- 1874-11-14 — Birth of William Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, in Montreal.
- 1902-05-08 — May Bolles married Sutherland Maxwell in London and moved to Montreal later in the year. [BW8:635; GPB260, BFA2:156 ]
- 1909-00-00 — Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, became a Bahá'í. [BFA2:156]
In the same year he was married to May Bolles. [WMSH16-17] - 1912-08-30 —
`Abdu'l-Bahá left Malden for Boston. He left Boston by train for Montreal, arriving at midnight. [239D:132; AB132; BW8:637]
- He stayed in Montreal for ten days, living for four nights at the Maxwell residence. [239D:132]
- See also `Abdu'l-Bahá in Canada.
- 1912-09-01 —
'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk at the Church of the Messiah, corner of Simpson and Sherbrooke Sts in Montreal. (Architects: The Maxwell Bros. Built 1907, destroyed by fire 1937) [PUP297]
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Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell,
716 Pine Avenue West, (now 1548 avenue des Pins, ouest) Montreal, Canada. [PUP302]
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Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell,
716 Pine Avenue West, (now 1548 avenue des Pins, ouest) Montreal, Canada. [PUP306]
- 1912-09-02 — Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell,
716 Pine Avenue West, (now 1548 avenue des Pins, ouest) Montreal, Canada. [PUP308]
- 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]
- 1940-07-28 —
Shoghi Effendi, Rúhíyyih Khánum and Sutherland Maxwell left England for South Africa aboard the SS Capetown Castle. It was Mr Maxwell's close friendship with the Canadian High Commissioner in London, Vincent Massey, that helped them secure the sea passage. [PP180]
- They departed Southhampton just three days before the German High Command issued an order to the Luftwaffe to establish air superiority along the British Channel coast in preparation for the invasion of England. This resulted in the bombing and strafing of all civilian shipping out of British Channel ports.
- Risking U-Boat attacks the ship took them to Durban where they found that all flights to Khartoum had been booked by the military.
- They left Mr. Maxwell in Durban to await a flight to Khartoum while Shoghi Effendi and Rúhíyyih Khánum tried to make their way to Khartoum overland. The trip across Africa took them to Stanleyville, Congo; Juba in the Sudan; down the Nile to Khartoum and back to Palestine through Cairo. [PP180–1, TG159]
They arrived in Kisangani then Stanleyville a few weeks later (July 28, 1940), stayed for a week at the Stanley Hotel and made an excursion in the virgin forest. On the way to Juba, the Guardian also stayed in the village of Nia-Nia. [bahai.org]
- 1942-12-31 — Shoghi Effendi asked Sutherland Maxwell to design the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb. [BBD210; DH140; GBF103–5]
- 1946-04-11 — Shoghi Effendi instructed Sutherland Maxwell to set plans in motion for the first stages of the building of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb. [GBF104–5]
- 1950-06-00 — In 1950 Sutherland Maxwell suffered from a severe illness from which he never recovered. He returned to Montreal in early June, 1951. [From CBN undated Memorial Issue]
- 1951-12-24 —
Shoghi Effendi appointed 12 Hands of the Cause of God, the first contingent of Hands to be appointed. BBRSM127; BW12:38–40, 374–5; BW13:333–4; MBW20; PG223-224]
- They were Sutherland Maxwell, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins (she had been appointed in 1946, but her appointment had not been made public), Valíyu'lláh Varqá, Tarázu'lláh Samandarí, 'Alí-Akbar Furútan, Horace Holley, Dorothy Baker, Leroy Ioas, George Townshend, Hermann Grossmann and Ugo Giachery [GBF110–11; MBW20; PP253–4]
- 1952-03-25 —
Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Montreal. He died in the very room that the Master had slept in during His visit to Canada. (b.14 November, 1874) [DH143; MBW132; PP246; CBN undated Memorial Issue]
- For his obituary see BW12:657–62.
- Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
- For his relationship with Shoghi Effendi and work on the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb see PP236–43.
- Shoghi Effendi named the southern door of the Báb's tomb after him in memory of his services.
- On June 16th, 1956, friends of the Montreal area gathered at the grave to place, under the headstone, an alabaster box that had been sent by the Guardian. The box contained a piece of plaster taken from the walls of the prison in Máh-Kú where the Báb had been incarcerated in 1847. Another piece of plaster from the same source had been placed under the first golden tile of the dome of the Shrine of the Báb. The superstructure of the Shrine had been designed by Sutherland Maxwell. [TG55; CBN No 80 September 1956 p2]
- Find a grave.
- For a brief biography see LoF276-286.
- The Canadian Bahá'í News published a special Memorial issue.
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