In September 1953 Nellie French, 85, became the first Bahá'í to arrive in Monaco, but she passed away a few months later. For her act of service in bringing the Faith to the country, she received the accolade Knight of Baha'u'llah from Shoghi Effendi.

A celebration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Bahá'í Faith in the Principality was held on 24-25 April 2004 at the Theatre des Varietes in Monte Carlo, and opened with the reading of a welcoming message from the National Council of the Principality. [Newspaper Archive on BLO]

He was the first Indian Parsi to accept the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. In 1950 he and his wife Shirin moved to Singapore. He pioneered to the Andaman Islands and became a Knight of Baha'u'lláh in response to the Indian seven-year plan. [BW13p892]

The follow cable was received from the Universal House of Justice:

15th AUGUST 1981. DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING EMINENT DISTINGUISHED SERVANT BLESSED BEAUTY MEMBER BOARD COUNSELLORS AFRICA KNIGHT BAHA'ULLAH DEARLY LOVED MUḤAMMAD MUSṬAFÁ HIS LONG RECORD DEDICATED SERVICES IN ADMINISTRATIVE TEACHING FIELDS HIS SELF-SACRIFICING AUDACIOUS EFFORTS IN PROMOTION DEFENSE BELOVED FAITH UNFORGETTABLE CONVEY BEREAVED FAMILY FRIENDS LOVING SYMPATHY PRAYING HOLY SHRINES FURTHER UNFOLDMENT PROGRESS HIS NOBLE SOUL ABHA KINGDOM UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE. [BW18p768-771]

He studied law and started his legal practice in Iran at the age of 24. The National Spiritual Assembly asked him to defend the oppressed Bahá'ís of Sháhrúd, where, on 8 August 1944, three friends had been martyred and 17 Bahá'í homes had been plundered and set on fire. ‘Aziz defended them with great eloquence and undaunted courage, braving the vicious opposition of the clergy. Later he was asked to defend the Bahá'ís of Shiraz and still later those in Yazd. His unceasing endeavours won him the praise of the beloved Guardian who later designated him the "Shield of the Cause of God" and predicted that future historians would study his achievements.

In 1953 he and his wife Shamsi pioneered to Monte Carlo in Monaco to replace Mrs French who had passed away. While at this post he studied international law at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. In 1955 the Guardian appointed him to the Commission that appealed to the United Nations in Geneva and New York about the Iranian attempt to exterminate the Bahá'í community. In 1962 he became involved with the imprisoned Bahá'ís in Algeria and Morocco.

In 1968 Dr. Navidi became a representative of the Iranian Oil Company for its operations in the Indian Ocean and the family made their new home in Mauritius from where he worked to secure legal recognition of several of the new National Assemblies in the Indian Ocean region as he did with various African states. He fearlessly visited countries hostile to the Bahá'ís with no protection except his faith and his credentials as official lawyer to the Universal House of Justice with special status at the United Nations. His missions took him to Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo, Gabon, the Gambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Zaire, and many, many other countries throughout the world. He was successful time and again in persuading democratic governments and dictators alike to alter their laws and constitutions and to officially recognize the Bahá'í Faith. [BW20p866; Navidi, Dr. Aziz (1913-1987): Intrepid Pioneer, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh by Graham Walker; KoB341-344]

Born in the USA to Muslim, Arab-speaking parents of Syrian origin she learned of the Faith through her father. Mr Abas had been introduced to the Bahá'í Faith by a Syrian friend. As a youth she taught children's classes and was one of the very first youth travelling teachers in the US accompanying Marguerite Reimer (later Sears) and Mable Ives. She had already been pioneering in Latin America for fourteen years when in early 1954 she opened the Galápagos Islands to the Bahá'í Faith, thus earning the title ‘Knight of Bahá'u'lláh'. Although her time there was brief, the story of her rich and varied life, dedicated to building up Bahá'í communities throughout Latin America, serving and empowering others, makes fascinating and inspiring reading. Her work with children's education, particularly through the Children's Public Speaking Project where she taught children to memorize passages from the Bahá'í Writings, to present them in public, and to express what they learned in service, was a precursor of the process of learning and practice now finding systematized expression in the worldwide Bahá'í community.

She was appointed to the Auxillary Board and served for 14 years in Ecuador. In 1961 sh was elected to the National Assembly.

From 1970 she served for five years at the World Centre where she did translation work. ‘Future generations will extol your labours, follow in your footsteps, and derive inspiration from your pioneer activities.' Shoghi Effendi to Gayle Woolson in Costa Rica, 1942 [KoG224-225]

In 1971 her book, Divine Symphony was published by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust of New Delhi. The book was reprinted in 1976 and 1977. [Collins7.2771; p156]

For her biography see The Art of Empowering Others – A Biography of Knight of Baha'u'llah Gayle Woolson by Juliet Gentzkow and published by George Ronald.

Stanley Bolton was conscripted into the Canadian Armed Forces at the beginning of World War I and was wounded in France. After the war and upon release from service he found work with the Fuller Brush Company and met Mariette Germain Roy in 1922. They were married in 1923 and the couple moved to Australia in 1924, arriving in Sydney on September 24. Stanley was still employed by the Fuller Brush Company and worked to establish the business in Australia, travelling across several states in the process.

The Bolton's first heard of the Bahá'í Faith when they met Hyde and Clara Dunn in 1925, but they did not become Bahá'ís until they met Keith Ransom-Kehler when she visited Australia in 1931. The Fuller Brush Company had closed down in 1929 due to Australian import restrictions and the Boltons moved to the United States in 1931, settling in Detroit where they assisted the local Bahá'í community.

They were introduced to chiropractic because of the illness of their son. Both Stanley and Mariette became qualified chiropractors and established a practice in Sydney when they returned to Australia in 1934.

In 1936 the Bolton's bought three acres of land in Yerrinbool to be used to host Bahá'í Summer Schools. Hyde Dunn laid the cornerstone of the first building on the site on the 11th of October 1936. Siegfried Schopflocher visited the property shortly after the first building was completed and suggested that it be named Bolton Place. The property was officially opened at a ceremony chaired by Stanley during the second Australian and New Zealand National Convention on May 2nd, 1937. The Bolton's did not live on the property, but Stanley or Mariette traveled from Sydney to Yerrinbool every Wednesday from 1940 to 1943.

The first Australian Bahá'í Summer School was held on the property from the 8th to the 23rd of January 1938, and has been held there every year since. Stanley served as Chairman of the Summer School and both he and his wife delivered talks during sessions. Stanley and Mariette personally managed all of the affairs of the Summer School until 1945 when they transferred the responsibilities of management to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand. Stanley continued to serve as Secretary of the Summer School after the transfer, and he and Mariette were caretakers of the property until they left Yerrinbool, moving to Orange, in 1963. In 1949 the Bolton's began proceedings to legally transfer ownership of the Yerrinbool property to the National Spiritual Assembly, which were completed in March 1963.

In August 1943 the Bolton's moved to Yerrinbool, and began hosting Summer School attendees in their home. They served as inaugural members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yerrinbool when it was established in 1948. In 1947 the Bolton's invited Frank Khan, a prominent member of the Australian Muslim community, to give a talk on Islam at the Summer School. Frank's family became the first Australian Muslims to become Bahá'í's in December 1948.

His service included the Local Teaching Committee, the Summer School Committee, Temple Construction Committee or as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, he was forthright and definite in both thought and deed. Of the twenty years, 1937 - 1958, he served on the National Spiritual Assembly for seventeen, frequently as chairman.

He and Mariette attended the dedication of the Wilmette Temple in 1953 as representatives of Australia and New Zealand and had the bounty of going on pilgrimage to Haifa. They returned to Australia with a gift from the Guardian —a cream fez of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá [BW14p323-325; Find a grave]

She married Ken McCulloh in 1958 and they settled in Baker Lake in 1958 where Ken had been pioneering. They stayed until 1979 [BWIM277]

He earned his BA and two master's degrees in Oregon and Chicago where he became a Bahá'í. Ted met his wife Joan Storie at the Bahá'í House of Worship in Chicago. They married in 1951 and pioneered to Whitehorse in 1953 where they earned the title, Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. During their time in the Yukon they were adopted by the Tlingit First Nations of Carcross-Tagish. In 1965 Ted was appointed as an Auxiliary Board Member for Alaska by Zikrullah Khadem and served in that capacity along with Howard Brown.

Ted and Joanie relocated to Red Deer, Alberta in 1972 and Joanie passed away in 2000. [Bahaipedia; CBN 410 p5; Find a grave]