- 1844-05-23 —
The birth of `Abdu'l-Bahá in a rented house near the Shimrán Gate in Tihrán. He was born at midnight. [AB9, SoG3-4]
- He was known as `Abbás Effendi outside the Bahá'í community.
- Bahá'u'lláh gave Him the titles Ghusn-i-A`zam (the Most Great Branch), Sirru'lláh (Mystery of God) and Áqá (the Master). [BBD2, 19, 87, 89]
- Sarkár-i-Áqá (the Honourable Master) was a title of `Abdu'l-Bahá. [BBD201]
- He Himself chose the title `Abdu'l-Bahá (Servant of Bahá) after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh. [BBD2]
- 1848-07-01 — Quddús was arrested and taken to Sárí where he was placed under house arrest in the home of Mírzá Muhammad-Taqí, a leading cleric. [Bab171; BKG50; DB300]
Táhirih was arrested and was later taken to Tihrán where she was held in the home of Mahmúd Khán, the Kalántar of Tihrán, until her martyrdom in August 1852.
Mullá Husayn left the army camp near Mashhad where he had been a guest of a brother of the Sháh. He planned to make a pilgrimage to Karbalá. While making preparations for the journey he received a Tablet from the Báb instructing him to go to Mázindarán to help Quddús, carrying a Black Standard before him. He was also instructed to wear the Báb's own green turban and to take the new name Siyyid `Alí. [Bab171; BKG50; DB324; MH174] - 1882-00-00 — Ibn-i-Asdaq was given the distinction Shahíd Ibn-i-Shahíd (Martyr, son of the martyr) by Bahá'u'lláh. [EB173]
- 1894-06-05 —
Thornton Chase became a Bahá'í in Chicago. [BBD53; BFA1:35–6]
- For some time before he heard of the Bahá'í Faith, he had been a follower of the noble and mystical teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg. [SEBW3]
- He was designated by `Abdu'l-Bahá as the first American believer. [BBD53; GPB257]
- See BFA1:35 for his own account of how he became a Bahá'í.
- See BFA1:33–7 for other Americans who became Bahá'ís around the same time.
- He was given the name Thábit (Steadfast) by `Abdu'l-Bahá. [BBD53; GPB257]
- He had been invited to join the Hearst pilgrimage in 1898 but was unable to go to the Holy Land until 1907. [AY61]
- 1895-06-23 — Birth of Leonora Stirling Holsapple (later Armstrong) in Hudson, New York. She was the first pioneer to Brazil and is regarded as the Mother of South America. [Wikipedia]
- 1897-03-01 —
The birth of Shoghi Effendi, in the house of `Abdu'lláh Páshá. [BBD208; BKG359; DH60, 214; GBF2]
- He was descended from both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh: his mother was the eldest daughter of `Abdu'l-Bahá; his father was an Afnán, a grandson of Hájí Mírzá `Abu'l-Qásim, a cousin of the mother of the Báb and a brother of His wife. [CB280; GBF2]
- He was the Ghusn-i-Mumtáz, the Chosen Branch. [BBD87]
- `Shoghi' means `one who longs'. [CB281]
- `Abdu'l-Bahá commanded everyone, even Shoghi Effendi's father, to add the title `Effendi' after his name. [CB281; GBF2]
- `Abdu'l-Bahá gave him the surname Rabbání in the early years of his study in Haifa so that he will not be confused with his cousins, who were all called Afnán or Shahíd. The family name "Rabbání" was also used by Shoghi Effendi's brothers and sister. [BBD191–2; DH60–1; PG4]
- As a young boy the Master sent him with a nurse named Hájar Khátún to live in Haifa where he was registered in the French Jesuit school, Collège des Frères. By the age of nine or ten his mother had gotten rid of this nurse. He was unhappy at school in Haifa so the Master sent him to a Catholic boarding school in Beirut where he was equally unhappy. He even sent an attendant to rent a house and provide care so he could attend as a day student but still he was not happy so arrangements were made for him to enter the preparatory school associated with the Syrian Protestant College. [PG4; PP15-17]
- See also Rabbani, The Priceless Pearl; Rabbani, The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith; Giachery, Shoghi Effendi: Recollections.
- In a letter from the Universal House of Justice dated 1 October 1973 to Elias Zohoori, included on page 83 of his book, Names and Numbers: A Bahá'í History Reference Guide it says:
...we write to advise you that it has not been possible to establish with absolute accuracy the date of the beloved Guardian's birth. Shoghi Effendi's passport gives 3rd March 1896…A note in the Guardian's handwriting indicates 1st March 1897…A further and different date has been noted by Shoghi Effendi's father. Unless further research is able to clarify the matter, it is not possible to make a categorical statement of the Guardian's birth date.
- Shoghi Effendi's registration form for the Syrian Protestant College shows his year of birth as 1899. [PGp14-15]
- The inscription on the column erected at Shoghi Effendi's resting place shows "4 November 1896".
- 1901-05-01 —
'Aqá Jamál Burújirdí had been a member of the Islamic clergy in Burujerd and was widely known and revered across Iran as a gifted teacher of the Faith.
He was a proud and egotistical man but during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh, he received much praise and various honorary titles such as Ismu'lláh'u'l-Jamál (The Name of God Jamál) due to his many services. During his visit to 'Akká following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh he made contact with Mírzá Muhammad-Alí with the goal of securing a prominent place in the administration of the faith under his leadership, all the while feigning loyalty to 'Abdu'l-Bahá. -
In God Passes By p247-248 Shoghi Effendi says of Mírzá Muhammad-Alí and those who tried to assist him in his nefarious efforts, "Closely-knit by one common wish and purpose; indefatigable in their efforts; assured of the backing of the powerful and perfidious Jamál-i-Burújirdí and his henchmen, Ḥájí Ḥusayn-i-Káshí, Khalíl-i-Khú'í and Jalíl-i-Tabrízí who had espoused their cause; linked by a vast system of correspondence with every centre and individual they could reach; seconded in their labours by emissaries whom they dispatched to Persia, 'Iráq, India and Egypt; emboldened in their designs by the attitude of officials whom they bribed or seduced, these repudiators of a divinely-established Covenant arose, as one man, to launch a campaign of abuse and vilification which compared in virulence with the infamous accusations which Mírzá Yaḥyá and Siyyid Muḥammad had jointly levelled at Bahá'u'lláh."
-
He was publically unmasked after the Covenant-breakers printed letters with falsehoods and misleading statements. believed to be about four years after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh. He became known in the Bahá'í community as "Hyena" or "Old Hyena" (pír-i-kaftár). He died in poverty and disgrace in Iran. The date of his death is not known. [M9YA6-7, 432, RoB2p118-9, 264-267, MMoB104-105, CB165-166, 209-15, Biographies of Jamal-i-Burujirdi]
- Shogi Effendi described 'Aqá Jamál Burújirdí as being "Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí's ablest lieutenant in Persia, "fell a prey to a fatal an loathsome disease". ]GPB319]
- He was the recipient of many tablets from both Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, one of which can be found in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh p5-9 and a more complete provisional translation of the original tablet can be found here.
- See also Tablet to Jamal-i-Burujirdi by Bahá'u'lláh translated by Khazeh Fananapazir.
- See ARG168 for mention of him relation to a refutation he received from Fádil-i-Shirází.
- 1909-11-25 —
Dr Susan Moody, a famed American homeopathist, arrived in Tihrán. She and four Persian Bahá'í doctors started the Sehat Hospital. Because the hospital was only accessible to the wealthy she established a private practice that was open to all women regardless of their ability to pay. [BFA2:359-360]
- She spent two days in 'Akká en route to Persia and 'Abdu'l-Bahá conferred upon her the title Amatu'l-'Alí (Handmaid of the Most High). [BFA2:358]
- Dr Sarah A. Clock arrived from Seattle in 1911 to assist her followed by Miss Elizabeth Stewart (nurse). [BFA2:361]
- In 1925-1926, after the murder of Robert Imbrie, she travelled the United States from the east to the west coast, raising awareness of the needs of the work in Iran.
- Dr Sarah Clock sailed from New York for Iran on 8 December 1910. She served the Bahá'í community of Iran with great sacrifice for years. While her main task was treatment of the sick, she never ceased educating the youth. She was an energetic tolerant and contented woman. Very often needy people were not only exempted from paying her meagre honoraria, but also received medicaments for free. She was highly respected by the Bahá'í community and non-Bahá'í alike. Finally after twelve years of devoted service, she died of pneumonia in Tehran. [OLOMp43-44]
- 1912-06-19 —
`Abdu'l-Bahá clarified His station as the Centre of the Covenant. It is widely believed that He named New York the `City of the Covenant' on this occasion but no substantiation can be found, however, Shoghi Effendi noted that He did call New York City the "City of the Covenant" (CoF158; GPB288 refer). [239D:93; AB220; BBD55, ABNY51; DJT315-316]
- This proclamation was made to about 125 people gathered in HIs house at West 78th Street.
- The text of HIs talk can be found at SoW Vol 5 No 15 (December 12, 1914), p227-228. The translation of this talk was done by Dr Ameen Fareed. Notes were taken by "E. C. M." and revised by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Fareed at Montclair on the 25th of June, 1912. [LGHC410n82] Also see [LGHC165-166].
- This same day 'Abdu'l-Bahá named Lua Getsinger "Herald of the Covenant" while in Juliet Thompson's studio for the sixth sitting for His portrait. [LGHC157]
- See 239D:92–93 for a description of this event.
- It was on this day that 'Abdu'l-Bahá received a manuscript from Mirzá Abu'l-Fazl. He had it translated and printed, and called it The Brilliant Proof.
- 1919-04-13 —
The passing of Phoebe Apperson Hearst (b. 3 December, 1842) in her home in Pleasanton, California during the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918-1919. She was buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, California. [AY49, Find a grave, Bahá'í Chronicles]
- See AY55-> for a brief history of her life and her contribution to the progress of the Faith. She had learned of the Faith through Lua Getsinger and members of her group in the early days of the Faith in California.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá called her 'the servant of Bahá, the "Mother of the Faithful"'. He writes that she had 'sincerely turned unto her Master... completely faced toward the Kingdom of God ... [she] shall surely have a firm and steady footing in the Cause of God, her face shall shine forth from the Horizon of Loftiness, her fame shall be spread in the Kingdom of God, and [she] shall have a ringing voice ... and the light of her glorious deeds shall beam forth during cycles and ages.' [AY54-55; 106-107]
- See Some Early Bahá'ís of the West pp13-19.
- See Two Letters of Mrs Phoebe A Hearst in BW7p800-802.
- 1928-04-02 —
The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad, known as Ibn-i-Asdaq. He was born in Mashhad in 1850/1851. [Bahá'í Encyclopedia Project]
- His father was Mullá Sádiq-i-Muqaddas-i-Khurásání (also known as Ismu'lláhu'l-Asdaq of Khurásán), referred to as a Hand of the Cause of God by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. While still a child he suffered imprisonment with his father in Tehran. [EM19]
- In 1880 he begged Bahá'u'lláh permission to be a martyr. Bahá'u'lláh said that if one lived right he might attain martyrdom. In 1882 Bahá'u'lláh conferred the station of martyr on him calling him "Shahid Ibn-i-Shahid" ("Martyr, son of the Martyr")."
Today, the greatest of all deeds is service to the Cause. Souls that are well-assured should with utmost discretion teach the Faith,lll this martyrdom is no confined to the destruction of life and the shedding of blood. A person enjoying the bounty of life may yet be recorded as a martyr in the Book of the Sovereign Lord. [OLOMP46N12]
- He was the first of the Hands of the Cause of God named by Bahá'u'lláh.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave him a special mission to teach members of the "ruling class" the Faith.
- He was deeply involved in the planning and construction of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in 'Ishqábád.
- Ibn-i-Asdaq, Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad, Hand of the Cause of God, Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh, passed away in Tihrán. He was one of the few Apostles to live into the time of Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian. [BBD115, EM176, LoF9-12, RoB4p286]
- For details of his life see RoB1P92-93; RoB2p 293; RoB3p62-63, 253-260, 265-268; EB2-23; MF5-8; DB100-101, 145-148, 185-187; EB171–6; BW6p103; Bahaipedia; LoF9-12.
- His daughter, Ruha Asdaq wrote a book about her pilgrimage experiences with her father titled One Life One Memory: Memories of Pilgrimage in 1914. The book was translated to English and published by George Ronald in 1999. For a book review by Paul Mantle.
- For more details of his life see EB171-176; RoB4p 301-304, Tablets to him RoB4 254, 275, 277, 2966,315-328, Photos RoB4 277-278, 281-286, 292.
- See also Bahá'í Chronicles.
- 1932-11-23 —
The passing of George Adam Benke (b. Fredericksfelt, south Russia in 1878) in Sofia, Bulgaria. Shoghi Effendi declared him to be "the first European martyr. [BW5:416–418, LDG1p263]
- He had become a Bahá'í as a result of the visit of Harlan and Grace Ober to Leipzig in 1920 and the further efforts of Miss Alma Knoblock. [BW5p416]
- He translated the works of Bahálláh that had been translated into Russian by Thomansky and Rosenberg.
- In June of 1931 he was called upon to help Marion Jack in Sofia where is knowledge of Russian facilitated his efforts. He stayed for three months.
- Again in 1932 he was asked to go to Sofia where he passed away after a very short period of discomfort.
- Shoghi Effendi called him the first European martyr. [LDG1:263; MC359]
- Photo 1 of his gravesite in Sofia.
- Photo 2 of his headstone.
- 1933-10-23 —
Keith Ransom-Kehler died of smallpox in Isfahán after a year of intensive travel around Iran. [BW5 p389-410; BN No 80 January 1934 p11; LoF99-109]
- For her obituary see BW5:389–410.
- She was buried near the grave of the King of Martyrs. [BW5:398]
- For a picture of her grave see BW5:399.
- Shoghi Effendi named her America's 'first and distinguished martyr'. [BW5:398] As well as "the first Western martyr on Persian soil" . [DND46]
- Shoghi Effendi elevated her to the rank of Hand of the Cause on 28 October, 1933. [BW5:398, MoCxxii]
- See message from the Guardian dated 30 October 1933.
- For her mission in Iran see BW5:23–27.
- See also PP306–7.
- See Other People Other Places by Marzieh Gail (pages 176-181) for a pen portrait of Keith Ransom-Kehler.
- See FMH51-52]
- See Bahá'í Chronicles.
- Photo of her grave. [BW9p68]
- 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]
- 1940-12-28 — Elizabeth Cheney, the 'spiritual mother of Paraguay', arrived in Paraguay, the first pioneer to the country. [Bahaipedia; The Beginnings of the Bahá'í Faith in Latin America: Some Remembrances by Artemus Lamb]]
- 1953-08-26 —
Ella Bailey (b. 16 December, 1864, Houston, Harris County, Texas) passed away in Tripoli, Tarabulus, Libya at the age of 88 years. [BW12:687]
- She had accompanied Mr and Mrs Robert Gulick in their settlement in Tripoli. [BN No 271 september 1953 p6]
- She was elevated to the rank of martyr. [MBW170]
- On her passing the Guardian cabled: "The irresistibly unfolding Crusade has been sanctified by the death of heroic, eighty-eight year old Ella Bailey, elevating her to the rank of the martyrs of the Faith, shedding further luster on the American Bahá'í Community and consecrating the soil of the fast-awakening African continent." [BW12p688]
- For the story of her life see PSBW131–42.
- See Bahá'í Chronicles.
- For her obituary see BW12:685–8.
- For information on her burial site and a short biography see Find-a-grave.. Upon her passing she was interred at Hamming Cemetery, an Italian cemetery in Trioli where American servicemen and women were buried during the period there was a US military base nearby. After the base was closed and renovations were planned for the cemetery, there were no plans for the remains of the Americans so they were returned to the USA. Her remains were reinterred in the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Millsboro,Delaware on the 21st of August, 2007.
- See Youtube video I Adjure Them - The Ella Bailey Story as told by Hand of the Cause of God William Sears.
- She had accompanied Mr and Mrs Robert Gulick in their settlement in Tripoli. [BN No 271 september 1953 p6]
- See The Story of Ella Bailey.
- 1980-10-17 —
Leonora Stirling Holsapple Armstrong, (b.June 23, 1895, Hudson, New York), the 'spiritual mother of South America' and the first Latin American pioneer, passed away in the city of Salvador in Bahia, Brazil. She had served on the Continental Board of Counsellors from her appointment in 1973. [Mess63-86p248; BW18:738; VV32]
- For her obituary see BW18:733–738.
- See Armstrong, Counsellor Leonora: A Loving Portrait by Kristine Leonard Asuncion. Brief biographical sketch of Counsellor Armstrong, the "Spiritual Mother of South America" .
- Bahá'í Blog.
- Wikipedia.
- Bahaipedia.
- See FMH40-41 for the story of how she was inspired to go pioneering as told to Doris and Willard McKay. (She had been a classmate of Willard's sister Marguerite at Cornell University.)
- 1987-07-01 — The passing of Dr Aziz Navidi (b. 9 September 1913 in Hamadan, Iran) in London. He was buried at the Great Northern Cemetery near the Resting Place of Shoghi Effendi.
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] - 2001-12-16 —
The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Philip Hainsworth (b. 27 July 1919) at the age of 82 in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. Shoghi Effendi had described him as "the spiritual Stanley of Africa". [BW01-02p304-305]
- He was a member of the National Assembly of Central and East Africa from 1956 to 1966 and served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles for a total of 32 years.
- Looking Back in Wonder is the autobiography of Mr Hainsworth and his wife Lois.
- His other publications were:
- Bahá'í Focus on Human Rights
- The Bahá'í Faith by Mary Perkins and Philip Hainsworth
- Bahá'í Focus on Peace
- Historical Dictionary of the Bahá'í Faith by Hugh C. Adamson and Philip Hainsworth
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