Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1953-0, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1953 30 Sep 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
1953 26 Sep The martyrdom of Rahmán Kulayní Mamaqání. He was stabbed by a ruffian in a mob. [BW12p710-711] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution, Mobs; Durud; Iran
1953 23 Sep 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 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 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 (DRC) (Zaire); Africa
    1953 18 Sep 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 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
    1953 Sep 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 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 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 Dick Stanton arrived in Keewatin and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Keewatin
    1953 12 Sep 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 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; British Honduras (Belize); Belize
    1953 9 Sep 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; Portuguese Guinea (Guinea Bissau); Guinea Bissau
    1953 9 Sep Rooho'llah Mavadatt arrived in Algeria as a pioneer. [BN No277 p8] Algeria
    1953 8 Sep 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 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 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); Ghana
    1953 Sep 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 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); Nyasaland (Malawi); Africa
    1953 Sep 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 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 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 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, Spain
    1953 Sep 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 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; Sami people; Lofoten Islands, Norway; Norway
    1953 (In the year) 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, 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; Banghazi; Libya
    1953 26 Aug 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; USA
    1953 (Late August) 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 (DRC) (Zaire); Brazzaville; Cameroon
    1953 14 Aug 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
    1953 11 Aug 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 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
    1953 Aug 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 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 Salísa Kirmání and Shírín Núrání arrived in Karikal and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Karikal
    1953 Aug 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 Shiyam Behari arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry; India
    1953 2 Aug 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); Djibouti, East Africa
    1953 Aug 'Abbás Vakíl arrived in Cyprus and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Cyprus
    1953 Aug Shawkat Nahví arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry; India
    1953 Aug 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 (DRC) (Zaire) first believers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    1953 27 Jul 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 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; Europe
    1953 Jul 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 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 Sa'íd Nahví arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry; India
    1953 Jul 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 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 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
    1953 20 Jun Shoghi Effendi designated the Maxwell home in Montreal as a Shrine. [MtC179] Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Montreal Shrine; Maxwell residence; Firsts, other; Montreal, QC; Canada first Bahá'í Shrine in North America
    1953 6 Jun '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 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 (Burundi)
    1953 Jun Ghulám 'Alí Kurlawala arrived in Daman and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451] Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Daman
    1953 28 May 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 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; Quito, Ecuado; Ecuador
    1953 3 – 6 May 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; USA; Santiago, Chile; Chile; USA first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in South America
    1953 2 May 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; Bahá'í home for the aged; Homes for the aged; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Dependencies of; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Wilmette, IL; USA
    1953 1 May 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; USA
    1953 May 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 (Burundi) First Baha'i in Rwanda
    1953 30 Apr 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 The All-American Jubilee celebrations began. [BW12:149] Centenaries; USA
    1953 29 Apr 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, Israel; Mah-Ku, Iran; Iran
    1953 Ridván 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 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 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 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 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, Life of; Roll of Honour; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Endowments; - Bahá'í World Centre; Worldwide
    1953 20 Apr 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 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, Life of; Langenhain, Germany; Frankfurt, Germany; Germany; Europe
    1953 Apr 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 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 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; Italian Somaliland first Somali Bahá’í
    1953 (Early in the year) 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 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) 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; USA; Uganda
    1953 (In the year) 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) 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 (Burundi) first Bahá’í in Burundi
    1953 (In the year) 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) Áqá Rahmán Kulayní-Mamaqání was martyred in Durúd, Iran. [BW18:390] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Durud; Iran
    1953 (In the year) 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
    1953 (In the year) 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) 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) Bahá'ís and their houses were attacked in Bushrúyih and Fárán, Iran. [BW18:390] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution; Bushrúyih, Iran; Faran; Iran

    Try also a shorter date like or 1953 or 195

    try also the Chronology Canada — 1953-0 or 1953 or 195

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