Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

home Canada 1700s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s
1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 		 

Date 1952, descending — sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1952 12 Nov Dagmar Dole, pioneer to Alaska and Denmark, passed away in Glion, Switzerland.
  • Shoghi Effendi said she was the 'first to give her life for the Cause in the European project'. [BW12:702; ZK66–7]
  • For her obituary see BW12:701–2.
  • See also Bahá'í Chronicles and Find a Grave.
    		•  Dagmar Dole; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Glion; Switzerland; Alaska, USA; USA; Denmark first to give life for Cause in the European project
    1952 12 Nov The government of Israel exchanged 145,000 square metres of land surrounding Bahjí for property at Ein Gev on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee belonging to the descendants of Bahá'u'lláh's brother Mírzá Muhammad-Qulí and given to the Faith for this purpose. [DH118, 208; PP233, SETPE1p134-125, MBW454-46]
  • Bahá'í holdings at Bahjí up to this time amount to only 4,000 square metres.
    		•  Bahji, Israel; Mírzá Muhammad-Quli; Israel; Haifa, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre; Sea of Galilee, Israel
    1952 8 Oct Shoghi Effendi announced his decision to launch 'the fate-laden, soul-stirring, decade-long world-embracing Spiritual Crusade' in the coming year. [BW12:253–5; MBW40-41; StS42]
  • For the objectives of the Crusade see BW12:256–14.
  • Among the goals to be achieved was the construction of the International Bahá'í Archives building. [BBD22; DH168; MBW43]
      "the first of the major edifices destined to constitute the seat of the World Bahá'í Administrative Centre to be established on Mount Carmel". [PP264]
  • See The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical and Comparative (PDF) compiled by Shoghi Effendi.
  • See map of the Ten Year Crusade.
    		•  Ten Year Crusade; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; International Bahá'í Archives; - Teaching Plans; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; - Bahá'í World Centre
    1952 8 Oct Holy Year, "The Great Jubilee", October 1952 to October 1953, was inaugurated. [MBW16-18; BW12:116; DG84; PP409–10; SBR170–1]
  • Centenary celebrations of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's mission were initiated. [MBW16–18]
  • "Shoghi Effendi began the Holy Year to commemorate the centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's experience in the Siyáh Chál in October 1952 and closed the Holy Year in October 1953 (which corresponds to the centenary of the "Year Nine", the Islamic year 1269)". [Two Episodes from the Life of Bahá'u'lláh in Iran p21 by Moojan Momen]
  • Four international conferences were scheduled in Kampala, Wilmette (dedication of the Temple), Stockholm and New Delhi. [SETPE2p31-43]
  • For a brief description of the Kampala Conference see CG20-21.
    		• Great Jubilee; Holy Years; Centenaries; Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of Revelation of; Siyah Chal (Black Pit); Kampala, Uganda; Uganda; Wilmette, IL; USA; Stockholm, Sweden; Sweden; New Delhi, India; India
    1952 26 Aug The martyrdom of Nuri'd-Dín Fath-'Azam near Tehran. [BW12p690-692] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1952 Jun Aaron ('Arthur') B. Wellesley Cole, a Sierra Leonean barrister, returned to Sierra Leone from England, the first Bahá'í to enter the country. First Bahá'ís by country or area; Sierra Leone first Bahá’í resident Sierra Leon
    1952 Jun or Jul Mr C. C. Cheng, a newspaper reporter; Professor L. S. Tso, a professor of engineering; and Miss Rosie Du (Ruthy Tu) became Bahá'ís in Taiwan, the first people to accept the Faith in the country. First Bahá'ís by country or area; Taiwan; Asia first Bahá'ís in Taiwan
    1952 1 Jun In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian by the Assistant Secretary, the National Spiritual Assembly was informed that Ahmad Sohrab had cabled the Israeli Minister of Religion to influence the court case brought by the Covenant-breakers, against the Guardian, and which resulted in complete vindication of the Guardian's control of the Bahá'í Shrines and properties. Sohrab's cable identified the Caravan with the Covenant-breakers and stated that the organization was not under the authority of Shoghi Effendi. In a letter dated May 25, 1941, the Guardian wrote through his Secretary that Sohrab "is no doubt the most subtle, resourceful and indefatigable enemy the Faith has had in America." Covenant-breakers; New History Society; Ahmad Sohrab; USA
    1952 c. Jun Dudley Smith Kutendere returned to his home in Nyasaland, becoming the first Bahá'í in the country.
  • He taught the Bahá'í Faith to his brother, who becames the first person to accept the Faith in Nyasaland.
    		•  Dudley Smith Kutendere; Malawi first Bahá’í resident in Nyasaland; first Bahá’í in Nyasalan
    1952 18 May The case brought against Shoghi Effendi by the Covenant-breakers in connection with the demolition of a house adjoining the Shrine and Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí was removed from the civil courts by the government of Israel. [CB330; GBF138–9; PP233–4, 290]
  • For the history of this case and the outcome see BW12:384–7.
    		•  Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; House of Bahá'u'lláh (Bahji); Court cases; Covenant-breakers; Haifa, Israel; Bahji, Israel
    1952 May (end) Plans drawn up by Mason Remey for a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár on the promontory of Mount Carmel in Haifa were approved but construction is not presently planned.
  • For a photo of the model of the design see BW12p548. This model was presented and place on view at the Intercontinental Conference in Chicago in 1953. It is now at the main hall of the Mansion at Bahjí. [SER170-174]
  • For an address by Mason Remey made at the unveiling of the model see BW12p547-550]
    		•  Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Haifa; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Design; Charles Mason Remey; Haifa, Israel
    1952 27 Apr Hyde Dunn was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God posthumously in a cable sent to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand. [BW13:861; SBR169] Hyde Dunn; - Hands of the Cause; Hands appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi
    1952 Ridván The National Convention of the Bahá'ís of Central America was scheduled to be held in a prestigious hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica. When a distinguish believer, Mr Matthew Bullock, was not allowed to register at the hotel because of his race, the National Assembly moved the Convention to another venue and registered guests moved to small pensions rather than staying at the hotel. [SDSC65]
  • Matthew Bullock was one of the early African-American believers in the United States. He became an enrolled believer in 1940 after 15 years of knowledge of the Faith. In 1952 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly and along with fellow NSA member Elsie Austin, represented that institution at the first Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Uganda in 1953. [LoS108, SDSC102]
    		•  Conventions, National; NSA; Race; Matthew Bullock; Elsie Austin; San Jose, CA; Costa Rica; Central America
    1952 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly of Singapore City was established. [BW12:573; PH58, 67] Local Spiritual Assembly; Singapore first Local Spiritual Assembly Singapore City
    1952 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Tanganyika was established in Dar-es-Salaam. Jalal Nakhjavani, Hassan Sabri, Isobel Sabri, Leslie Matola, Khanum Darakshandeh Nakhjavani, Dudley Denis-Smith Kutendele, Eustace Mwalimu, and Naimi Frahang Nayer Gopalkrishnan were among its members; Matola belonged to the Yao tribe, while Mwalimu belonged to another. [History of the Bahá'í Faith in Tanzania] Local Spiritual Assembly; Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania first Local Spiritual Assembly in Tanganyika
    1952 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly of Uganda was established in Kampala.
  • Enoch Olinga was a member.
    		•  Local Spiritual Assembly; Kampala, Uganda first Local Spiritual Assembly of Uganda
    1952 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America launched a One Year Plan (1952-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46; The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement) p2]

    Shoghi Effendi provided the following advice for the aims of the Central American Assembly:
      -To establish harmony, love and understanding among the Bahá'ís
      -To promote the teaching work
      -To win support for the National Bahá'í Fund
      -To assure publication of Bahá'í literature in well-translated Spanish editions in cooperation with the National Spiritual Assembly of South America. [BW12p68-69; Shoghi Effendi: Author of Teaching Plans ]

    		- Teaching Plans; - Teaching Plans, National; Central America One Year Plan; Central America
    1952 26 Mar Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum was appointed Hand of the Cause of God to replace her father. [GBF111; MBW132–3] Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Haifa, Israel
    1952 25 Mar 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.
    		• Sutherland Maxwell; Architects; Fortress of Mah-Ku; Gifts; Relics; Báb, Shrine of; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Montreal, QC; Canada
    1952 8 Mar Shoghi Effendi announced the enlargement of the International Bahá'í Council to eight members. [MBW22; PP252–3]
  • Its members were Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery, Leroy Ioas, Jessie Revell, Ethel Revell and Lotfullah Hakim. [BW12:379; MBW22]
    		•  International Bahá'í Council; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Ugo Giachery; Leroy Ioas; Jessie Revell; Ethel Revell; Lutfullah Hakim; Haifa, Israel
    1952 4 Mar Shoghi Effendi described plans for a marble colonnade to encircle the Shrine of the Báb as an intermediate step to building a superstructure for the Shrine and sent his ideas to Italy for scale drawings and estimate. [SE133–4] Báb, Shrine of; Haifa, Israel; Mount Carmel MERGE; Italy
    1952 Mar The Octagonal component of the Shrine of the Báb was completed. [The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical & Comparative p6] Báb, Shrine of; Haifa, Israel; Mount Carmel MERGE
    1952 Mar Mariette Bolton of Australia visited New Caledonia, the first Bahá'í to visit the islands. [BW15p437]
  • During her visit Mlle Françoise Feminier became a Bahá'í, the first person in New Caledonia to accept the Faith.
    		• First Bahá'ís by country or area; Islands; New Caledonia first Bahá’í to visit New Caledonia; first Bahá'í in New Caledonia
    1952 29 Feb Shoghi Effendi appointed the second contingent of Hands of the Cause of God. [BW12:375–6; CT202–3 MBW20–1; PP254; ZK47]
  • They were Fred Schopflocher, Corinne True, Dhikru'lláh Khádem, Shu'á'u'lláh 'Alá'í, Adelbert Mühlschlegel, Músá Banání and Clara Dunn. [BW12:375–6; MWB19–20]
  • Shoghi Effendi described their two-fold function: propagation of the Faith and preservation of its unity. [BW12:376; MBW21]
    		• - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Contingents; Hands of the Cause, Second Contingent; Fred Schopflocher; Corinne True; Dhikrullah Khadem; Shuaullah Alai; Adelbert Muhlschlegel; Musa Banani; Clara Dunn; Haifa, Israel
    1952 21 Feb For their part in the Africa Campaign, Egypt was asked to send pioneers to Libya and to Algeria. The first pioneer to Libya, Dr. Hussein Gollestaneh, arrived in Benghazi from Egypt.
  • By June 5, 1952 the first Libyan. Mr El Alamy, declared his faith in Bahá'u'lláh. Later in June a Bahá'í family, the Gorrah family, arrived to assist with the teaching work. [BN No 246 August 1951 p10; BN No 260 October 1952 p5]
    		•  Hussein Gollestaneh; Mr El Alamy; Gorrah family; Benghazi, Libya; Libya first libyan to declare his Faith
    1952 Feb Eric Manton and his son Terry arrived in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), the first Bahá'ís to settle in the country. They settled in the Copperbelt region from where he was able to raise a number of native believers who took the Faith to other parts of Zambia. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2]
  • The first local convert was Christopher Mwitumwa in 1954. [Wikipedia]
    		•  First travel teachers and pioneers; Eric Manton; Terry Manton; Northern Rhodesia; Zambia first residents in Northern Rhodesia
    1952 Feb Enoch Olinga became a Bahá'í, the third Ugandan and the first of the Iteso tribe to accept the Faith.
  • See TG160 for the story of how he became a Bahá'í.
    		•  Enoch Olinga; Uganda first Bahá'í of Iteso tribe
    1952 10 Jan The passing of Honoré Jaxon (b. 1861 as William Henry Jackson in the village of Wingham, ON). He died one month after his eviction from his basement apartment where he hoarded three tons of archival material which he hoped would become a library for the study of the Métis people of Saskatchewan.

    See Speechless 4 December 2009 for a chronological biography as well as a bibliography / webliography of other works on him.

    See NUVO for a photo of his eviction from the New York Daily News archive and a short biography.

    See as well BFA1p90-93; OBCC18-21, 25-26.

  • For his biography see Honoré Jaxon: Prairie Visionary by Donald B. Smith and Strange Empire: Louis Riel and the Métis People by Joseph Howard.
    		•  In Memoriam; Honoré Jaxon; Metis; New York, USA
    1952 (In the year) Khodabakhch Attar-Hamedani, his wife, and four sons were the first to pioneer to Algeria. The first Local Assembly was formed in 1954 and several others were formed after. He served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Algeria and Tunisia and was appointed to the Auxiliary Board until all foreign Bahá'ís were expelled in 1968. [BWIM114] Persecution, Algeria; Algiers, Algeria; Algeria first to pioneers to Algeria
    1952 (In the year) Walli Khan, a Fiji Indian, became a Bahá'í, the first person in Fiji to accept the Faith. First Bahá'ís by country or area; Fiji first Bahá'í in Fiji
    1952 (In the year) Dudley Smith Kutendere from Zomba in the south of Malawi became a Bahá'í in Dar-es-Salaam, the first African to become a Bahá'í in Tanganyika and the first in all of Central and East Africa.
  • Denis has the unique distinction of being the first native believer in sub-Sahara Africa to take the Faith to a new country when in 1952 he left Tanzania to return to his native Nyasaland settling in his home town of Zomba. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2]
    		•  Dudley Smith Kutendere; Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania; Zomba; Malawi first African Bahá’í in Tanganyika, and Central and East Africa
    1952 (In the year) Bahá'ís and their homes were attacked in Najafábád, Iran, and several houses were set on fire. [BW18:390] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Destruction; - Persecution; Najaf, Iranabad, Iran; Iran
    1952 (In the year) Mr Narain Das, a textile salesman from India working in Singapore, became a Bahá'í, the first person in the country to accept the Faith. A few months later Mr Teo Geok Leng, a Chinese Singaporean, became a Bahá'í, the first native of Singapore to accept the Faith. First Bahá'ís by country or area; Singapore first Bahá'í in Singapore; first Chinese Singaporean Bahá'í
    1952 (In the year) Aziz Yazdi from Persia joined Ted Cardell in Nairobi. In 1953 they were joined by Ursula Samandari from England. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2] Pioneering; Aziz Yazdi; Ted Cardell; Ursula Samandari; Nairobi, Kenya; Kenya
    1952 (In the year) Published on the instructions of Shoghi Effendi, Dr Yúnis Afrukhtih's Khatirát-i-Nuh-Saliy-i- Akká, has been described as "pre-eminent among those works dealing with the history of Covenant-breaking".

    The English translation was titled, Memories of Nine Years in Akka) by Riaz Masrour and was published by George Ronald in 2004.

    Over those nine years, 1900 to 1909, Jináb-i-Khán (the title by which Dr. Yúnis Afrukhtih was honoured by 'Abdu'l-Bahá) served the Master in Akká as secretary, translator, envoy and physician. These were difficult years when the Master was imprisoned in the city of Akká, His every move subject to misrepresentation by the Arch-breaker of the Covenant and his associates, and even His life was in danger. At the same time the period saw the victories of the construction of the Shrine of the Báb and the House of Worship in Ishqábád, as well as the rise of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh in the West.

    		Youness Afroukhteh (Yunis Afrukhtih); `Abdu'l-Bahá, Life of (chronology); Memories of Nine Years in Akka (book); Riaz Masrour; Covenant-breakers
    1952 (In the year) The establishment of the Bahá'í Service for the Blind and the Physically Handicapped as a committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. Its purpose is to provide the literature of the Faith in mediums which can be used by those individuals whose physical or mental handicaps prevent them from using normal print. [website] Blindness; Disability; USA

    Try also a shorter date like 195

    try also the Chronology Canada — 1952 or 195

    Home Site Map Links Tags Chronology About Contact RSS