul
191- |
1919 Sept - Marion Jack and Emogene Hoagg sailed from San Francisco for Alaska and the Yukon. They reached St. Michael at the mouth of the Yukon River on the 29th of July and continued by riverboat to Fairbanks, Dawson and Whitehorse. [CBN No117 Oct 1959 p1] | Travel Teaching; Emogene Hoagg; Marion Jack; Dawson City, YT; Whitehorse, YT |
1919 28 Jul
191- |
1919 Sept - Marion Jack and Emogene Hoagg sailed from San Francisco for Alaska and the Yukon. They reached St. Michael at the mouth of the Yukon River on the 29th of July and continued by riverboat to Fairbanks, Dawson and Whitehorse. [CBN No117 Oct 1959 p1] | Travel Teaching; Emogene Hoagg; Marion Jack; Dawson City, YT; Whitehorse, YT |
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