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Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1914, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1914 6 Nov
191-
Agnes Alexander arrived in Japan at the request of 'Abdu'l-Bahá en route she stopped in Hong Kong. [TR30; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 6min15sec]
  • She lived there for a total of thirty–two years. [PH32]
  • See also W2:42–4 and Sims, Traces That Remain.
  • Agnes Alexander; China; Japan; Hong Kong
    1914 1 Nov
    191-
    Turkey entered the war on the side of the Central Powers.
  • Palestine was blockaded and Haifa was bombarded. [GPB304]
  • `Abdu'l-Bahá sent the Bahá'ís to the Druze village of Abú-Sinán for asylum. [AB411; DH124; GPB304, BWNS1297]
  • For `Abdu'l-Bahá in wartime see CH188–228.
  • `Abdu'l-Bahá had grown and stored corn in the years leading up to the war and was now able to feed not only local people but the British army. [AB415, 418; CH210; GPB304, 306]
  • Properties in the villages of Asfíyá and Dálíyá near Haifa were purchased by `Abdu'l-Bahá, and, at the request of Bahá'u'lláh, bestowed upon Díyá'u'lláh and Bahí'u'lláh. Land was also acquired in the villages of Samirih, Nughayb and 'Adasíyyih situated near the Jordan river. 'Adasíyyah was the village occupied by Bahá'ís of Zoroastrian heritage that produced corn for the Master's household. The village of Nughayb is where the relatives of the Holy Family lived. [CH209-210]
    • See the book "Adasiyyih: The Story of 'Abdu’l-Baha's Model Farming Community" by Paul Hanley (2024).
    • See also 'Adasiyyah: A Study in Agriculture and Rural Development by Iraj Poostchi. This village was purchased by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1901. He paid 400 Turkish gold lira for 920 hectares and then gifted 1/24th of the total area to the family from whom He had made the purchase.
    • Under the guidance of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi this village became a model of agriculture and Bahá'í life. The Bahá'ís lost ownership after 1962 when Jordan implemented land reforms.
    • 'Adasiyyah is mentioned in the film Exemplar (17:40-18:50).
  • See as well `Abdu'l-Baha in Abu-Sinan: September 1914 by Ahang Rabbani.
  • See Senn McGlinn's Abdu'l-Baha's British knighthood for more background.
  • World War I; War; Druze; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); `Abdu'l-Bahá, Knighthood (KBE); Charity and relief work; Social and economic development; History (general); - Basic timeline, Expanded; * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Basic timeline; Diyaullah; * Bahaullah (chronology); Exemplar (film); Palestine; Israel; Abu-Sinan, Israel; Haifa, Israel; Asfiya, Palestine; Daliya, Palestine; Samirih, Palestine; Nughayb, Palestine; Adasiyyih, Palestine; Jordan; United Kingdom
    1914 15 Oct
    191-
    In a talk by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Mason Remey and George Latimer in Haifa the Master distanced Himself from anyone who asked for money in His name. [SoW Vol 7 No11 4 November 1916 p122] * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Haifa, Israel; Akka, Israel
    1914 Oct
    191-
    Shoghi Effendi returned to Beirut from Haifa to take up his sophomore year of university at the Syrian Protestant College. As a result of the fear of unrest in Beirut, enrollment was down. The College was instrumental in the relief work being done for wounded soldiers or other casualties who were treated free of charge. As a result of this work it became a place of relative safety. The number of Bahá'í students at the Syrian Protestant College increased to 35, many of whom were sent by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [PG15] * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Syrian Protestant College, Lebanon; Beirut, Lebanon; Lebanon; Haifa, Israel
    1914 27 Aug
    191-
    Áqá Mírzá Yúsif-i-Qá'iní was killed in Mashhad. [BW18:387] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Mashhad, Iran; Iran
    1914 4 Aug
    191-
    England declared war on Germany. World War I; War; History (general); United Kingdom; Germany; - Europe
    1914 Aug
    191-
    Shoghi Effendi returned to Haifa after completing his first year of college at the Syrian Protestant College just as war was breaking out in Europe. [PG12] Syrian Protestant College, Lebanon; * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Beirut, Lebanon; Lebanon; Haifa, Israel
    1914 28 Jul
    191-
    The Great War (1914–18) broke out in Europe. (28 July, 1914 to 11 November, 1918)

    Austria declared war on Serbia.

  • See Reading Reality in Times of Crisis: 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Great War by Amín Egea.
  • The world experienced horrors the like of which had never been seen with a long list of military engagements.

    The Battle of Verdun (February to December 1916) 130,000 unknown dead on both sides

    The first Battle of the Somme (July to November 1916) 1,000,000 casualties in four months

    The naval battle of Jutland (31 May to 1 June) 21 ships sunk.

  • World War I; War; History (general); Amin Egea; - Europe; Austria; Serbia
    1914 29 Jun
    191-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá instructed the remaining pilgrims in the Holy Land to leave. [AB406]
  • CH191 says the American pilgrims left on the last boat from Haifa to Alexandria on 15 Jan. 1915.
  • Pilgrims; Haifa, Israel
    1914 28 Jun
    191-
    The heir to the Austrian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo. World War I; War; History (general); Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Serbia; Austria
    1914 22 Jun
    191-
    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 'Azíz'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] iiiii
  • 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 M9YA108.

    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. The Isfahaní 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]

  • Ameen Fareed (Amin Farid); Covenant-breaking; Lutfullah Hakim; Charles Mason Remey; George Latimer; Habibullah Khudakhsh; Habib Muayyad; Azizllah Bahádur; Laura Clifford Barney; Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney; Chevalier, Mrs; United States (USA); London, England; United Kingdom; Stuttgart, Germany; Germany; Farah Sprague (Farahangiz Khanum); Mírzá Asadullah-i-Isfahani; Radiyyih (sister of Munirih Khanum)
    1914 Jun
    191-
    George Augur arrived in Japan. [BFA2:53; SBR191]
  • He was the first Bahá'í to reside in the country. [SBR191]
  • For a biography of George Augur see SBR187–98.
  • See PG118 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's comments on Japan.
  • George Augur; Japan First Bahá'í to reside in Japan
    1914 25 - 28 Apr
    191-
    The Bahá'í Temple Unity Convention was held in Chicago at the Corinthian Hall, Masonic Temple. See the report of the Convention written by Alfred Lunt. [SoW Vol 5 Issue 10 8 September 1914 p147-151]

    Those elected to the Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity were: Albert H. Hall, (President), Mrs. Annie L. Parmerton, (Vice-President), Mr. Alfred E. Lunt, (Secretary), Mr. William H. Randall, (Assistant Secretary), Mrs. Corinne True, Mr. Bernard M. Jacobsen, (Treasurer), Mr. William C. Ralston, Mr. Edward B. Kinney, and Mr. Mountfort Mills.

    National Convention
    1914 Spring
    191-
    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] Laura Clifford Barney; Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney; China; French Indonesia
    1914 15 Feb
    191-
    Dr Howard Bliss, the president of the Syrian Protestant College, visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá in part, to arrange for the Bahá'í students to spend their upcoming spring break in Haifa in the vicinity of the Shrines of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb, affording them an opportunity to meet and learn from ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. [AB405]

    By this time, Bahá'í students from Haifa and 'Akká, as well as Persia, Egypt, and Beirut, had attended SPC (later called the American University at Beirut) for about a decade, in increasing numbers over the previous few years. There were no comparable institutions in their own countries, and attending universities in Europe or America was not yet practical for most. As SPC became a popular choice, the prospect of joining an existing group of Bahá'í students was an additional attraction. A sizable group of students as well attended the Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), also in Beirut. Together, they constituted a single coherent group, meeting together, visiting each other, and collaborating, for example, in the activities of the "Society of the Bahá'í Students of Beirut," which had been formed in 1906. ['Abdu'l-Bahá and the Bahá'í Students]

    American University of Beirut; Syrian Protestant College, Lebanon; Howard Bliss; Université Saint-Joseph, Beirut; Haifa, Israel; Beirut, Lebanon; Lebanon
    1914 Jan - Feb
    191-
    'Abdu'l-Bahá sent Lua and Dr. Getsinger on a teaching tour in India. The duration of the tour and the places visited have yet to be confirmed. She lectured at Theosophical Society Hall in Surat on "Purity and Divinity" (22 Jan); in Bombay, she spoke in Pratana Mandir Hall for an hour on "The Bahá'í Movement—Its Rise and Progress." (24Jan) She addressed the students of the Theistic Society on "Individual Spiritual Progress" (4 Feb); and in the Ideal Seminary she spoke on "Service as an Act of Worship." (8 Feb) In addition to the public lectures, to large and enthusiastic audiences, Dr. and Mrs. Getsinger were kept busy meeting people of various creeds. Lua's most important interview, and the one which 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of as a "certain definite result", was with the Maharajah of Jalowar (Jhalawar) whom He had met in London. He wished to acquaint this receptive enlightened person with the Bahá'í teachings, and chose Lua to seek him out. The Maharajah received her most graciously, and afterwards corresponded with her, remaining a staunch friend of the Faith. [SoW vol. V, No. 2, p. 21-22; "Lua Getsinger -Herald of the Covenant" by Amine DeMille; BFA2:353]
  • In her autobiography, Sunburst pg 236 Loral Schopflocher wrote:
      The Maharaiah of Ghalawar was the first ruler to accept the Baha'i teachings and attempted to put them into practice in his domain.
  • For more information on him see The Indian Biographical Dictionary (1915) by C. Hayavadana Rao.
  • Maharajah of Jalowar; Lua Getsinger; Edward Getsinger; Travel Teaching; Surat, India; Gujarat, India; Jhalawar, India; Rajasthan, India; Mumbai, India; India
    1914 21 Jan
    191-
    Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl-i-Gulpáygání, Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh, passed away in Cairo. [AB404; BBD67]

      ... learned apologist . .. (one of the) successive messengers despatched by 'Abdu'l-Bahá (who) succeeded in rapidly dispelling the doubts, and in deepening the understanding of the believers, in holding the community together, and in forming the nucleus of those administrative insitutions which, two decades later, were to be formally inaugurated through the explicit provisions of'Abdu'l-Bahá'ís Will and Testament. Shoghi Effendi
    • He became a believer in 1876. [RoB3p91-107]
    • He was named as an Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh.
    • For biographical information see EM263–5; SDH113; RoB3p433-441; SBNB208-225
    • See BW17p625 for Highlights in the life of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl based on an article by R Mehrabkani
    • His resting place is now next to that of Lua Getsinger in the Bahá'í cemetery in Cairo. [BW9p87]
    • His numerous works include Fará'id (The Peerless Gems) 1898; The Brilliant Proof; 1912; Bahá'í Proofs, 1902; and Al-Duraru'l-Bahíyih (The Shining Pearls, published in English as Miracles and Metaphors), 1900. [BBD7]
    • Find a grave.
    • See AY103, Star of the West, vol. IV, no. 19, pp. 316–7 and Bahá'í Proofs p17-18 for the story of how Ameen Fareed entered and secretly remained in Mírzá's house, between the time of Mírzá's death and his burial, and removed precious manuscripts which, slightly changed, he would spread among the believers in an attempt to undermine their unity at a later time.
    • 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl in His home in Haifa on 21 and 22 January, 1914 as reported in SoW Vol 9 No 3 April 28, 1918.
    • Among his works are:
      • Borhān-e lāmeʿ, translated and published as The Brilliant Proof (1912),
      • al-Ḥojaj al-bahīya, translated and published as Miracles and Metaphors (1981).
      • A selection of his shorter works, entitled Letters and Essays (1985), is also available in English.
      • His other works such as al-Farāʾed, Šarḥ-e Āyāt-e Mowarraḵa, Kašf al-ḡeṭāʾ, and a few collections of his shorter works exist in Arabic and Persian.
    • See the Wikipedia page for links to his works.
    • See Bahá'í Library for a list of works by or about him.
    Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani; - Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh; Lua Getsinger; Cemeteries and graves; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Ameen Fareed (Amin Farid); Covenant-breaking; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt
    1914 9 Jan
    191-
    John Ferraby, Hand of the Cause of God, was born in Southsea, England. John Ferraby; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Southsea, England; United Kingdom
    1914 Jan
    191-
    The publication of A Brief History of Beha'u'llah: the Founder of Behai Religion by M J Gazvini. [Collins7.1530] M J Gazvini; Akka, Israel
    1914 (In the year)
    191-
    'Abdu'l-Bahá was forced to expel Tammaddun'ul-Mulk for corrupt behaviour. He was from Shiraz and had been living in Paris for several years. He had been part of His entourage in 1911. [ABF19] Tammaddunul-Mulk; Covenant-breaking; Shíráz, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Iran; Paris, France; France
    1914 (In the year)
    191-
    The publication of Kitáb-i Badáyi'u'l-Áthár written by Mírza Mahmúd-i Zarqání, by Elegant Photo-Litho Press in Bombay. The English translation, Mahmúd's Diary, was published in 1998 by George Ronald Publisher. [APD151]

    "Mírzá Mahmúd was a careful and faithful chronicler and engaged in assembling and publishing his work with the permission of the beloved Master . . ." (The Universal House of Justice - a letter dated April 30, 1984 addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States).

    Mahmuds Diary; Mírzá Mahmud-i-Zarqani; `Abdu'l-Bahá, Travels of; `Abdu'l-Bahá, Second Western tour; Publishing; * Publications; Mumbai, India; India
    1914 (In the year)
    191-
    The publication of The River of Life: A Selection from the teachings of Baha Allah and Abdul Baha as translated by Johanna Dawud published in London by Cope & Fenwick. [Collins4-249 p27] Yuhanna Dawud (John David); London, England; United Kingdom
    1914 (In the year)
    191-
    Mr Husayn Uskuli and two Bahá'ís friends arrived in Shanghai from 'Ishqábád. His family joined him later. [PH28-29, BW13p871-872]

    The war years 1937-1945 were difficult for him and the conditions following the victory of the Chinese Communist Party made it impossible to have contact with the local people yet he remained.

  • He spent all his remaining years but for a few in Shanghai where he passed away on the 25th of February, 1956 and was laid to rest in the Shanghai Kiangwan cemetery. [Video Early History of the Bahá'ís of China 6min 33 sec]
  • Husayn Uskuli; Ashgabat; Turkmenistan; Shanghai, China; China
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