- 1873-04-12 — Birth of Hippolyte Dreyfus, the first French Bahá'í, in Paris. [HDB1] Named by Shoghi Effendi a Disciple of `Abdu'l-Bahá.
- 1899-04-00 — After May Bolles returned from pilgrimage in 1899 she was the lone Bahá'í in Paris but soon established the first Bahá'í group on the European continent. The list of those who enrolled in the Faith before 1902 include:
Edith MacKaye (the first to believe), and by the New Year of 1900, Charles Mason Remey and Herbert Hopper were next to follow. Then came Marie Squires (Hopper), Helen Ellis Cole, Laura Barney, Mme. Jackson, Agnes Alexander, Thomas Breakwell, Edith Sanderson, and Hippolyte Dreyfus, the first French Bahá'í (22 April 1902). Emogene Hoagg and Mrs. Conner had come to Paris in 1900 from America, Sigurd Russell at fifteen years old returned from 'Akká a believer, and in 1901, the group was further reinforced by Juliet Thompson, Lillian James, and "the frequent passing through Paris of pilgrims from America going to the Master . . . and then again returning from the Holy Land." These are but a few, for "in 1901 and 1902 the Paris group of Bahá'ís numbered between twenty-five and thirty people with May Bolles as spiritual guide and teacher. [BW8p634; BFA2:151–2, 154–5; GBP259-26; AB159; BBRSM106; SBBH1:93; HDB11]
- 1901-06-00 —
Hippolyte Dreyfus heard of the Bahá'í Faith from May Bolles in Paris and soon after accepted it. [AB81–2]
- He was designated by Shoghi Effendi the `first Frenchman to embrace the Faith' on22 April, 1902. [GPB259; HDB11]
- He was the first European Bahá'í to visit Iran. [AB81]
- After his marriage to Laura Clifford Barney they adopted the surname Dreyfus-Barney. [AB81]
- 1902-09-01 —
Since the assassination of the Sháh's father in 1896 the Bahá'í community in Iran had been scapegoated and the oppression was increasing. In 1902 Muzaffar al-Din Sháh and his prime minister were in Paris staying at the Elysèe Palace Hotel. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had a petition for him and Lua Getsinger was asked to deliver it. She and Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney requested an audience with the Sháh but they were refused by the prime minister. She was told that he was not receiving anyone as his son was gravely ill and likely to die. Lua asked if he would see her the following day should his son be healed and consent was granted. That night the Bahá'ís of Paris held a prayer vigil till dawn. As promised, Lua was granted access and put the petition directly in the Sháh's hand. She heard him say that he would do all that was within his power but in 1903 a savage rash of persecution broke out and, upon the advice of his prime minister, the Sháh did nothing believing that it was better to let the restless population vent rage on the Bahá'ís then on the rich and powerful foreigners who might have been victimized. The prime minister was replaced in mid-1903 and the persecutions eased. In 1907 the Sháh did intervene on behalf of the Bahá'ís. [Find a grave; LDNW18-19]
- For other accounts see The Flame p66-70 and LGHC59-60 as well as HDB19-20.
- See article by Mariam Haney entitled In Behalf of the Oppressed. [SoW Vol 15 No 8 November, 1924 p230]
- 1903-12-00 —
Lua Getsinger made a second petition to the Sháh. It was presented through usual official channels. For several year following the presentation of these petitions there was a remarkable cessation of persecutions. [LGHC64-67; LWDNW18-20; HDB21; LGHC59-67]
- See article by Mariam Haney entitled In Behalf of the Oppressed. [SoW Vol 15 No 8 November, 1924 p230]
- 1905-00-00 — The first publication of The Seven Valleys in the West. It was translated from Persian into French by Hippolyte Dreyfus and Chirazi and was bound with The Hidden Words (Les Paroles cachées). This French translation was further translated into English by Julie Chanler in 1933 (or 1936), accounts differ. [About the Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys; Collins1.112]
- 1906-06-01 —
Hippolyte Dreyfus, Marianne Jerard and Laura Barney visited Russian Turkistan and Iran, specifically Tabriz, Máh-Kú ,and Ishqabad. While in Iran, they witnessed the disturbances associated with the constitutional revolution, which had reached its climax that summer. [BFA2:XVI]
- They were the first Western Bahá'ís to do so. [For72; BFA2:XVI; Some Answered Questions" and Its Compiler by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani published in Lights of Irfan, 18, pages 444; Prezi]
- 1910-11-20 — Leo Tolstoy was a Russian aristocrat, novelist, and moral philosopher (b. 9 September 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia; d. 20 November 1910 in Astapovo, Russia). He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors of all time. His War and Peace (1869), Anna Karenina (1878), and Resurrection (1899), are often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction and three of the greatest novels ever written. [Wikipedia]
As a child he accepted and assimilated all the principles and dogma of the Orthodox Church. Even though he did not understand them he accepted them blindly. Tormented by the fact that he could not reconcile the beliefs of the religion of his fathers with reason, he became a nihilist as a young adult but never abandoned his search for God and true religion.
In his book, The True LIfe published in 1878, in a chapter entitled The Gospel in Brief, he openly attacked the church and demonstrated that it was the main obstacle preventing man from practicing the ideals of Christ's teachings. Through his investigations of other religions, of Buddha, of Lao-Tse, Zoroaster and Muhammad, he concluded that all of the major religions had deviated from the original teaching of their Founders.
On 5 September 1894 he received a notebook sent to him by his Turkish Translator Olga Sergeyevna Lebedova which contained a translation of an article about the Bábí Faith. His reply to her indicated that he had already heard of it but there is no evidence of when or from where. In 1852 two newspapers, La Revue de Genève (4 November) and the Journal de Genève had given accounts of the martyrdom of the Báb, perhaps he had seen these articles. He asked her for additional information.
In April 1898 he was visited by three people well-known in European literary circles. These three writers noted his interest in the Bábí Faith and sent him a book on the subject. [LTBF18]
By 1901 he was excommunicated and so in the same year he published A reply to the Synod's Edict of Excommunication and to Letters Concerning it that was a succinct expression of his religious ideas. [LTBF11]
Gabriel Sacy, a Frenchman of Syrian origin, living in Cairo, who had been born a Jew, converted to Islam, then to Christianity and then embraced the Bahá'í Faith, wrote to him 13 May 1901 to share his beliefs. This would have been the first time that Tolstoy heard of the Bahá'í Faith from a believer. At this time he considered that the Bábí Faith was a religious movement limited to the East, an attitude prevalent at the time. [LFBF22-23]
Tolstoy was in Gaspra in the Crimea recovering after a serious illness when on 27 May 1902 he was approached by a merchant named Kasím Basiravov, a Bahá'í who had decided to contact him. This was the first time that he had met with a believer. [LFBF26]
A few months later, on 14 September, he was visited by a Persian merchant named Mirza Azizu'lláh Jadhdháb Khurasáni. He left a full account of the five days he spent with Tolstoy. They discussed the fulfillment of prophecy, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the principles of the Faith, the administration, the example of Bahá'í life functioning in Isahqábád, and the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá from whom he brought this message, "Act that your name may leave a good memory in the world of religion." Tolstoy asked for more writings and Mirza Azizu'lláh offered to contact Mirza Alí-Akbar Nakhjavani in Bákú who was capable of corresponding with him in Russian. [LTBF26-31; EB185-190]
The nineteenth century saw a flowering of anarchist thought broadly characterized by a “rejection of the familiar norms and structures, especially the political ones, of their age” and a belief that humanity ought to live free of government structures and in accord with nature. His writings were the basis for what has been called Christian socialism. In her work among the poor, Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper came in contact with John Kenworthy, an influential person in this area and someone who had visited Tolstoy twice. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to her in 1901 with advice for Mr. Kenworthy on how to approach Tolstoy. [BCBI226; LTBF53]
The drama “Báb” by Isabella Grinevskaya was published in May, 1903, and was mounted in one of the principal theaters in St. Petersburg in January, 1904. It was this drama that brought to Count Leo Tolstoy a knowledge of the Bahá’í teachings. He read the book and at once wrote to Mrs. Grinevskaya expressing his appreciation for her great drama and his sympathy with the Bahá’í Movement. The letter was subsequently printed in the Russian press. [BW6p707].
See as well Count Leo Tolstoy and the Bahá'í Movement by Martha Root in Bahá'í World Vol 5 p642.
See Lev Tolstoi and the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths A Bibliography by William P. Collins and Jan T. Jasion first published in the Journal of Bahá’í Studies Vol. 3, number 3 (1991). The authors state that Tolstoy corresponded with the following Bahá'ís: Hippolyte Dreyfus, Izabella Grinevskaia, Dr. Yúnis Khán-i-Afrúkhtih, ‘A1i-Akbar Nakhjavání, Gabriel Sacy, and Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentioned Tolstoy in correspondence to Nakhjavání, Sacy, Thornburgh-Cropper, Dreyfus, and Laura Clifford-Barney.
On 4 April 1904 Hippolyte Dreyfus sent Tolstoy his newly published French translation of the Kitáb-i-Iqán (Le Livre de Certitude). He replied to Dreyfus that the book "put him off Bahá'u'lláh's teachings". It contradicted his belief that Abraham, Moses, Christ, Mohammad had all been ordinary men and not divine Messenger. Notwithstanding this, he continued to recommend the study of the Faith to his correspondents, nor did he stop investigating the Faith himself. [LTBF33-34]
By December of 1908 Tolstoy's opinion of the Bahá'í Faith had somewhat evolved, he said, in part, "Baháism...is one of the highest and purest of religious teachings." He had a particular respect for the Bahá'í Faith because of its acceptance of all of the former religions, but did not appear to have grasped the concept of progressive revelation. Within a year's time he had a clearer idea about the three central figures of the Faith and their functions and roles. [LTBF40, 43, 52]
There is no evidence of any communication from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Tolstoy, however he did refer to his work in many tablets and offered advice to those who wanted to meet or correspond with him. Mirza 'Alí-Akbar Nakhjavani, a resident of Baku, wrote to 'Abdu'l-Bahá for such council. He advised him to treat him with the utmost courtesy and fair-mindedness and suggested he give him a copy of a letter He had addressed to the believers in the East and the West that had been translated into Russian. (This tablet can be found in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá #225 p283-295; Tablet of the Two Calls; Russian translation here) Tolstoy replied to Nakhjavani's correspondence on 22 September 1909 stating that he had the intention of writing a book about the Bahá'í Faith but It appeared that he had some reservations that prevented him from complete acceptance of the Faith. In all likelihood he could not accept the idea of a manifestation from God. The promised book was not finished at the time of his passing. [LTBF49-50, 55; ABBAS88-89]
Tolstoy died on 20 November 1910 at the age of 82. Two thousand people attended his funeral. Three choirs sang. There were no eulogies, as per the family's request, although 100 students had asked to speak. According to some sources, Tolstoy spent the last hours of his life preaching love, non-violence, and Georgism. A 2009 film about Tolstoy's final year, The Last Station based on the 1990 novel by Jay Parini, was made by director Michael Hoffman with Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy and Helen Mirren as Sofya Tolstoya. Both performers were nominated for Oscars for their roles. [Wikipedia]
The Tolstoy bibliography.
The book Leo Tolstoy and the Bahá'í Faith was written by Luigi Standard and translated from Russian, Persian and French to English by Jeremy Fox. It was published by George Ronald in 1985.
- 1911-04-28 — The marriage of Laura Barney and Hippolyte Dreyfus. [See Some Answered Questions" and Its Compiler by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani published in Lights of Irfan, 18, pages 444]
- 1911-08-16 —
After four and half days of travel over 2500 kilometres L'Orénoque arrived in Marseilles, France's major port on the Mediterranean. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was met by Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney who had recently married (28 April). He and his wife would be 'Abdu'l-Bahá's constant companions in France and would later be in His company in England and the eastern United States. They had already met 'Abdu'l-Baha in Palestine and Laura stayed there between 1904 and 1906. [ABF8]
- He stayed at the Hôtel Louvre de la Paix at 53, la Canebière (today a C&A department store). [ABF9]
- Thus began His first trip to France. It lasted 4 days.
- 1911-09-04 —
`Abdu'l-Bahá arrived in London accompanied by His secretary, Mírzá Mahmúd and Khusraw, His servant. This marked His first visit to the country and lasted 29 days. [ABL53, AB140; GBP280; SBR22, 148, BW4p378, In the Footsteps of the Master p.5]
- CH149 says He arrived 8 September and 3 September as per the UK Bahá'í site.
- Those Bahá'ís who assembled to meet him were listed as: Lady Blomfield (in whose home at 97 Cadogan Gardens He stayed), Mrs Thornburg-Cropper, Miss Ethel Rosenberg, Miss Gamble, Miss Herrick, Mrs Scaramucci, Miss Elsie Lee, Mr Catanach, Mr Cuthbert, Mr and Mrs Jenner, Miss Yandell, Miss Julia Culver, Mrs Stannard, Mr and Mrs Eric Hammond, The Rev Harrold Johnston, The Rev Cooper Hunt, Miss Juliet Thompson, Mrs Louise Waite, Mrs Movius, Mrs Claudia Coles, Mr Mountfort Mills, Mr Mason Remey and Miss Drake Wright. Mr and Mrs Dreyfus-Barney provided translation. In addition there were a number of Persians who took the opportunity to meet Him. [BW4p377]
- As described by Lady Blomfield those who came to see him were: "Ministers and missionaries, Oriental scholars and occult students practical men of affairs and mystics, Anglican-Catholics and Nonconformists, Theosophists and Hindus, Christian Scientists and doctors of medicine, Muslims, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians. There also called: politicians, Salvation Army soldiers, and other workers for human good, women suffragists, journalists, writers, poets and healers dress-makers and great ladies, artists and artisans, poor workless people and prosperous merchants, members of the dramatic and musical world, these all came; and none were too lowly nor too great to receive the sympathetic consideration of this holy Messenger, who was ever giving His life for others' good." In addition there was a representation from the Bramo-Somaj Society, a Hindu reform group. [CH150-152]
- See BW4p377 where Lady Blomfield reported that Prince Jalalu'd-Dawlih entreated to be received by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and when in His presence fell prostrate and implored pardon for his crimes. (see 1891 19 May) [BW4p377]
- Among the list of visitors were: Professor Edward Granville Browne, Mr Tudor-Pole, Emmeline Pankhurst, a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement who helped women win the right to vote. [BW4p377]
- See BW4p381 for the story of a homeless, suicidal man who had seen a picture of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in a newspaper in a shop window.
- See BW4p382-383 for the story of the persistent journalist who imposed upon the appointment of two ladies from Scotland who had journeyed all that day and intended to make the return voyage that same evening.
- For details of His stay in England see AB140–58 and GPB283–5.
- It is implied that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was attended by Dr Lutfu-lláh Hakím while in London. [BW4p380]
- During His stay in London 'Abdu'l-Bahá received death threats by anonymous letter and he was advised to give up He planned journey to Egypt. He ignored them. [BW4p 387]
- During His stay in London He had professional photographs of Himself taken by the Irish photographer, James Lafayette (1853-1923). "...to have a picture of oneself is to emphasise the personality, which is merely the lamp, and is quite unimportant. The light burning within the lamp has the only real significance." [SBR25, BW4p383-384, ABF84]
- 1911-12-01 —
- 1912-04-11 —
- 1913-07-16 — The 6e Congrès International du Progrès Religieux (Chrétiens Progressifs et Libres-Croyants) [6th International Congress of Religious Progress (Progressive Christians and Free Believers)] was held in Paris. Over twenty of the clergy that 'Abdu'l-Bahá had met in His travels in Britain, Canada, the United States and France attended. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's photograph was published amongst those invited to attend and inserted in the proceedings of the Congress. Hippolyte Dreyfus presented the Bahá'í address. [ABF411note 977]
- 1914-04-00 — Laura and Hippolyte Dreyfus Barney started their teaching trip to China and French Indonesia. They visited the German colony of Qingdao, China with a plan to travel up the Yangzi river (and overland) to Kunming, Yunnan Province. However due to the outbreak of the first world war they returned to Europe, escaping from Qingdao thanks to Hippolyte's adroitness. They returned to France in time for him to assume his military obligations.
[Iranica]
- 1914-06-22 —
The defection of Dr Amín Faríd, (b. 1882, d. 1953)`Abdu'l-Bahá's translator while in America, became known publicly. His mother was a sister of Munirih Khanum, wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [CB341, AB407]
- For his activities against `Abdu'l-Bahá see AB230, 402, 407–9.
- Dr. Aminu'lláh Faríd travelled to Europe in defiance of the wishes of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In the absence of Lady Blomfield in London, a meeting at the Kingsway Hall had been arranged for him. Dr Lutfu'lláh prevented Dr Farid from speaking. Mason Remey and George Latimer were in London at the time. 'Abdu'l-Bahá also sent Dr Habibu'lláh Khudákhsh (later called Dr Mu'ayyad) and 'Azízu'lláh Bahádur to go to Europe to counter his activities. They were in Stuttgart when the war broke out. He recalled all four to the Holy Land (Sep-Oct). [AB407-409; Concerning Covenant-breakers: Excerpt by 'Abdu'l-Bahá translated by Ahang Rabbani]
- Laura and Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney were dispatched to the United States where Mrs. Chevalier had been acting as Dr. Farid's emissary. [AB408]
- See the message from Shoghi Effendi in MBW53-54.
- For a description of his activities as a young man in 'Akká see M9YA104, 418, 448-n81.
When Aminu'llah Farid (Ameen Ullah Fareed) left the United States in 1913, and settled in Cairo as he had been instructed by 'Abdul'-Bahá. (He had displeased Him during the western journey by appealing to the wealthier American Bahá'ís for money. He had been rebuked and had apologized three times but on the fourth instance he was sent away. 'Abdu'l-Bahá revealed that Fareed had been soliciting funds from visitors to Haifa to build a hospital on Mount Carmel. When built, he lived in it himself and later rented it. While in North America he obtained yet more money claiming that he had to mortgage the hospital.) On the 24th of November 1913 he married a rich American, Gladys Elaine Hoerber of Chicago, whom he had presumably met while he was studying homeopathic medicine in Chicago.
He travelled from Egypt to Europe and on the 21st of June, 1914 he arrived in London with his wife, his mother Radiyyih Khánum, his sister Farhangíz and her husband, Sydney Sprague and their infant son. The next day a telegram arrived from 'Abdu'l-Bahá expelling Fareed and his family from the Bahá'í community. Mason Ramey and George Latimer were in London at the time en route to Haifa. They assisted the community in understanding the implications. Both families were refused entry to a Unity Feast that had been scheduled. Fareed's father, Mírzá Asadu'lláh and his maternal uncle, Sayyid Yahyá arrived in London with a story that he had consulted with 'Abdu'l-Bahá about Fareed's situation and had come to an agreement, but that he had lost the letters from 'Abdu'l-Bahá that he had brought with him addressed to the Bahá'í community. It was soon evident that Asadu'lláh had sided with his son in the matter. Mírzá Asadu'lláh Isfahaní, his son Fareed, as well as his daughter Farhangíz and her husband, Sydney Spraque, were all prohibited from partaking in the Bahá'í community. They associated with the New Thought and psychic community in London teaching their own version of the Bahá'í faith and spiritual practice. They left Britain for America arriving from Liverpool on the 14th of October, 1915 and finally settled in Los Angeles where Sprague took up a career as writer of musical plays, Mirza Asadu'llah, his daughter Farhangiz Sprague and son Fareed began lecturing on religion and Iranian culture. Fareed also had a medical practice. [LGHC208; The Bahá'í Community of the British Isles 1844-1963 p288-293]
See as well SBB1 188-189, p221 note 211
Arches of the Years by Marzieh Gail
- The disappearance of Abdu'l-Bahá's signet ring p95
Between the time that Mirza Abu'l-Fadl died in Cairo on the 21st of January, 1914 and the time of his burial, Faríd entered and secretly remained in Mírzá's house and removed precious manuscripts. Abdu'l-Bahá predicted that "at a future time, during a weakened phase of the Faith, certain enemies in whose possession were stolen writings of the Faith, would l=slightly falsified their contents."
Summon Up Remembrance by Marzieh Gail p129-132
- See the description of Farid as a youth in the Master's household and his undermining the spirit of Ali Kuli Khan and that of another young man, Mirza Habíb, with tales of the disapproval of the Master's daughters. Farid also caused a "crises of faith" for Aqá Husan who owned a coiffed shop in Haifa. Mirza Habíb, whose parents had been exiled with Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdad to the Holy Land, whose had been schooled at the hand of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Persian, Arabic and Turkish as well as the Writings of the Faith, left the Holy Land and went to Constantinople and then to Persia where he entered in Consular Service. The spark of his faith had left him. Aqá Husan committed suicide.
- 1920-00-00 — Laura and Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney visited China and the Far East from 1920 to 1922. [Film Early History of the Baha'í Faith in China 8 min 23 sec ]
- 1922-02-18 — Laura and Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney arrived in Haifa from their travel teaching trip in Burma and Bombay. [EJR208]
Between the years of 1920 to 1922 they stayed in many cities in China including Chengdu.
- 1928-12-20 —
Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney, (b. 12 Apr 1873, Paris, France, d. 20 Dec 1928, Paris, France), Disciple of Abdu'l-Bahá, passed away in Paris. He was buried in Cimetiere de Montmartre in Paris. [UD84–5; BN No 29 January 1929 p2]
- See Find a grave for a succinct biography.
- For Shoghi Effendi's eulogy of him see BW3:210–14 and UD84–5.
- Shoghi Effendi's letter to his widow.
- See Biography of Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney by Laura Clifford Barney and Shoghi Effendi, edited by Thomas Linard.
|
Wiki tags
