- 1913-04-12 —
'Abu'l-Bahá received many visitors at His hotel including the president of the Túránian Society, Jewish-born Arminius Vambéry. He was an orientalist and one of the most colourful figures of the nineteenth century. He had some prior knowledge of the Bahá'í Faith. (Ali Kuli Khan had met him as he was travelling near Karbila disguised as a dervish, probably in 1896. [SUR73-74]) Some time later he wrote a much-publicized tribute to the Bahá'í Faith. [AB8, 386–7, SBBR14p114]
- `Abdu'l-Bahá visited the home of Arminius Vambéry. [SBBR14p115]
- He was invited to speak at the former House of Magnates in the National Museum Building by the founder of the Hungarian Turanian Society, Alajos Paikert. ['Abdu'l-Bahá in Budapest p4; the Supplement to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Europe, 1912-1913 #128.]
- 1913-04-14 —
'Abdu'l-Bahá's plan had been to leave but His departure was delayed due to a request from the president of the Túránian Society, Count Pal Teleki, who later became the Hungarian Prime Minister two times.
- In the afternoon 'Abu'l-Bahá visited Arminius Vambéry at his home again and some time later sent him a tablet and a carpet by the post. It was reported in "Star of the West" (February 1929) that this tablet was in possession of Arminius's son, Rusztem Vámbéry. [SBBR14p115, 125, AB387, SoW9Vol9p24]
- See BW5p329 for the testament written by Professor Vámbéry and published in the Egyptian Gazette September 24th, 1913.
- See SUR73 for the story of Arminius Vámbéry, while travelling with a caravan and disguised as a dervish, encountered another caravan loaded with coffins bound for burial in the vicinity of the Shrines in Karbilá'.
- See The Dervish of Windsor Castle: The Life of Arminius Vambery by Lory Alder and Richard Dalby.
- At a meeting of the Túránian Society in the grand hall of the National Museum 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a lecture entitled "Peace Between Nations and Religions" to some 200 people. The talk was translated into Hungarian by Leopold Stark and into English by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. [SBBR14p113; ABM318; Talk by Abdu'l-Baha Given in Budapest to the Turanian Society on 14 April 1913 (Provisional); the Supplement to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Europe, 1912-1913 #134.]
- 'Alí Abbás Áqá, a Tabrízí carpet merchant, hosted a dinner party in His honour. Among those attending was the Turkish Consul. [AB387, MRHK367, SBBR14p113; the Supplement to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Europe, 1912-1913 #133.]
- 1926-00-02 — Martha Root visited Budapest and taught the Faith to one of the grandsons of Arminius Vámbéry, Mr. György Vámbéry. He was 21 at the time and passed away some two years later. [www.bahai.hu]
- 1933-00-00 — On the initiative of Martha Root, Mr. György Steiner, an Esperantist in the city of Győr translated J.E. Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and The New Era into Hungarian between 1931-33. This was the first major work published in Hungarian about the Bahá'í Faith. The Preface of the book was written by Mr. Rusztem Vámbéry, son of Arminius Vámbéry. [www.bahai.hu] [BW5p377, 609]
- 1936-11-00 —
Renée Szanto-Felbermann became a Bahá'í, the first to accept the Faith in Hungary. She was considered the first person to accept the Faith by some notwithstanding the events of 1913. [BW19:633]
- See also Renée Szanto-Felbermann, Rebirth: The Memoirs of Szanto-Felbermann p104.
- This document prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'í Community of Hungary says that Mr. Arminius Vámbéry is the first believer in Hungary. See www.bahai.hu
- See BW5p329 for the testament written by Professor Vámbéry and published in the Egyptian Gazette September 24th, 1913.
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