Chronology: Date 1951

date	event	tags	firsts
1951 24 Dec	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]	- Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Contingents; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent; Sutherland Maxwell; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Varqa, Valiyullah; Varqa; Tarazullah Samandari; `Alí-Akbar Furútan; Horace Holley; Dorothy Baker; Leroy Ioas; George Townshend; Hermann Grossmann; Ugo Giachery; Haifa, Israel
1951 20 Dec	Hand of the Cause Roy C. Wilhelm, (b.17 September, 1875) passed away in Lovel, Maine. He was buried in the Wilhelm Family Cemetery in Stoneham, Maine. [BW12:662] He became a Bahá'í when he accompanied his mother on her pilgrimage to 'Akká in 1907. He introduced Martha Root to the Faith in 1908. In 1909 he was elected to the Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity and served on the American National Spiritual Assembly. A Unity Feast was held at his home in West Englewood, NJ in June of 1912, an event commemorated every year. [Highlights of the First 40 Years of the Bahá'í Faith in New York, City of the Covenant, 1892-1932 by Hussein Ahdieh p7] He, along with Stanwood Cobb, and Genevieve Coy, wrote In His Presence: Visits to 'Abdu'l-Bahá These are said to be "three of the most important, and most touching, accounts of pilgrimages to the Holy Land in the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá. These are three classic works of Bahá'í history and literature. Roy Wilhelm's account is from his visit in 1907. On his passing Shoghi Effendi designated him a Hand of the Cause of God. (23 December, 1951) [MoCxxii, BW12:662] For his obituary see BW12:662–4. Find a grave	Roy C. Wilhelm; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi; Martha Root; Lovel, ME; Maine, USA; USA
1951 13 Dec	Shoghi Effendi's brother Riáz Rabbáni was the last of his siblings to become a Covenant-Breaker. "With feeling profound concern, grief, indignation, am compelled disclose Bahá'í world recent developments Holy Land furnishing further incontestable proof relationship established old and new Covenant-breakers demonstrating increasing boldness, marked, tragic decline in character and spiritual condition grandchildren `Abdu'l-Bahá. Their shameful attitude and conduct receiving approbation their elders. Evidences multiplying attesting Ruhi's increasing rebelliousness, efforts exerted my eldest sister pave way fourth alliance members family Siyyid Ali involving marriage his granddaughter with Ruha's son and personal contact recently established my own treacherous, despicable brother Riaz with Majdi'd-Din, redoubtable enemy Faith, former henchman Muhammad-'Ali, Archbreaker Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. Convey information all National Assemblies." [MBW16, CoB358, 362, 364]	Covenant-breakers; Riaz Rabbani; Haifa, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre
1951 Dec	Brothers-in-law Fred Bigabwa, a Mutoro, and Crispin Kajubi, a Muganda, became Bahá'ís in Uganda, the first to accept the Faith in that country.	First Bahá'ís by country or area; Uganda	first Bahá'ís in Uganda
1951 30 Nov	Shoghi Effendi announced plans for the Great Jubilee commemorating the centenary of the birth of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh in the Síyáh-Chál. [BW12:24–6, 115–16; MBW16–18]	Great Jubilee; Centenaries; Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of Revelation of; Haifa, Israel
1951 22 Oct	Ethel Stephens, the first black American pioneer to Africa, arrived in Accra, the first Bahá'í pioneer to Ghana. [UD273]	Ethel Stephens; Ghana	first black American pioneer to Africa; first pioneer to Ghana
1951 11 Oct	Edmund (Ted) Cardell, arrived in Kenya, the first Bahá'í pioneer to the country in the Africa Campaign. [UD488] Marguerite Preston, the wife of a tea grower, had been living in Kenya since August 1945. She was killed in an air crash in February 1952.	Edmund (Ted) Cardell; Marguerite Preston; Kenya	first pioneer to Kenya in Africa Campaign
1951 Oct	Marthe Jeanne Molitor, the first Belgian Bahá'í to settle in another country, left for the Belgian Congo (Zaire) one day after becoming a Bahá'í.	Marthe Jeanne Molitor; Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire)	first Belgian Bahá’í to settle in another country
1951 Sep	National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States provided guidance on military service. [BN No 247 September 1951 p4]	Armed Forces; Military; Weapons; War (general); USA
1951 2 or 3 Aug	The establishment of the Faith in Uganda with the arrival of Mr. Músá Banání, his wife Samí'ih Banání, their daughter, Mrs. Violette and her husband, Mr. Ali Nakhjavani, of Iran, with their baby daughter Bahiyyih, and Mr. Philip Hainsworth who arrived in Kampala from England. [Wiki Bahá'í Uganda] See BWNS135 for an account of the celebration of 50 years of the Faith in Uganda and the accomplishments.	Musa Banani; Violette Nakhjavani; `Alí Nakhjavání; Bahiyyih Nakhjavani; Philip Hainsworth; Samiih Banani; Kampala, Uganda; Uganda; - Africa	first pioneers to arrive in Uganda
1951 30 Jul	Louis Gregory, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Eliot, Maine, near Green Acre. [CoF163; BW12:666; TMW310, LOF98; SYH236; BN No 247 September 1951 p1] A national memorial service was held for him at the Temple in Wilmette on the 24th of November 1951. [SYH236] Soon after his passing he was designated by Shoghi Effendi the first Hand of the Cause of his race. (On 5 August, 1951) [BBD91; BW12:666, MoCxxii] Louis Gregory was the first person of his race to be elected to any administrative body in the United States. [-from talk by Louis Venters 2min 13sec] See TG114, 117-8 for a description of his passing . For his obituary see BW12:666–70. See a list of his publications. For biographical information on Hand of the Cause Louis Gregory see Gayle Morrison, To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America (Wilmette, IL, USA Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982, 1999 printing). For short biographical information see Bahá'í Encyclopedia] Louis Gregory kept a journal of his visit to 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1911 including statements of 'Abdu'l-Baha, stories of the believers in the Holy Land and his experiences at the Shrines. It includes a selection of tablets 'Abdu'l-Baha addressed to him. A Heavenly Vista: The Pilgrimage of Louis G. Gregory". See Louis Gregory, the Oneness of Humanity, and Highlights in the Development of the African-American Lawyer a presentation by Anthony Vance.	Louis G. Gregory; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi; Firsts, other; Eliot, ME; Maine, USA; USA	first black Hand of the Cause
1951 Jul	Mr P. K. Gopalakrishnan Nayer, an Indian, became a Bahá'í in Dar-es-Salaam, the first person to accept the Faith in Tanganyika. [BW12:53]	First Bahá'ís by country or area; Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania; Tanganyika, Tanzania; Tanzania	first Bahá'í in Tanganyika
1951 Jun	Bahá'ís in Fárán, Iran, were attacked and several houses burned. [BW18:390]	Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Destruction; - Persecution; Faran, Iran; Iran
1951 23 May	Jamshed and Parvati Fozdar arrived in Kuching with their son, Vijay, and became the first Bahá'ís to settle in Sarawak.	Jamshed Fozdar; First Bahá'ís by country or area; Kuching; Sarawak, Malaysia; Malaysia	first Bahá’í residents in Sarawak
1951 25 Apr	The Bahá'í International Fund was established. [MBW13–14]	Funds, International; Funds; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; - Bahá'í World Centre
1951 25 Apr	Shoghi Effendi cabled the Bahá'í world with list of the successes of the Bahá'í work in the past year. [MBW11–13]	Statistics; Translation; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; - Worldwide
1951 Ridván	The number of sovereign states and dependencies open to the Faith was 106, while some of the Writings had been translated into more than 80 languages. [MBW11]	Statistics; - Bahá'í World Centre
1951 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pakistan and Burma launched a Nineteen Month Teaching Plan (1951-1953). The Plan included both homefront and international goals. [DND149-154; The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement) p2]	- Teaching Plans; India, Pakistan and Burma Nineteen Month Plan
1951 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of South America was elected at an international convention in Lima, Peru. Elected were: Edmund J. Miessler (Sao Paulo), Mrs. Margot Worley (Bahia), Miss Eve Nicklin (Lima), Manuel Vera (Lima), Dr. Alejandro Reid (Punta Arenas), Mrs. Gayle Woolson (Bogota), Esteban Canales L. (Asuncion), Srta. Mercedes Sanchez (Lima), Rangvald Taetz (Montevideo) [BW12:60; Bahá'í News No 244 June 1951 p12] 18 of the 27 delegates were present at the convention. [BW12:60] For a photo see Bahá'í Historical Facts . The countries involved were: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. The union lasted until 1957 when it was split into two administrative bodies.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Lima, Peru; Peru	first NSA of South America
1951 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America, Mexico and the Antilles was elected at an international convention in Panama City. Those elected were: Srta. Raquel J. Francois, Mrs. Cora H. Oliver, Srta. Elena Marsella, Srta. Natalia Chavez, James V. Facey Srta. Zenayda Jurado C, Mrs. Louise Caswell, Dr. David Escalante, Artemus Lamb. [BW12:60; Bahá'í News No 244 June 1951 p12] 25 delegates representing 12 countries were present at the convention. [BW12:60] For a photo of those attending see Bahá'í Historical Facts. The countries of Central America were Belize, Costa Rica (confirmed) El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Raquel Francois; Cora Oliver; Elena Marsella; Natalia Chavez; James Facey; Zenayda Jurado C; Louise Caswell; David Escalante; Artemus Lamb; Panama	first NSA of Central America
1951 Ridván	Several National Spiritual Assemblies-Britain, Egypt, India, Iran and the United States, joined forces in their first collaborative teaching effort called the Africa Campaign (1951-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46, BBRSM158, MBW135-140] See also UD261 for the significance of the Africa Campaign. See Bahá'í Communities by Country: Research Notes by Graham Hassall for further details of the Plan.	- Teaching Plans; Africa Campaign; - Africa; United Kingdom; USA; Egypt; India; Iran
1951 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, Pakistan and Burma launched the Indian Nineteen Month Plan (1951-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46; BBRSM158; DND148–50] Some goals were: - To offer Rs 2,500,000 to the Shrine of the Báb Fund - To enrich Bahá'í literature in local languages - To send pioneers to Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Vietnam, Zanzibar and Madagascar - To increase the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - To enhance the status of the Bahá'í New Era School in Panchgani	- Teaching Plans; - Teaching Plans, National; India; Pakistan; Myanmar
1951 Ridván	The Bahá'ís of the British Isles launched a Two Year Plan (1951-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46] Some goals were: - To strengthen the nineteen Spiritual Assemblies already established in the British Isles - To form nuclei in three dependencies of the British Crown in East or West Africa - To translate, publish and disseminate Bahá'í literature in three additional African languages Note that the British community was concentrating on homefront goals and playing a leading role in the African Campaign coordinated with five other National Spiritual Assemblies. [The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement) p2]	- Teaching Plans; British Two Year Plan; British Isles
1951 2 Apr	Shoghi Effendi announced the completion of two additional terraces, a scheme initiated a quarter of a century prior, to fulfill the Master's plan to connect, through a series of nine terraces, the Shrine of the Báb with the Templar Colony at the foot of Mount Carmel. [CBN No 19 April 1951 p4]	Terraces; Báb, Shrine of; Mount Carmel, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre
1951 21 Mar	Shoghi Effendi announced the completion of the excavation for the eight pillars to support the dome of the Báb's Sepulchre and the decision to place a $130,000 contract for the stonework for both the cylinder and the dome. [CBN No19 April 1951 p4]	Báb, Shrine of; - Bahá'í World Centre
1951 12 Mar	Bahá'ís in Taft, Iran, were attacked and one was killed. [BW18:390]	Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Taft, Iran; Iran
1951 7 Mar	The Prime Minister of Iran, Haj 'Alí Razmara was assassinated during a memorial service in a mosque in Tehran. He had planned to have the Bahá'í prisoners including the members of the Spiritual Assembly of Yazd and others, killed on their way to Tehran. [SCF123note63]	Haj Ali Razmara; - Prime Ministers of Iran; - Prime Ministers; Tehran, Iran; Iran
1951 2 Mar	Shoghi Effendi announced the completion of the restoration of the House of 'Abbúd. [MBW8]	House of Abbud; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Restoration; - Bahá'í World Centre; Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; Haifa, Israel; Akka, Israel
1951 Mar	The Bahá'ís of El Salvador called on the president of the Republic to dispel any suspicions that the Bahá'í community was linked to communism.	Communism; El Salvador
1951 25 Feb	In a letter from the Guardian addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, concerning its Two Year Plan which immediately preceded the Ten Year Crusade, he made a reference to the election of the Universal House of Justice: On the success of this enterprise, unprecedented in its scope, unique in its character and immense in its spiritual potentialities, must depend the initiation, at a later period in the Formative Age of the Faith, of undertakings embracing within their range all National Assemblies functioning throughout the Bahá'í world—undertakings constituting in themselves a prelude to the launching of worldwide enterprises destined to be embarked upon, in future epochs of that same Age, by the Universal House of Justice, that will symbolize the unity and coordinate and unify the activities of these National Assemblies. [UD261; 9 March 1965]	Universal House of Justice, Election of; - Bahá'í World Centre
1951 25 Jan or 4 Feb	Claire Gung arrived in Tanganyika aboard the Warwick Castle and obtained employment as a matron in a boys' boarding school in Lushoto. She was the second Bahá'í pioneer to the country. [CG160; CBN No 18 Mar 1951 p10] She later pioneered to Uganda and Southern Rhodesia during the Ten Year Crusade. An additional group of early arrivals in East Africa settled in Tanganyika in 1951. They included Hassan and Isobel Sabri who came from Egypt, and Jalal Nakhjavání and his family from Iran. By 1954, a Local Spiritual Assembly had been elected in Dar es Salaam including three native believers. Among them was Denis Dudley-Smith Kutendele, the first to accept the Faith in Tanzania. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2] History of the Bahá'í Faith in Tanzania said that the first local spiritual assembly was elected in Dar es Salaam in 1952 and that it received civic registration later under Tanganyika's Trustee's Incorporation Ordinance.	- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Claire Gung; Hassan Sabri; Isobel Sabri; Jalal Nakhjavani; Denis Dudley-Smith; Kutendele, LSA, formation; Tanzania; Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania	Denis Dudley-Smith Kutendele, the first to accept the Faith in Tanzania
1951 9 Jan	Shoghi Effendi announced the formation of the International Bahá'í Council. [BBD118; BBRSM127; GBF109; MBW7–8; PP252; UD261] Proclaim National Assemblies of East and West weighty epoch-making decision of formation of first International Bahá'í Council, forerunner of supreme administrative institution destined to emerge in fullness of time within precincts beneath shadow of World Spiritual Center of Faith already established in twin cities of 'Akká and Haifa.... The members were: Rúhíyyih Khanum (1951–61) Liaison with Shoghi Effendi; Hand of the Cause of God Charles Mason Remey (1951–61) President; Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins (1951–61) Vice President; Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas (1952–61) Secretary General; Hand of the Cause Jessie Revell (1951–61) Treasurer Luṭfu'lláh Ḥakím (1951–61) Eastern Assistant Secretary Ethel Revell (1951–61) Western Assistant Secretary Ugo Giachery (1952–61) Member-at-large; Hand of the Cause Ben Weeden (1951–52); Gladys Weeden (1951–52); Sylvia Ioas (1955–61). See UD261 for the significance of the establishment of the International Bahá'í Council. Between 1951 and 1957 Shoghi Effendi directed the members and used the Council to create an image of an international body handling the Bahá'í affairs in Haifa. According to Shoghi Effendi, the Council's responsibilities were to: establish links with the Israeli authorities, and negotiate with them concerning and establishing of a Bahá'í court to deal with personal matters, Shoghi Effendi to complete the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb as an international Bahá'í secretariat. This body functioned until the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. It was a forerunner to the Universal House of Justice. [BBD118] For its functions see MBW7–8. Its seat is the Western Pilgrim House. [BBD178] For the stages of its evolution see CB324.	International Bahá'í Council; Universal House of Justice; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Pilgrim Houses; Pilgrim House, Western; - Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel
1951 (In the year)	Palle Benemann Bischoff, the first to become a Bahá'í in Denmark, settled in Aasiaat, and became the first Bahá'í to live in Greenland. [MC22] He was best known for being the first person to teach the Greenlanders to ski and for having organized the first ski competition in West Greenland.	Palle Benemann Bischoff; Greenland	first Bahá’í in Denmark; first Bahá’í resident in Greenland
1951 (In the year)	By this year the first Canadian Inuit had become a Bahá'í.	First Bahá'ís by country or area; First believers by background; Inuit; Canada	first Canadian Inuit Bahá'í
1951 (In the year)	Bahá'í women in Egypt were extended the right of membership on local spiritual assemblies. [MBW12] Shoghi Effendi called this 'a notable step in the progress of Bahá'í women of the Middle East'. [MBW12]	Local Spiritual Assembly; Women; Egypt
1951 (In the year)	Bahá'ís in Árán, Káshán, Iran, were attacked, and one died. [BW18:390]	Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Kashan, Iran; Iran
1951 (In the year)	Throughout Iran, the government introduced repressive measures against Bahá'ís. [BW18:390] Bahá'ís were dismissed from government positions. [BW18:390] Fifty Bahá'í employees of the public hospital in Mashhad were dismissed. [BW18:390]	Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Mashhad, Iran; Iran
1951 (In the year)	Shoghi Effendi received the original manuscript of The Kitáb-i-Íqán, in the handwriting of 'Abdu'l-Bahá with some marginal additions by Bahá'u'lláh, and placed it in the International Bahá'í Archives.	International Bahá'í Archives; Kitáb-i-Íqán (Book of Certitude); Shoghi Effendi, Life of; - Bahá'í World Centre
1951 (In the year)	Muhammad Kayvani was murdered in Najafabad. [Towards a History of Iran's Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]	Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Najaf, Iranabad, Iran; Iran
1951 (In the year)	Portuguese Bahá'ís Mr António and Mrs Ema Rocha, Mrs Guedes DeMelo Rocha and Mrs D. Laura Rodriquez, the first pioneers to Angola, took up residence in Luanda.	First travel teachers and pioneers; Luanda, Angola; Angola	first pioneers to Angola
1951 (In the year)	Khadaram and Parvin Payman were the first pioneers in Indonesia. [PH62]	Khadaram Payman; Parvin Payman; Indonesia
Try also a shorter date like 195 try also the Chronology Canada — 1951 or 195

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