Bahai Library Online

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1953, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1953 27 Dec
195-
Gilbert and Daisy Robert, a French couple, become Bahá'ís in Madagascar, the first people to accept the Faith in the country. Gilbert Robert; Daisy Robert; Madagascar first Bahá'ís in Madagascar
1953 19 Dec
195-
Yan Kee Leong became a Bahá'í, the first person to accept the Faith in Malaya. Yan Kee Leong; First Bahá'ís by country or area; British Malaya; Malaysia first Bahá'í in Malaya
1953 13 Dec
195-
A separate department for the Bahá'í Faith was established by the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs. [GBF137; PP 291; PP320] Recognition (legal); Israel; * Bahá'í World Centre
1953 8 Dec
195-
Loretta and Carl Scherer arrived in Macau from Milwaukee and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for that island. [BW13:453; PH73]
  • For the stories of their lives see BW18:738–40.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Macau
    1953 7 Dec
    195-
    Jalál Kházeh was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God after the passing of Hand of the Cause of God Siegfried Schopflocher. [GBF111–12; MBW55] Jalal Khazeh; Siegfried Schopflocher; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments
    1953 Dec
    195-
    The arrival of Barbara Sims and her family, husband Sandy and daughter Sandra in Tokyo. [Barbara Sims' Contribution to Bahá'í Scholarship in Asia Pacific by Sandra S. Fotos; In memoriam Barbara Sims by Universal House of Justice, Sheridan Sims, and Sandra S. Fotos] Barbara Sims; Sandra Fotos; Tokyo, Japan; Japan
    1953 Nov or Dec
    195-
    The arrival, from Egypt, of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Labib Isfahani in Dakar, Senegal. He was followed by his brother Habib Isfahani in April of 1954 who also received the honour. [BW13:452, BWNS283] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Labib Isfahani; Habib Isfahani; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Egypt; Dakar, Senegal; Senegal
    1953 Dec
    195-
    Adíb Baghdádí arrived in Hadhramaut and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Hadhramaut, Arabian Peninsula; Yemen
    1953 Dec
    195-
    Kay Khusraw Dahamobedi, Bahíyyih Rawhání and Gulbár Áftábí arrived on Diu Island and are named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Diu Island, India; India
    1953 Late in the year
    195-
    'Abdu'l-Karím Amín Khawja became a Bahá'í in Algeria, the first person to accept the Faith in that country. [BN No277 p8] First Bahá'ís by country or area; Algeria; - Africa first Bahá'í in Algeria
    1953 Dec
    195-
    Jean and Tove Deleuran arrived in the Balearic Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh in December. [BW13:449] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Jean Deleuran; Tove Deleuran; Balearic Islands, Spain
    1953 20 Nov
    195-
    The formation of the Israel Branch of the Bahá'ís of Canada. Israel Branch of the Bahá'ís of Canada; Canada; Israel
    1953 13 Nov
    195-
    Kámil 'Abbás arrived in the Seychelles from Iraq and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455; BWNS272]
  • For the story of his life see BW18:722–3.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Seychelles
    1953 11 Nov
    195-
    Ottilie Rhein (1903-79), an American of German origin, arrived in Mauritius and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the island. [BW13:454]
  • For the story of her life see BW18:703–5.
  • On her first expedition to provide necessities for living, she met the proprietor of a shop, Mr. Yim Lim, who became the first resident of the country to join the Faith. [BWNS274]
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Ottilie Rhein; Yim Lim; Mauritius first Bahá'í in Mauritius
    1953 11 Nov
    195-
    Shoghi Effendi announced the settling of a further contingent of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh in 21 virgin areas, bringing the number of territories open to the Faith to 200. [MBW52–3] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade; - Worldwide
    1953 Nov
    195-
    Matthew W. Bullock of Boston, Massachusetts, arrived in the Dutch West Indies (Netherlands Antilles) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Lesser Antilles
    1953 Nov
    195-
    'Alí Akbar Rafí'í (Rafsanjání) and his wife, Sháyistih, and their 19-year-old son, 'Abbás, arrived in Tangier and all were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Morocco
    1953 Nov
    195-
    Husayn Rawhání Ardikání and his wife, Nusrat, arrived in Tangier with their daughter, Shahlá, and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Husayn Rawhani Ardikani; Nusrat Ardikani; Sahla Ardikani; Tangier, Morocco; Morocco
    1953 Nov
    195-
    Dr Khodadad M. Fozdar, an Indian of Parsi background, arrived in the Andaman Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449]
  • For the story of his life see BW13:892–3.
  • Khodadad M. Fozdar; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India; India
    1953 Nov
    195-
    Dr Mihdí Samandarí arrived in Italian Somaliland and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452]
  • His wife Ursula (née Newman) arrived in 1954 and was also named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Somalia
    1953 Nov
    195-
    Samíra Vakíl arrived in Cyprus and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Cyprus
    1953 Nov
    195-
    Mary Olga Katherine Mills (née Bieymann) arrived in Malta and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Malta
    1953 Nov
    195-
    Tábandih Paymán arrived in San Marino and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh in November. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Tabandih Payman; San Marino, Italy
    1953 Nov
    195-
    The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Dr. K. M. Fozdar on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. [PH57; BWNS271] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Gail and Gerald Curwin with their daughter Leeanna and Maurice and Ethel Holmes arrived in Nassau and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for the Bahamas Islands. [BW13:449] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Gail Curwin; Ethel Holmes; Gerald Curwin; Maurice Holmes; Nassau, Bahamas; Bahamas
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Bertha Dobbins arrived in Port Vila on the island of Efate from Adelaide, Australia, and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the New Hebrides Islands (Vanuatu). [BW13:454] Bertha Dobbins; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Port Vila, Vanuatu; Efate, Vanuatu; Vanuatu
    1953 Oct
    195-
    'Amín Battáh, an Egyptian, arrived in Río de Oro (Western Sahara) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Amin Battah; Western Sahara; - Africa
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Max Kanyerezi, a Ugandan, was brought to Brazzaville by Violette and 'Alí Nakhjavání and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for French Equatorial Africa. [BW13:451] Violette Nakhjavani; `Alí Nakhjavání; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Max Kanyerezi; Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo; French Equatorial Africa
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Albert Nyarko Buapiah became a Bahá'í in Ghana, the first Ghanaian to become a Bahá'í in the country. First Bahá'ís by country or area; Albert Nyarko Buapiah; Ghana first Ghanaian Bahá’í
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Rolf Haug settled in Crete and iwa named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for that island. [BW13:450] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Rolf Haug; Crete, Greece
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Dr Malcolm King, an American pioneer in Jamaica, arrived in British Guiana (now Guyana) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Malcolm King; British Guiana
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Shirley Warde arrived in British Honduras (Belize) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Shirley Warde; Belize
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Frederick and Jean Allen and Irving and Grace Geary arrived on Cape Breton Island and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Frederick Allen; Jean Allen; Irving Geary; Grace Geary; Cape Breton Island, NS
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Geertrui Ankersmidt arrived in the Frisian Islands and was named Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Gertrud Ankersmidt; Frisian Islands; Netherlands
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Zunilda de Palacios arrived on Chiloé Island and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Zunilda de Palacios; Chiloé Island, Chile; Chile; Latin America
    1953 29 Oct
    195-
    Gladys ('Glad') Irene Parke and Gretta Stevens Lamprill arrived in Papeete from Australia and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for the Society Islands, French Polynesia. [BW13:455]
  • For the story of Gladys Parke's life see BW15:457–8.
  • For the story of Gretta Lamprill's life see BW15:534–5. She was the inaugural secretary of the Hobart LSA, a secretary of the NSA of Australia and New Zealand and a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Society Islands. She was known as the "Mother of Tasmania".
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Papeete, French Polynesia; Society Islands, French Polynesia; French Polynesia
    1953 29 Oct
    195-
    Opal Jensen arrived on Réunion Island from the United States and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455]
  • She was later declared a Covenant-breaker.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Covenant-breaking; Reunion Island; France
    1953 24 Oct
    195-
    Luella McKay, John and Erleta Fleming, and Alyce Janssen arrived in Spanish Morocco and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:456] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Luella McKay; John Fleming; Erleta Fleming; Alyce Janssen; Morocco
    1953 24 Oct
    195-
    Elsie Austin arrived in Tangier from the United States and Muhammad-'Alí Jalálí, an Iranian, also arrived. They were both named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] Elsie Austin; Muhammad-`Alí Jalálí; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Tangier, Morocco; Morocco
    1953 20 Oct
    195-
    Frances Heller arrived in Macau and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the island. [BW13:453; PH73]
  • She was the first Knight of Bahá'u'lláh to settle in Chinese territory.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Frances Heller; Macau first Knight of Bahá’u’lláh to settle in Chinese territory
    1953 18 Oct
    195-
    George and Marguerite (Peggy) True arrived on Tenerif with their 12-year-old son Barry and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for the Canary Islands. [BW13:450; BW19p634] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; George True; Peggy True; Margarite True; Barry True; Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands; Canary Islands, Spain
    1953 17 Oct
    195-
    The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Bertha Dobbins in Vanuatu. [BWNS256] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Vanuatu; Oceania
    1953 16 Oct
    195-
    Benjamin Dunham Weeden and his wife Gladys (née Anderson) arrived in Antigua and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for the Leeward Islands. [BW13:453]
  • For the story of Ben Weeden's life see BW15:478–9.
  • For the story of Gladys Weeden's life see BW18:692–6.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Antigua; Leeward Islands
    1953 15 Oct
    195-
    Eberhard Friedland arrived in French Guiana from the United States and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; French Guiana
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Enoch Olinga arrived in Victoria (Limbé) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the British Cameroons. [BW13:449]
  • The first Cameroonian to become a Bahá'í in British Cameroon was a youth, Jacob Tabot Awo.
  • The first Cameroonian adult to become a Bahá'í was Enoch Ngompek of the Bassa tribe.
  • The first Cameroonian woman to become a Bahá'í was Esther Obeu, the wife of David Tanyi.
  • Enoch Olinga; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; First Bahá'ís by country or area; Limbé, Camaroon; British Cameroon; Cameroon; Nigeria first Cameroonian youth Bahá’í; first Cameroonian adult Bahá’í; first Cameroonian woman Bahá’í
    1953 14 Oct
    195-
    Edith M. Danielsen arrived on Aitutaki Island, 150 miles north of Rarotonga, before leaving for Avarua, Rarotonga, five days later and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Cook Islands. [BW13:450]
  • For the story of her life see BW19:625–6.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Cook Islands
    1953 14 Oct
    195-
    Robert and Elinor Wolff arrived in Dutch Guiana and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Dutch Guiana (Suriname); Suriname
    1953 14 Oct
    195-
    Shoghi Effendi announced the settling of 13 further Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, with 178 territories now open to the Faith. [MBW173] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade; - Worldwide
    1953 13 Oct
    195-
    Esther Evans and Lillian Middlemast arrived in Castries, St Lucia, and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for the Windward Islands. BW13:457] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Castries, St. Lucia; St. Lucia; Windward Islands
    1953 13 Oct
    195-
    Frederick and Elizabeth Laws arrived in Basutoland (Lesotho) and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449, BWNS262 ]
  • For the story of the life of Elizabeth Laws see BW17:459–60.
  • Chadwick Mohapi and his wife became the first Bahá'ís in Basutoland (Lesotho). [TG166]
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Basutoland first Bahá'ís in Basutoland (Lesotho)
    1953 13 Oct
    195-
    Una Townshend arrived in Malta and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454, BWNS234] Una Townshend; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Malta
    1953 11 Oct
    195-
    Fawzí Zaynu'l-'Ábidín and his wife, Bahíyyih 'Alí Sa'di'd-Dín, and their sons Kamál and Sharíf arrived in Tetuán from Egypt and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Spanish Morocco. [BW13:456]
  • For the story of Fawzí Zaynu'l-'Ábidín's life see BW16:544–6.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Fawzi Zaynul-Abidin; Bahiyyih Ali Sadid-Din; Kamal Zaynul-Abidin; Sharif Zaynul-Abidin; Tétouán, Morocco; Morocco
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Elly Becking arrived in Dutch New Guinea and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Dutch New Guinea; Indonesia
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Salvador and Adela Tormo arrived on the Juan Fernandez Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile; Chile
    1953 7 – 15 Oct
    195-
    The Asian Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in New Delhi. [BW12:178; CBN No 50 Mar 1953 p6-7]
  • For Shoghi Effendi's message to the conference see BW12:178–81.
  • At the request of our beloved Guardian a memorial service was held for our dearly loved Hand of the Cause, Mr. Sutherland Maxwell. Loving tributes were paid to his memory by Mr. Remey and Mr. Giachery. [CBN No 50 Mar 1953 p6]
  • For a report of the conference see BW12:181–8.
  • This was the first international Bahá'í gathering ever to be held in the East. [BW12:181; SBR171]
  • It was attended by 489 Bahá'ís representing 31 countries. [BW 12:181]
  • The design for the International Bahá'í Archives was revealed to the Bahá'ís of the world for the first time at this conference. [DH168]
  • Following the New Delhi conference the Hands of the Cause and other visiting Bahá'ís travelled the length and the breadth of the country speaking in universities, teachers' training colleges, agricultural schools, theatres, hotels, Y.M.C.A.'s, at service clubs, and theosophical societies. Prominent citizens representative of the Hindu, Moslem and Christian faiths were chairmen at many of these meetings. There were numerous press conferences and wide-spread newspaper publicity. The Hands of the Cause were able to present Bahá'í books to world famous Indian scholars, to the family of the Maharaja of Indore and to representatives of the press. Perhaps never since Abdu'l·Bahá visited America has the Faith been presented in such a variety of places in so short a time. Dorothy Baker was one of the Hands who participated in this post-conference proclamation. [CBN No54 Jul 1954 p5]
  • Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; International Bahá'í Archives; Teaching; - First conferences; New Delhi, India; India; - Asia first international Bahá’í gathering in the East
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Earle Render arrived in the Leeward Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Leeward Islands
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Richard and Lois Nolen and children Linda Jean, Cynthia and John arrived in the Azores and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13p449; Bahaipedia] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Richard Nolen; Lois Nolen; Azores
    1953 7 Oct
    195-
    William Danjon Dieudonné arrived in Andorra and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW12:449]
  • He continued to live in the country.
  • By 1979 Andorra had a Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in Andorra-la-Vella and three localities. [BN No 581 August 1979 p11]
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Andorra; - Europe
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Marie Ciocca Holmlund arrived on Sardinia and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Sardinia, Italy
    1953 4 Oct
    195-
    Una Townshend arrived at her pioneer post. It was planed that her father, Hand of the Cause George Townshend, accompany her to Malta where the warm climate might improve his health. He was not well enough to go so Una went alone. Unfortunately his illness advanced and Shoghi Effendi asked her to return home to care for him so she left at the end of 1954. Una and her brother Brian helped him to complete Christ and Bahá'u'lláh by writing down his dictations as he was dying from Parkinson's. Shoghi Effendi called the book Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend's 'crowning achievement'. [KoB359-360] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Malta
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Geraldine Graney arrived in the Hebrides and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Geraldine Graney; Hebrides
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Charles Dunning arrived in the Orkney Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] ul>
  • In probably it was October of 1954 Harold and Marzieh Gail depart from St Matthew's Quay in Aberdeen destined to pay a visit to Charles Dunning in Kirkwall. On the island the diminutive Charles Dunning is referred to as "a wee chappie". [OPOP55-59]
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Orkney Islands, Scotland
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Lionel Peraji arrived in Mahé and is named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Mahé, India
    1953 Oct
    195-
    The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Emma Rice, followed one week later by Knights Stanley and Florence Bagley and their three teenage children, Susan, Gerrold and Carol in Palermo, Sicily. [BWNS254] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Sicily, Italy; Italy
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Claire Gung arrived in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. She spent 18 months in Salisbury (Harare) where she was a member of the first local spiritual assembly. [CG161] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Southern Rhodesia; Zimbabwe first spiritual assembly of Salisbury (Harare)
    1953 Oct
    195-
    The superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb was completed. [BBD210; CB324–5; PP235; ZK85–6]
  • Marble for the Shrine of the Báb came from Chiampo, Italy as did marble for the Archives Building, the Resting Place of Shoghi Effendi, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Terraces Project, the Monument Gardens and the Houses of Worship in India and Samoa. It was cut and chiseled by a firm called Margraf, formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini. [BWNS1223]
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá described the Shrine of the Báb as the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. [ABF18]
  • In a letter from the International Bahá'í Council dated the 2nd of May 1955, they reported on the great interest that has been taken in the Shrine of the Báb since the completion. [CBN No65 Jun 1955 p1; BN 292 Jun 1955 p4]
  • Báb, Shrine of; Marble; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); - Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; * Bahá'í World Centre; * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); * Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Margraf; * Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel; Mount Carmel; Chiampo, Italy; Italy
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Muhammad Mustafá Sulaymán, an Egyptian, arrived in Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. BW13:456]
  • For the story of his life see BW18:768–71.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Muhammad Mustafa Sulayman; Spanish Sahara
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Edmund ('Ted') Cardell arrived in Windhoek and wss named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for South West Africa (Namibia). [BW13:456]
  • He was later joined by his wife Alicia and the first German Bahá'ís to pioneer to Africa, Martin and Gerda Aiff and their children.
  • In 1955 Hilifa Andreas Nekundi, (also known as Tate Hilifa), was the first Namibian to become a Bahá'í. Mr. Nekundi later served on the first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Windhoek, and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Namibia. [BWNS280]
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Ted Cardell; Alicia Cardell; Martin Aiff; Gerda Aiff; Hilifa Andreas Nekundi; Tate Hilifa; Windhoek, Namibia; Namibia first German Bahá’ís pioneers to Africa; the first Namibian to become a Bahá'í.
    1953 Oct
    195-
    The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Edith Danielson in the Cook Islands. [BWNS265] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Cook Islands; Pacific
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Katharine Meyer arrived on Margarita Island and was named Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Katharine Meyer; Margarita Island, Venezuela
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Ursula von Brunn arrived in the Frisian Islands and was named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] Ursula von Brunn; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Frisian Islands
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Helen Robinson arrived on Baranof Island and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Baranof Island, AK
    1953 Oct
    195-
    Mrs (Alexandra) Ola Pawlowska arrived in St Pierre and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for Miquelon Island and St Pierre Island. [BW13:454] Ola Pawlowska; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; St. Pierre and Miquelon
    1953 30 Sep
    195-
    Manúchihr Hizárí and Hurmuz Zindih arrived in Tangier and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Tangier, Morocco; Morocco
    1953 26 Sep
    195-
    The martyrdom of Rahmán Kulayní Mamaqání. He was stabbed by a ruffian in a mob. [BW12p710-711] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution, Mobs; Durúd, Iran; Iran
    1953 23 Sep
    195-
    Ted and Joan Anderson arrived in Whitehorse, Canada, and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for the Yukon. [BW13:457] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Ted Anderson; Joan Anderson; Whitehorse, YT; Canada
    1953 20 Sep
    195-
    Countries (in which) Bahá'ís residenow aggregate over (one) hundred fifty. over seventy (have been) added (in the) course (of the) nine years separating (the) first (and) second Jubilees. [From a letter from Shoghi Effendi CBN No 46 November 1953 p1] Statistics; * Bahá'í World Centre
    1953 20 Sep
    195-
    The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Mr. Max Kanyerezi in Middle Congo (now called Republic of Congo). At this time the country was, together with the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, and Gabon, part of a much larger French territory called the Federation of French Equatorial Africa which was dissolved in 1958. [BWNS246; A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p8]
  • Max and his wife Florence later moved back to Uganda where he had been raised. [CG106-107]
  • The website of the Bahá'ís of the Republic of the Congo gives a different date for the arrival of Max Kanyerezi...
      "Le premier bahá'í au Congo était Max Kanyerezi. Il fut déposé par Violette et Ali Nakhjavani en 1955." (Translation) "The first Bahá'í in Congo was Max Kanyerezi. He was dropped off by Violette and Ali Nakhjavani in 1955." [Reference]
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Congo, Democratic Republic of; - Africa
    1953 18 Sep
    195-
    Dwight and Carole Allen arrived in Athens and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Greece. [BW13:452] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Athens, Greece; Greece
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Hugh McKinley and his mother, Violet, arrived in Cyprus and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450]
  • Violet passed away in 1959 and she was laid to rest in Famagusta. Hugh remained in Cyprus until 1963. He died in Suffolk in 1999 was was buried in Lawshall, Suffolk. He had been born on the 18th of February, 1924.
  • See Ismael Velasco's paper entitled In Memoriam: Hugh McKinley.
  • See Life of Hugh McKinley, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh by Olive McKinley.
  • See Memoram: Hugh McKinley by Ismael Velasco.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Hugh McKinley; Violet McKinley; Ismael Velasco; Olive McKinley; Cyprus; Famagusta, Cyprus
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Elsa Grossman arrived in the Frisian Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] Elsa Grossmann; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Frisian Islands
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Diá'i'lláh Asgharzádih arrived in the Channel Islands and was named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Diaillah Asgharzadih; Channel Islands, UK
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Howard Snider arrived in Key West and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Key West, FL
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Dick Stanton arrived in Keewatin and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Keewatin, NT
    1953 12 Sep
    195-
    Nellie French arrived in Monaco and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454]

    Then 85, she was the first Bahá'í to arrive in Monaco, but she passed away a few months later. For her act of service in bringing the Faith to the country, she received the accolade Knight of Baha'u'llah from Shoghi Effendi.

    A celebration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Bahá'í Faith in the Principality was held on 24-25 April 2004 at the Theatre des Varietes in Monte Carlo, and opened with the reading of a welcoming message from the National Council of the Principality. [Newspaper Archive on BLO]

    - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Monaco
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Cora Oliver arrived in British Honduras (Belize) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449] Cora Oliver; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Belize
    1953 9 Sep
    195-
    José (d. 1985) and Hilda (née Summers) Xavier Rodrigues, a Portuguese-English couple, arrived in Bissau from Portugal as the first Bahá'í pioneers to Portuguese Guinea (Guinea Bissau) and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bissau, Guinea-Bissau; Portuguese Guinea; Guinea Bissau
    1953 9 Sep
    195-
    Rooho'llah Mavadatt arrived in Algeria as a pioneer. [BN No277 p8] Algeria
    1953 8 Sep
    195-
    Jameson and Gale Bond arrived in Arctic Bay in the District of Franklin and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451, SDSC127] Jameson Bond; Gale Bond; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Arctic Bay, NU; Franklin, QC
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Doris Richardson arrived on Grand Manan Island and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Grand Manan Island, NB
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Julius Edwards arrived in the Northern Territories Protectorate (now part of Ghana) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Northern Territories Protectorate; Ghana
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Kathleen Weston arrived in the Magdalen Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Magdalen Islands, QC
    1953 Sep
    195-
    The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Enayat Sohaili in Nyasaland (now known as Malawi) [BWNS240] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Malawi; - Africa
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Brigitte Lundblade (nee Hasselblatt), (b. 1923 - d. 17 May 2008) arrived in the Shetland Islands and was later honoured with being named as Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [Bahaipedia] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Shetland Islands; Scotland; United Kingdom
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Ada Schott, Elizabeth Hopper, Sara Kenny and Ella Duffield arrived in the Madeira Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. BW13:453] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Madeira; Portugal; - Europe
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Evelyn Baxter arrived in the Channel Islands and was named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] Evelyn Baxter; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Channel Islands, UK
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Gertrude Eisenberg arrived in Las Palmas and is named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Canary Islands. [BW13:450] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Las Palmas, Canary Islands; Canary Islands, Spain
    1953 Sep
    195-
    Brigitte Hasselblatt arrived in Shetland and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Shetland Islands; Scotland; United Kingdom
    1953 28 Aug
    195-
    Mildred Clark, a pioneer in Norway, and Loyce Lawrence (née Drugan), a nurse and hospital matron, arrived in the Lofoten Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453]
  • Mrs Lawrence began teaching the Saami.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Sámi people; Lofoten Islands, Norway; Norway
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    Pioneers began to arrive in Libya;
  • Mustapha Salem arrived in July and settled in Tripoli, [BN No 272 October 1953 p9}
  • Asia and Feridon Zein and their two children settled in Benghazi, [BN No 272 October 1953 p9}
  • Rizvaniyyih Iqrari pioneered to Benghazi, Libya on 10 September,
  • Mohsen Enayat pioneered within Libya from Tripoli to Feezan on the 26th of September,
    • SeeSETPE2 p63-66 for an account of Moshen's stay during which he was able to reach two provincial ministers including the Minister of Finance. He was forced to leave by the government after 10 months but was able to recruit Foad Rushdy from Egypt to replace him.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Ne'mat 'Abdu'l Wahid and Mr. Wahid's sister-in-law arrived in Tripoli, Libya in late September. [BN No 273 November 1953 p12-13]
  • Mrs. Laura Kelsey Allen arrived in Tripoli, September 3, 1953. [BN No 280 June 1954 p9]
  • As a result a Local Spiritual Assembly was formed in Benghazi in 1953 and in November of the same year in Tripoli. . [BN No 274 December 1953 p2; BN No 280 June 1954 p10]
  • Mustapha Salem; Asia Zein; Feridon Zein; Rizvaniyyih Iqrari; Mohsen Enayat; Laura Kelsey Allen; Local Spiritual Assembly, formation; Mr and Mrs Nemat `Abdu'l-Wahid; Tripoli, Libya; Libya; Benghazi, Libya; Libya
    1953 26 Aug
    195-
    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 was elevated to the rank of martyr. [MBW170]
  • 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.
  • 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 Rober Gulick in their settlement in Tripoli. [BN No 271 september 1953 p6]
  • Ella Bailey; Names and titles; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Tripoli, Libya; Libya; Houston, TX; Texas, USA; United States (USA)
    1953 (Late August)
    195-
    Soon after becoming a Bahá'í in Kampala, Enoch Olinga, together with fellow new believers Max Kanyerezi and Samson Mungono, responded to the Guardian's call and left his home in Uganda, to fulfill pioneering goals accompanied by Persian pioneers Ali and Violette Nakhjavání. Leaving in late August 1953 they traveled for almost 3 months, covering a distance of over 5000 kilometers.

    The first leg took them to Samson Mungono's post in Kamina, in the Katanga region of the Belgian Congo. They then took a grueling route to Brazzaville, where Max was dropped off and continued through the thick forests of French Congo and Gabon, hoping to pass through French Cameroons and finally reach the British Cameroons. The car broke down in the tropical forest of Gabon leaving the three remaining friends unable to continue. Enoch volunteered to walk to a town 50 miles ahead through the forbidding jungle to get help. Upon arrival Enoch was so ill he was hospitalized for two days and could not travel for a week. He told of a dream he had in which Shoghi Effendi took him in his arms to comfort and reassure him in his desperation. In mid-October they reached the British Cameroons on the very evening of the conclusion of the Holy Year.

    Confirmations of the monumental efforts these first African pioneers made soon followed: Enoch, Max and Samson all successfully brought many local people under the banner of the Greatest Name. [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p4]

    Pioneering; Max Kanyerezi; Samson Mungono; `Alí Nakhjavání; Violette Nakhjavani; Congo, Democratic Republic of; Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo; Cameroon
    1953 14 Aug
    195-
    In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria it was stated that:
      He is Particularly anxious to have some of the German Bahá'ís enter the western territories of the Soviet Union not yet open to the Faith, namely: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, White Russia and Moldavia, and every effort should be made to enable some of the Bahá'ís, German or of other nationality, to go to these countries. The young people in particular may be able to arrange their affairs in such a way as to procure employment in the Soviet Union. This would be a great service, and is part of the work allotted to the German Bahá'ís under the World Crusade. [14 August 1953]
    Germany; Austria; Soviet Union; Moldavia
    1953 11 Aug
    195-
    Virginia Orbison arrived in the Balearic Islands from a pioneer post in Spain and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Balearic Islands. [BW13:449]

    It was neither her first nor her last pioneer experience. Between 1942 and 1946 she pioneered to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. After World War II she went to Madrid, Spain where she helped raise the first local spiritual assembly and she did the same thing in Barcelona the following year.

    In July of 1953 she went to the Stockholm Intercontinental Teaching Conference where she offered to pioneer to Mallorca in one of the Balearic Islands, She stayed about one year before returning to Barcelona in August of 1954 where she attended the Iberian Teaching Conference that was attended by 60 people. Late that nine, she and nine others were arrested by the police and interrogated for 18 hours. They had thought that the Bahá'í were Communists.

    In 1956 she moved to Portugal where she was elected to the first Iberian Regional Spiritual Assembly. After three years she was forced to leave by the authorities because of her Bahá'í activities, holding property and owning a telephone.

    She was asked to go to Luxembourg where she spent nine years but made little progress in establishing the Faith. She was then asked to got to Malaga, Spain and by 1972 Malaga had a local spiritual assembly so she pioneered to Margella in 1979.

    The National Spiritual Assembly asked her to write a history of the Faith in Spain which was completed in 1980.

    As was her wish, she passed to the Abha Kingdom in 1985, still a pioneer. [KoB346-347; Wikipedia]

    See also Also see Bahá'í World 19 pages 715-721 or 692-697 in the print version and Bahá'í News #586 January 1980 p2-5.

    Virginia Orbison; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Balearic Islands, Spain; Spain; Chile; Argentina; Bolivia; Peru; Ecuador; Brazil; Mallorca, Spain; Spain; Portugal; Luxembourg
    1953 Aug
    195-
    Udai Narain Singh arrived in Sikkim and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455; PH63] Udai Narain Singh; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Sikkim, India; India
    1953 Aug
    195-
    Edythe MacArthur arrived in the Queen Charlotte Islands (now Haida Gwaii) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455; BWIM143-145] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Queen Charlotte Island, BC
    1953 Jul - Aug
    195-
    Amín and Sheila Banání, a Persian-American couple, settled in Athens-Kifissia in August 1953 and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Greece. [BW452]
  • They were able to stay in Greece until 1958 when they were asked to leave by the government. [from an interview with Sheila Banani 10 November, 2022 on Thursday Night @7]
  • See Professor Amin Banani, 1926–2013: A Prominent Scholar of Iranian Studies by Ehsan Yarshater in Iranian Studies, 2014, Vol 47 No 2 p347-351 for an obituary of Amin Banani.
  • Amin Banani; Sheila Banani; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; In Memoriam; Athens, Greece; Greece
    1953 Aug
    195-
    Salísa Kirmání and Shírín Núrání arrived in Karikal and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Karikal, India
    1953 Aug
    195-
    Amír Húshmand Manúchihrí arrived in Liechtenstein and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Liechtenstein; - Europe
    1953 Aug
    195-
    Shiyam Behari arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry, India; India
    1953 2 Aug
    195-
    Fred Schechter, an American, arrived in Djibouti and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for French Somaliland. [BW13:451]
  • Mr Schechter went on to pioneer to several Latin American countries, he spent thirteen year on the Continental Board of Councillors for the Americas and served on the International Teaching Centre. He passed away on 27 January 2017 in California, U.S.A. He was 89 years old. [BWNS1149]
  • See In Memoriam Fred Schechter: Bahá'í House of Worship Memorial Program.
  • Fred Schechter; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Counsellors; International Teaching Centre, Members of; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); French Somaliland; Djibouti, East Africa
    1953 Aug
    195-
    'Abbás Vakíl arrived in Cyprus and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Cyprus
    1953 Aug
    195-
    Shawkat Nahví arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry, India; India
    1953 Aug
    195-
    The Congo-Belgian colony had its first believers, identified under the term "The Spiritual Sowers". The story begins with Louis Selemani Bin Kimbulu (the first person to accept the Faith) and Sébastien Ilunga Ngoy Buanga Tumba, two Congolese bank officials who were living and working in neighbouring Burundi, where they received, from a servant working for a Western expatriate, a book of Bahá'í prayers which they did not hesitate to liken to a grimoire. Finding it interesting, they sent a letter for further clarification regarding the nature of the prayers to the Bahá'í Publishing House which published the book.

    In response to their correspondence, an American Bahá'í living in Usumbura, present-day Bujumbura, went to meet these two men. Some time after they met, and after conducting the independent search for Truth, they decided to become Bahá'ís. This is how they began to spread the "new message" to their other colleagues at the Bank, all Congolese living in eastern DRC.

    Very quickly, these two young bankers succeeded in finding souls receptive to the message of the Bahá'í teachings. They were 19 in all and constituted the nucleus called "Spiritual Sowers", the founders of the Faith in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [bahai.org; bahai.org; A Remarkable Response Film 4:18]

    Louis Selemani Bin Kimbulu; Sébastien Ilunga Ngoy Buanga Tumba; Bujumbura, Burundi; Congo, Democratic Republic of first believers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    1953 27 Jul
    195-
    Siegfried (Fred) Schopflocher, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Montreal and was buried beside the grave of Sutherland Maxwell in Mount Royal Cemetery. He was born in Landkreis Fürth, Germany 26 September 1877. [BW12:664-666, LOF390, TG119, CBNS 24 July 2014, Bahá'í Chronicles, SCRIBD, Schopflocher, Siegfried (1877–1953) by Will C. van den Hoonaard]
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the second contingent on the 29th of February, 1952. [MoCxxiii]
  • See TG32, 228 and LoF384-390 for short biographies.
  • Bahá'í Encyclopedia for a biography written by Will van den Hoonaard.
  • See Schopflocher, Siegfried by Will C. van den Hoonaard.
  • For his obituary see BW12:664–6.
  • He was known as the "Temple Builder" because of his great contributions to the completion of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the West. [BW12:664-666]
  • For a brief biography see Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • Find a grave.
  • Siegfried Schopflocher; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, Second Contingent; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; Montreal, QC; Canada
    1953 21 – 26 Jul
    195-
    The European Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in Stockholm. [BW12:167; CBN No 46 November, 1953 p4; CBN No 47 December 1953 p6; CBN No 49 February 1954 p3]
  • For Shoghi Effendi's message to the conference see BW12:167–71.
      In it he called for "the opening of the following thirty virgin territories and islands: Albania, Crete, Estonia, Finno-Karelia, Frisian Islands, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Rumania, White Russia, (Belarus) assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria; Channel Islands, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Hebrides Islands, Malta, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles; Andorra, Azores, Balearic Islands, Lofoten Islands, Spitzbergen, Ukraine, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America; Liechtenstein, Monaco, Rhodes, 160 San Marino, Sardinia, Sicily, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland". [MBW157]
    • For a report of the conference see BW12:171–8.
    • Fourteen Hands of the Cause were present. [BW12:171]
    • 374 Bahá'ís from 30 countries attended, of these 110 come from the ten goal countries. [BW12:171]
  • Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Stockholm, Sweden; Sweden; - Europe
    1953 Jul
    195-
    Jenabe and Elaine Caldwell arrived in the Aleutian Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449] Jenabe Caldwell; Elaine Caldwell; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Aleutian Islands, AK
    1953 Jul
    195-
    Jack Huffman and Rose Perkal arrived on the Kodiak Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Kodiak Islands, AK
    1953 Jul
    195-
    Sa'íd Nahví arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry, India; India
    1953 Jul
    195-
    Arthur and Ethel Crane arrived in Key West and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW16:453] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Key West, FL
    1953 Jul
    195-
    Eskil Ljungberg of Sweden, aged 67, arrived in the Faroe Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451]
  • He was the only Bahá'í on the islands for over a decade.
  • For the story of his life see BW19:658–61.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Faroe Islands, Denmark
    1953 Jul
    195-
    Rawshan Áftábí and Fírúzih Yigánigi arrived in Goa and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Rawshan Aftabi; Firuzih Yiganigi; Goa, India; India
    1953 20 Jun
    195-
    Shoghi Effendi designated the Maxwell home in Montreal as a Shrine. [MtC179] * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Montreal Shrine; Maxwell residence, Montreal, QC; Firsts, other; Montreal, QC; Canada first Bahá'í Shrine in North America
    1953 6 Jun
    195-
    'Izzatu'lláh Zahrá'í (Ezzat Zahrai) arrived in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:456] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Zimbabwe; - Africa
    1953 Jun
    195-
    Dunduzu Chisiza, a Nyasaland student who had recently become a Bahá'í in Uganda, arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Ruanda-Urundi
    1953 Jun
    195-
    Ghulám 'Alí Kurlawala arrived in Daman and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Daman, India
    1953 28 May
    195-
    In a message addressed on the eve of the 61st anniversary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, at the opening of the Ten Year Crusade, Shoghi Effendi encouraged 70 pioneers to arise to fill the goals promising that a Roll of Honour with their names would be deposited at the entrance door of the inner Sanctuary of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh. [MBW48-49]
  • He further elaborated in a message addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada. See the message of the 8 June 1953. [MtC177]
  • See 1992 28 May.
  • Pioneers; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Roll of Honour; Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; Haifa, Israel; * Bahá'í World Centre
    1953 23 May
    195-
    The Hand of the Cause of God, Mr. Valiollah Vargha, arrived in Guayaquil accompanied by Miss Eve Nicklin, a pioneer and the spiritual mother of Perú. He also visited Quito and left the country in early July to attend the conference in Stockholm. [Heroes of God pp53-54] Valiollah Vargha; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Eve Nicklin; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Ecuador; Quito, Ecuador; Ecuador
    1953 3 – 6 May
    195-
    The All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in Chicago. [BW12:133]
  • For the texts of Shoghi Effendi's messages to the conference see BW12:133–41 and MBW142–6.
  • Twelve Hands of the Cause were present. The Guardian was represented by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. [BW12:143; CBN No 82 November, 1956 p3]
  • At the conference, five members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States resigned from that body in order to go pioneering: Elsie Austin, Dorothy Baker, Matthew Bullock, Mamie Seto and Dr William Kenneth Christian. [ZK102]
  • Extract from the second message to All-American Intercontinental Conference from Shoghi Effendi... [MBW150]
    .....the lands contributed in Latin America for a similar purpose approximate one-half of a million square meters, ninety thousand of which have been set aside near Santiago, Chile, for the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of South America..
  • Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Pioneering; Elsie Austin; Dorothy Baker; Matthew Bullock; Mamie Seto; William Kenneth Christian; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Santiago; Purchases and exchanges; Chicago, IL; United States (USA); Santiago, Chile; Chile; United States (USA) first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in South America
    1953 2 May
    195-
    The House of Worship in Wilmette, the Mother Temple of the West, was dedicated in a public ceremony. [BW12:142, BWNS218]
  • For the text of the Guardian's message of dedication see BW12:141–2.
  • For an account of the event see BW12:154–63.
  • See BN No 261 November 1952 p9-10. The Temple Dedication Committee consisted of: Paul E. Haney, Mrs. Corinne True, Allen B. McDaniel, Carl Scheffler, Albert R. Windust with Horace Holley as the chairman.
  • See The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical & Comparative p24-26 for project statistics and a chronology of events.
  • Towards the end of his life in Tehran, Ahmad (of "Tablet of Ahmad" fame) had entrusted the original Tablet to his grandson Jamal who, in turn, out of the purity of his heart and his devotion to the Faith of God, offered it as a gift to Hand of the Cause, Trustee of Huqúq, the son and brother of two illustrious martyrs, Jinab-i-Valiyu'llah Varqá. When Jinab-i-Varqa, according to the instructions of the beloved Guardian, was sent to take part in this dedication ceremony he brought this most precious Tablet as his offering to the archives of the Bahá'ís of the United States. [A Flame of Fire by A.Q. Faizi.]
  • See the message of the Universal House of Justice dated 1 August, 2014 for more on the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Wilmette.
  • See The Story of the Temple by Allen Boyer McDaniel. [CBN No43 August 1953 p4; Collins p101 7.1479]
  • See the video The Temple History Design and Construction.

    Specifics

      Location: Wilmette, Illinois, U.S. Cook County
      Administration: On the same day as the internment of the sacred remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel, March 21st, 1909, the first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. The Convention established the 'Bahá'í Temple Unity', incorporated to hold title to the Temple property and to provide for its construction. A constitution was framed and an Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity elected. This body became the future National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [BBD39; BBRSM:106; BW10:179; GPB349; PP397; SBBH1:146; BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3]
      Foundation Stone: by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, 1 May, 1912
      Construction Period:The purchase of the site completed: 1914. Design Chosen: 1920. Superstructure: 1921 – 1 May 1931. External Ornamentation: June 1932 -1943. Interior: 1951
      Dedication: 1 May 1953
      Architects: Louis Bourgeois with Alfred Shaw (interior cladding) Bourgeois became a Baha'i in New York City in 1907, and two years later responded to the call for designs for the Temple. In 1920, delegates from across the country unanimously selected his innovative design. Bourgeois traveled to Haifa to consult with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. With 'Abdu'l-Bahá's encouragement, Bourgeois refined and scaled down the size of his design. [The House of Worship Architecture]
      Seating: 1,191 [DP220]
      Dimensions: 203ft at the base and 49ft high
      Cost: $2.6 million (another source) $51,500 (land) plus $3,212,517.60 (construction costs 1921-1953)
      Dependencies: Construction of a home for the aged was began in December, 1957 and inaugurated on 1 February, 1959. It is located about three blocks away.
      Note: In GPB349 Shoghi Effendi states that "…this enterprise—the crowning achievement of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the first Bahá'í century…".
      References: CEBF236-241,GPB348-353, MDM121-239, The Dawning Place, The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1963 Information Statistical & Comparative p36-37. iiiii
  • Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Mother Temples; Lawh-i-Ahmad (Tablet of Ahmad (Arabic)); Gifts; Archives; Dedications; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Quick facts; Alfred Shaw; - Architects; Homes for the aged; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Dependencies of; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Wilmette, IL; United States (USA)
    1953 1 May
    195-
    The House of Worship in Wilmette was consecrated in a simple ceremony for Bahá'ís only. [BW12:143, 152; ZK93]
  • For details of the dedication see BW12:152–4.
  • A most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world of existence," are 'Abdu'l-Bahá's own words, predicting the release of spiritual forces that must accompany the completion of this most hallowed House of Worship. "From that point of light," He, further glorifying that edifice, has written, "the spirit of teaching … will permeate to all parts of the world." And again: "Out of this Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, without doubt, thousands of Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs will be born." "It marks the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth. [CoF69 Message of 21 March 1949]
  • Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Dedications; Wilmette, IL; United States (USA)
    1953 May
    195-
    Mary and Reginald (Rex) Collison, an elderly Canadian-American couple, arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) from Uganda and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455]
  • For the story of Mary Collison's life see BW15:486–8 as well as Servants of the Glory page34.
  • Arriving in July was Dunduzu Chisza, a young Baha'i from Malawi, (then Nyasaland) The earliest Rwandan Bahá'í whose name is recorded was Alphonse Semanyenzi. [The Bahá'í Faith in Rwanda website; BWNS349]
  • The first Bahá'í to travel through Rwanda may have been Marthe Molitor c. 1947 after becoming a Bahá'í in Belgium. She moved on to the Belgian Congo. [Taarifa]
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Mary Collison; Rex Collison; Dunduzu Chisza; Alphonse Semanyenzi; Marthe Molitor; Ruanda-Urundi First Baha'i in Rwanda
    1953 30 Apr
    195-
    Messages from Shoghi Effendi regarding a victory in France:
      "Finally share the heart-warming news of the impending establishment of the long-overdue Hazíratu'l-Quds in the French capital through the conclusion of an agreement to purchase a nine thousand pound property situated in the best residential quarter of the city. Kiyani's spontaneous, generous contribution is solely responsible for the achievement of the great victory of the establishment of the institution designed to serve as the administrative headquarters of both the present Paris Assembly and the projected French National Spiritual Assembly." [MBWp141]

      "The second Ḥaẓíratu'l-Quds to be acquired during this period was one in Paris, destined to become the national administrative headquarters of the French Bahá'í community. This achievement was announced in the Guardian's cablegram to the Forty-Fifth Annual Bahá'í Convention of the United States Bahá'ís on April 30, 1953, as follows: "Heart-warming news (of the) impending establishment (of the) long overdue Ḥaẓíratu'l-Quds (in the) French capital through (the) conclusion (of an) agreement (to) purchase (a) nine thousand pound property situated (in the) best residential quarter (of the) city." The acquisition of this property was made possible by the spontaneous and generous contribution of a single believer, Mr. Hussayn Quli Kiyani, recently come to Paris from Persia. The formal dedication of the Paris Ḥaẓíratu'l-Quds took place on July 4, 1953, with Dr. Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause of God, coming from Rome to assist in the ceremonies." [BW12p55]
    Haziratul-Quds (Bahá'í centres); Hussayn Quli Kiyani; Ugo Giachery; Paris, France; France
    1953 29 Apr - 2 May
    195-
    The All-American Jubilee celebrations began. [BW12:149] Centenaries; United States (USA)
    1953 29 Apr
    195-
    In a moving ceremony, Shoghi Effendi placed a silver box containing a fragment of plaster from the ceiling of the Báb's cell in Máh-Kú under a tile in the golden dome of the Shrine of the Báb. [BW12:239; ZK285] Báb, Shrine of; Mah-Ku, Iran; Boxes containing dust, earth or plaster; Haifa, Israel; Mount Carmel; Mah-Ku, Iran; Iran
    1953 Ridván
    195-
    Bahjí was lit for the first time by 99 four-branched wrought iron lamp posts. [GBF32; PP89–90] Light; Firsts, other; Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; Bahji, Israel; Haifa, Israel first time Bahjí lit
    1953 Ridván
    195-
    The National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and Switzerland was established. Elected were: Prof. Mario Fiorentini, Mrs. Anna Kunz, Dr. Ugo R. Giachery, Miss Elsa Steinmetz, Mrs. Stella Lonzar, Mrs. Anne Lynch, Friedrich Schar, Mrs. Marion Little, and Prof. Alessandro Bausani.
  • For a photo see Bahá'í Historical Facts.
  • National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Italy; Switzerland first NSA Italy and Switzerland
    1953 Ridván
    195-
    The first local spiritual assembly in Kenya was established in Nairobi. Local Spiritual Assembly; Nairobi, Kenya; Kenya first Local Spiritual Assembly in Kenya
    1953 Ridván
    195-
    Mrs Meherangiz Munsiff, the wife of an Indian diplomat in London, arrived in Madagascar and was acknowledged as the first Bahá'í in the country. [BWNS288]
  • There was one other Bahá'í in Madagascar before Mrs Munsiff but he was not a Bahá'í in good standing.
  • Suffering ill health, Mrs. Munsiff left in January 1954 a day after Danile Randrianarivo, 29, accepted the Faith, becoming the first Malagasy Bahá'í.
  • Meherangiz Munsiff; Danile Randrianarivo; First Bahá'ís by country or area; Madagascar first Bahá’í in Madagascar
    1953 Ridván
    195-
    The Ten Year Crusade (1953-1963) was launched. See MBW151-156, MBW151.

    The four primary goals of the plan were outlined as follows:
      -the development of institutions at the World Centre
      -consolidation of the twelve countries where the Faith was well established
      -consolidation of all other territories already open
      -the opening of the remaining "chief virgin territories" around the globe (131)

    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]

    To those Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade, the title 'Knight of Bahá'u'lláh' was given. On 27 May 1992, the Roll of Honour containing the names of all the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh was deposited beneath the entrance door to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.

    "…Sometimes people strive all their lives to render outstanding service. Here is the time and opportunity to render historic services; in fact, the most unique in history, aiding in the fulfillment of Daniel's Prophecies of the Last Day, and the 1335 days, when men are to be blessed by the Glory of the Lord, covering the entire globe—which is the real goal of the Ten Year Crusade. [DG54-55]

    A map of goals for the Ten Year World Crusade by Shoghi Effendi can be found in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-1954). Electronic versions, in both medium and large format can be found here.

    The achievements of the Ten Year Crusade were celebrated at the Most Great Jubilee in April and May 1963, which commemorated the Centenary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah's Mission. Two historic events transpired during that time: the International Convention, convened in Haifa, Israel, to elect the first Universal House of Justice; and the World Congress held in London, England.

  • See The Journal of Bahá'í Studies Vol 14, no. 3-4, 2004 for the essay The Ten Year Crusade by Ali Nakhjavani.
  • See CBN No 66 July 1956 in a message dated the 13 of May 1956 Leroy Ioas, (unsure if it was sent on behalf of the Guardian or from the International Bahá'í Council, probably the former), Mr Ioas outlined the three phases of the Crusade; First Phase: open virgin territories, Second Phase: 1. widespread dispersal, 2. settlement in new areas, 3. formation of Local Assemblies and National Assemblies, 4. incorporate Local Assemblies. Third Phase: (open on 21 April 1956, the formation of National Assemblies, with their own Haziratu'l-Quds, have their own endowments and to be incorporated.
  • See The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical and Comparative (PDF) compiled by Shoghi Effendi.
  • For a graphic representation of the goals of the Ten Year Crusade see Objectives and Tasks of Ten-Year Spiritual Global Crusade of the Bahá'í World Faith by Shoghi Effendi compiled by Beatrice Ashton published in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-19540).
  • Map of Goals for the Ten Year World Crusade by Shoghi Effendi published in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-1954) Wilmette, IL: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1956.
  • Progress Bahá'í World Crusade 1953-1958 was the map that Shoghi Effendi finished on the night of his passing.
  • At the start of the Ten Year Crusade the only sovereign countries in Africa were Egypt and Ethiopia, the remainder were still under the yoke of colonialism.
  • Many who arose as pioneers to the African continent came from Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. In Southern Africa alone, 27 pioneers arrived in the first year of the Crusade. Among them were Melvin and Helen Hope in Angola; Fred and Beth Laws in Lesotho; Enayat Sohaili and 'Izzat Zahrai in Mozambique; Mehranguiz Munsiff in Madagascar; Ottilie Rhein in Mauritius; Lowell and Edith Johnson, William, Marguerite and Michael Sears and Harry and Bahíyyih Ford in South Africa; Claire Gung in Southern Rhodesia; and Ted Cardell in South West Africa. In the whole of Africa, 58 of the international pioneers opened new territories and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p3]
  • Statistics; Ten Year Crusade; - Teaching Plans; * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Roll of Honour; * Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Endowments; * Bahá'í World Centre; - Worldwide
    1953 20 Apr
    195-
    The Second Seven Year Plan ended with 2,425 localities, 611 local spiritual assemblies, 100 countries, islands and dependencies opened to the Faith. There were 12 national assemblies to this date; [UC43]
      Accomplishments:
    • NSAs in Canada, Central and South America;
    • Assisted the systematic spread of Faith in Europe, incl. forming 10 LSAs in goal cities;
    • Interior ornamentation complete;
    • Supported the building of the Shrine of the Báb;
    • Expansion and more LSAs on homefront. [The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement) p2]
  • From 1921 to this time the Faith had expanded to 128 countries and territories, 15 during the time of Baha'u'llah, 20 during the time of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and an additional 58 under the stewardship of the Guardian. [Patheos website]
  • - Teaching Plans; Second Seven Year Plan, US and CA (1946-1953); Statistics
    1953 19 Apr
    195-
    Shoghi Effendi announced plans to build a House of Worship in Frankfurt. [BW13:733; LDG191–2]l
  • For the difficulties in pursuing the project see BW13:733–7.
  • Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Langenhain; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Langenhain, Germany; Frankfurt, Germany; Germany; - Europe
    1953 Apr
    195-
    The first local spiritual assembly in Finland was established in Helsinki. Local Spiritual Assembly; Helsinki, Finland first Local Spiritual Assembly in Finland
    1953 25 Mar
    195-
    Enayat Sohaili, an Iranian, arrived in Mozambique from India, the first Bahá'í pioneer to the country. [BW13:290]
  • He was imprisoned and deported in June 1953. [BW13:290]
  • Enayat Sohaili; Pioneers; Persecution, Mozambique; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; First travel teachers and pioneers; Mozambique first Bahá’í pioneer Mozambique
    1953 19 Mar
    195-
    Suhayl Samandarí arrived in Mogadishu and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for Italian Somaliland. [BW13:452]
  • Within a short time, Sa'íd 'Alí Masqatí, a Somali from the port of Baraawe, became a Bahá'í, the first person to accept the Faith in Somalia.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Mogadishu, Somalia; Italian Somaliland first Somali Bahá’í
    1953 (Early in the year)
    195-
    Shoghi Effendi obtained a wrought-iron gate from England with the intention of installing it at the bottom of the terraces on Mount Carmel. Instead, he had it installed on the path radiating out from the entrance to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. The Pyramidal-obelisks and the flower-urns made of lead, border the path on either side. He had originally planned to pave the main path with Carrara marble, the same stone used in the Monument Gardens but abandoned the idea and used pebbles from the Sea of Galilee as he had done on the path between the second and third gates leading to the Shrine of the Báb and at the house of 'Abdu'l-Bahá at 7 Persian Street.
  • It was Amelia Collins who provided the funds for the purchase of the gate and so Shoghi Effendi named it the "Collins Gate" in her honour. [SE129-130]
  • Another account has it that Millie Collins suggested the Guardian take a summer holiday when she saw that the Guardian was working himself into exhaustion. He stalled her several times citing the requirements of his work but finally, when she would not relent, admitted that he did not have the money. She provided the funding for the trip but he spent it on the gate. [Sweet and Enchanting Stories (PDF) p41-42 edited by Aziz Rohani]
  • Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; Collins Gate; Amelia Collins; Bahji, Israel
    1953 12–18 Feb
    195-
    The first Intercontinental Teaching Conference was convened by the British National Spiritual Assembly in Kampala, Uganda. [BW12:121, MBW135-140; BN No 267 May 1953 p5-7]
  • For Shoghi Effendi's message to the conference see BW12:121–4.
  • For a report of the conference see BW12:124–30.
  • It was attended by ten Hands of the Cause, Bahá'ís from 19 countries and representatives of over 30 tribes. [PP413]
  • Over a hundred new African believers attended as personal guests of the Guardian. [PP413]
  • With this conference the Ten Year World Crusade was launched. [BBRSM158–9; BW12:253; MBW41]
  • Picture. [BW12p118]
  • See some candid video footage taken by Ted Cardell.
  • * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Guardianship; Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; - First conferences; Kampala, Uganda; Uganda; - Africa first Intercontinental Teaching Conference; first international conference held in Africa
    1953 (In the Year)
    195-
    The publication of Questions about the Second Coming by George Townshend by the Bahá'í Publishing Committee in Wilmette in response to questions asked of him by the Bahá'ís of Kampala.
  • The publication is available in PDF.
  • - Christianity; George Townshend; Wilmette, IL; United States (USA); Uganda
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    Anjoman-e Hojjatieh ("Society of Allah's Proof Over Creation"), also called the Hojjatieh Society was founded specifically as an anti-Bahá'í organization by a charismatic Shiite Muslim cleric, Shaikh Mahmoud Halabi in the aftermath of the coup d'état of 1953. Between the early 1950s and the early 1970s a great number of the future elite of the Islamic revolution were trained by Hujjatieh. During the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Society was to play an important role in stirring animosity against Bahá'ís. However, in part because of differences in theology—among other things the Hojjatieh believe a truly Islamic state cannot be established until the return of the 12th Imam—the Society fell into disfavour and was banned by the regime in 1984. [Hojjatieh Society, Wiki] Hojjatieh Society; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Iran
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    Grant Mensah, a Ghanaian, became a Bahá'í in Ruanda-Urundi, the first person to accept the Faith in that country. Grant Mensah; Ruanda-Urundi first Bahá’í in Burundi
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    Alfred Amisi (Maragoli), Jacob Kisombe (Mtaita), Laurence Ouna (Mluhya), Labi Mathew (Zulu), and Zablon Bob (Luo) were among the first Kenyans to become Bahá'ís. First Bahá'ís by country or area; Kenya first Kenyans Bahá’ís
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    Áqá Rahmán Kulayní-Mamaqání was martyred in Durúd, Iran. [BW18:390] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Durúd, Iran; Iran
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    The arrival of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Dr. Mihdi Samandari and Mrs. Ursula Samandari (Newman) in Mogadishu, Somalia [BWNS230] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Mogadishu, Somalia; Somalia
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    Mr. Mohammad Ali Djalali was among the first Baha'i's to reside in Morocco, for which Shoghi Effendi gave him the title "Knight of Baha'u'llah." [BW34p239]

    It is not certain which "Morocco".

    - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Morocco
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    Marthe Molitor, a Belgian from Rwanda, began to teach the Bahá'í Faith in Kalina (now Gombe), a district in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). [bahai.org] Marthe Molitor; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
    1953 (In the year)
    195-
    Bahá'ís and their houses were attacked in Bushrúyih and Fárán, Iran. [BW18:390] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution; Bushrúyih, Iran; Faran, Iran; Iran
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