- 1899-02-16 — Birth of Hermann Grossmann, Hand of the Cause of God, in Rosario de Santa Fé, Argentina, into a family of German background. [Bahaipedia]
- 1919-09-20 —
Martha Root arrived in Argentina, the first recorded visit of a Bahá'í to this country. [MR101]
- She remained in Buenos Aires until 4 October. [MR101]
- See MR101-2 and MRHK61-5 for her teaching work in Argentina.
- See MR103-6 and MRHK66-9 for her journey over the Andes on a mule.
- 1939-00-01 — The first Bahá'í of Paraguay, Maria Casati, of Formosa, Paraguay, became a Bahá'í in Buenos Aires.
- 1940-03-01 —
May Bolles Maxwell (b. 14 January 1940 in Englewood, NJ) passed away in Buenos Aires. [BBD153; TG49]
Shoghi Effendi called her "the spiritual mother of Canada" and Montreal the "mother city of Canada". [OBCC35]
- Shoghi Effendi awarded her the honour of a 'martyr's death' and designated her as a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [BW8:631; MA38]
- She was the first Bahá'í on European soil and the "mother" of both the French and the Canadian Bahá'í communities. [PP149]
- For her "In Memoriam" and tribute written by Marion Holley see BW8p631-642.
- Hooper Dunbar quoted Shoghi Effendi in his cable to the friends in Iran announcing her passing:
May Maxwell, the severed teacher firebrand of the love of God and spreader of the fragrances of God Mrs Maxwell, forsook her native land and hastened to the most distant countries out of love for her Master and yearning to sound the call to the Cause of her Lord and her inspiration, until she ascended to the highest summit attaining the rank of martyrdom in the capital of the Argentine. The furthermost boundary the countenances of paradise invoke blessings upon her in the glorious apex
saying, may she enjoy with healthy relish the cup that is full and brimming over with the wine of the love of God for the like of this should the travaillers travail. Inform all the friends of the announcement of this mighty victory.
[A talk] given by Mr Dunbar 28:08]
- Shoghi Effendi asked her husband, Sutherland Maxwell, to design her tomb, which was to be a 'historic centre' for 'pioneer Bahá'í activity'. [BW8:642]
- For an account of the erection of the monument to her see PSBW83–6.
- Haik Kevorkian's family had come to Argentina from Syria in 1937. When Mrs Maxwell arrived he contacted her by phone just before her fatal heart attack. After her passing, he devoted himself to caring for her grave. [KoB225]
- 1940-05-10 — The first local spiritual assembly of Argentina was established in Buenos Aires. This Assembly, and that of Bahia, Brazil were the first two Baha'i assemblies in South America. [BWNS709]
- 1943-05-30 — The dedication of the Memorial to May Ellis Maxwell, Quilmes Cemetery, Buenos Aires,
Argentina. [Bahá'í News July 1943 No 169 page 3, 564/1186]
- 1946-00-00 — The first Bahá'í summer school in Argentina was held in Ezeiza. [BW11:45]
- 1953-08-11 — 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]
It was neither her first nor her last pioneer experience. Between 1942 and 1946 she pioneered to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. After World War II she went to Madrid, Spain where she helped raise the first local spiritual assembly and she did the same thing in Barcelona the following year.
In July of 1953 she went to the Stockholm Intercontinental Teaching Conference where she offered to pioneer to Mallorca in one of the Balearic Islands, She stayed about one year before returning to Barcelona in August of 1954 where she attended the Iberian Teaching Conference that was attended by 60 people. Late that nine, she and nine others were arrested by the police and interrogated for 18 hours. They had thought that the Bahá'í were Communists.
In 1956 she moved to Portugal where she was elected to the first Iberian Regional Spiritual Assembly. After three years she was forced to leave by the authorities because of her Bahá'í activities, holding property and owning a telephone.
She was asked to go to Luxembourg where she spent nine years but made little progress in establishing the Faith. She was then asked to got to Malaga, Spain and by 1972 Malaga had a local spiritual assembly so she pioneered to Margella in 1979.
The National Spiritual Assembly asked her to write a history of the Faith in Spain which was completed in 1980.
As was her wish, she passed to the Abha Kingdom in 1985, still a pioneer. [KoB346-347; Wikipedia]
See also Also see Bahá'í World 19 pages 715-721 or 692-697 in the print version and Bahá'í News #586 January 1980 p2-5. - 1957-04-21 —
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]
- 1961-04-21 — The National Spiritual Assembly of Argentina was formed. [BW13:258]
- 1967-00-00 — The first Mataco Indians to become Bahá'ís enrolled in Argentina. [BW14:150]
- 1970-08-03 — The passing of Haik (Haig) Kevorkian (b.1 October 1916 in Aleppo, Syria) in Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires province of Argentina at the age of 54. He was buried in the British Cemetery beside his parents and his infant son.
Haik had learned of the Faith from his father who had embraced the Faith in his birthplace, Gaziantep Aintab, Turkey. In 1937 the family emigrated from Aleppo, Syria to Argentina and they stopped on the way to visit the Holy Land where they spoke with the Guardian about pioneering. They arrived in Buenos Aires on the 29th of March after a another stop in Bahia to visit Leonora Holsapple.
On February 29th, 1940 May Maxwell, accompanied by her niece Jeanne Bolles arrived in Buenos Aires and it was from Haik that she received the a telephone call to welcome her. The following morning when the Kevorkian family called at the City Hotel they learned that May Maxwell had passed during the night. Haik and Wilfrid Barton searched for a befitting spot for her interment and Haik spent the rest of his life honouring and caring for her resting place.
Haik taught the Faith in the interior of Argentina and make international trips to Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Chile Brazil and Ecuador. He assisted in the formation of the first spiritual assembly in Guayaquil and won the honour of being named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh when he settled in the Galapolos Islands in May 1954. A record of his service there can be found in Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 by Helen Bassett Hornby.
Upon his return from the Galapolos to Buenos Aires he married Aurora de Eyto and they had one surviving son, Daniel Claudio (b.1960).
[BW15p483-485] - 1987-00-05 — The first conference on the production of Bahá'í literature in Spanish was held in Argentina.
- 1992-11-23 —
The Second World Congress was held in New York City to commemorate the centenary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh and the completion of the Six Year Plan. It was attended by some 28,000 Bahá'ís from some 180 countries. [BBD240; VV136-141; BW92-93p95-102, 136]
- Nine auxiliary conferences were held in Buenos Aires, Sydney, New Delhi, Nairobi, Panama City, Bucharest, Moscow, Apia and Singapore. [BINS283:3-4]
- For pictures see [BINS283:9-10], [BW92-3p100] and [VV136-141]
- "New York will become a blessed spot from which the call to steadfastness in the Covenant and Testament of God will go forth to every part of the world." - 'Abdu'l-Bahá [AWH77-8 90-1 105-6]
- On the 25th of November a concert was held in Carnegie Hall as a birthday tribute to Dizzy Gillespie called "Celebrating the Bahá'í Vision of World Peace". [VV141]
- On the 26th of November Bahá'ís around the world were linked together by a live satellite broadcast serving the second Bahá'í World Congress, the nine auxiliary conferences and the Bahá'í World Centre and it was received by those with access to satellite dish antennas. [BINS283:1–5, 8; BINS286:10; BINS287:4]
- For the message of the Universal House of Justice read on the satellite link see BW92–3:37–4.
- For accounts of personal experiences by some of the attendees see In the Eyes of His Beloved Servants: The Second Bahá'í World Congress and Holy Year by J. Michael Kafes.
- The film, 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Mission to America, made by Elizabeth Martin, was prepared for the World Congress program and also used in the Theme Pavilion. [HNWE45]
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