Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1955-04, descending — sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1955 23 Apr Ramadán began. Shaykh Muhammad-Taqí known as "Falsafí" made an inflammatory speech against the Bahá'ís from a mosque in Tihrán. [BW18p390]
  • This was broadcast on national radio and stirred up the people against the Bahá'ís. [BW18:390]
  • Beatings, killings, looting and raping went on for several weeks, usually incited by the local 'ulamá. [BW18:390–1; MC16–17; ZK215–6]
  • The House of the Báb in Shíráz was attacked and damaged by a mob led by Siyyid Núru'd-Dín, a mujtahid.
  • See a publication in the newspaper Shahin Tehran about his "work".
    		•  Báb, House of (Shiraz); Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution, Mobs; - Persecution; Falsafi; Shaykh Muhammad-Taqi; Tehran, Iran; Shíráz, Iran; Iran
    1955 Ridván The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Monaco was established.

    The first person to become a Bahá'í in Monaco was Margaret Lantz, of Luxembourg. Soon after her a Frenchman, Mr. Charbonnet, who owed an antique shop in Monaco, also accepted the Faith. Charlottte Campana was the first person of Monegasque nationality to become a Bahá'í.

    Bahá'í writings translated into Monegasque were officially presented to Crown Prince Albert in 2001. [Newspaper Archive on BLO]

    		Monaco first LSA in Monaco
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Réunion was formed. Local Spiritual Assembly; Reunion Island; France first Local Spiritual Assembly in Réunion
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Zanzibar (Tanzania) was formed. Local Spiritual Assembly, formation; Zanzibar, Tanzania firstLocal Spiritual Assembly in Zanzibar
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Vietnam was formed at Saigon-Cholon (Cholon is the Chinese section of Saigon). [BN No 293 July 1955 p5; Bahá'í Religion in Community Education in Vietnam by Vu Van Chung]
  • This body was also the first local assembly to be formed in Indochina.
    		•  Local Spiritual Assembly, formation; Saigon, Vietnam; Vietnam first Local Spiritual Assembly in Vietnam
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in the Bahamas was formed in Nassau. Local Spiritual Assembly; Nassau, Bahamas; Bahamas first Local Spiritual Assembly in Bahamas
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in the Seychelles was formed in Victoria. Local Spiritual Assembly; Limbé, Camaroon; Seychelles first Local Spiritual Assembly in Seychelles
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Madagascar was formed in Tananarive (Antananarivo). Local Spiritual Assembly; Tananarive, Madagascar; Madagascar first Local Spiritual Assembly in Madagascar
    1955 Ridván The first Local Spiritual Assembly in Italian Somalia was formed in Mogadishu. Local Spiritual Assembly; Mogadishu, Somalia; Italian Somaliland first LSA in Italian Somaliland
    1955 Ridván The first native Mozambican Bahá'í, Festas Chambeni, took the Bahá'í Faith to Angola. [BW13:290] Festas Chambeni; Angola first native Mozambican Bahá’í
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual in Mozambique was established in Lourenço Marques. [BW13:290] Local Spiritual Assembly; Lourenco Marques, Mozambique; Mozambique first Local Spiritual Assembly in Mozambique
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly of French Togoland (Togo) formed at Lomé. Local Spiritual Assembly; Lomé; French Togoland (Togo); Togo first Local Spiritual Assembly in French Togoland (Togo)
    1955 Ridván The first local spiritual assembly in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) was formed in Salisbury (Harare). [CG21] Local Spiritual Assembly; Salisbury (Harare), Zimbabwe; Southern Rhodesia first Local Spiritual Assembly in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)
    1955 Ridván The first four local spiritual assemblies in The Gambia were formed in Bathurst (Banjul), Serrekunda, Lamin and Brikama. Local Spiritual Assembly; Banjul (Bathurst), The Gambia; Serrekunda, The Gambia; Lamin and Brikama, The Gambia; Gambia, The first four Local Spiritual Assemblies in The Gambia
    1955 Ridván The first five local assemblies in Bechuanaland (Botswana) were formed in Seqonoka, Maseru, Mafeteng, Maphohloane and Sephapos' Gate. Local Spiritual Assembly; Seqonoka, Botswana; Maseru, Botswana; Mafeteng, Botswana; Maphohloane and Sephapos Gate, Botswana; Lesotho, South Africa first five Local Spiritual Assemblies in what is now Lesotho
    1955 Ridván (The) design (for the) Mother Temple (in the) cradle (of the) Faith (was) unveiled (in the) presence (of) pilgrims (and) resident believers assembled (within the) Haram-i-Aqdas (on the) first day (of) Ridvan. SHOGHI [CBN No65 Jun 1955 p1] Bahji, Israel
    1955 21 April The Báb's only child, Ahmad, was still-born or died soon after birth. Khadíjih Bagum had a very difficult delivery and almost died as a result. The child was buried under a pine (or cypress) tree in the shrine of Bíbí-Dukhtarán (meaning Matron or Mistress of the Maidens).
  • In the opening days of 1955, the Shíráz municipality decided to construct a school on the site which would have destroyed the grave. When advised of the situation Shoghi Effendi responded: "Guardian approves transfer remains Primal Point's Son Gulistán Jávíd. Ensure befitting burial."
  • The Spiritual Assembly arranged for the remains to be exhumed, laid in a silk container, and placed in a cement coffin. For three months, the coffin was kept in the western part of the local Hadiratu'l-Quds. On the 21st of April 1955, which coincided with the day of the Báb's martyrdom reckoned by the lunar calendar, a special ceremony for the reinterment was held. It was the largest Bahá'í gathering in Shíráz in the history of the Bahá'í Faith. Multitudes of believers from all parts of the country participated in the historic event. In a prayerful atmosphere, the remains were reinterred in the Bahá'í cemetery of Shíráz. The Guardian heard the details and, on 24 April, cabled his joy: "SHIRAZ ASSEMBLY CARE KHADEM TEHERAN. OVERJOYED HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT CONGRATULATE VALIANT FRIENDS LOVING REMEMBRANCE SHRINES SUPPLICATING BOUNTIFUL BLESSINGS. SHOGHI." [The Afnán Family: Some Biographical Notes by Ahang Rabbani 2007 Note <44>]
  • In the first báb of the fifth vahíd of the Persian Bayán, the Báb asks for a befitting structure to be built over the resting-place of Ahmad for the faithful to worship God. [Bahaipedia] .
    		•  Ahmad (son of the Báb); Báb, Life of (chronology); Báb, Family of; Cemeteries and graves; Births and deaths; Shíráz, Iran; Iran
    1955 18 Apr After the violent storm of persecutions against the Bahá'í's in Iran broke loose, the Bahá'í International Community delegates presented their case and Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, intervened with the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs and brought an immediate end to the physical persecution and lifted the danger of a massacre. [Bahá'í International Community History, 18 April 1955] United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Bahá'í International Community; Iran
    1955 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced that the Bahá'í Faith was represented in 236 countries, in 3,200 locations, by over 40 ethnic groups. Bahá'í literature was translated into 176 languages. [MBW76–8] Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade; - Worldwide
    1955 Apr The first person to become a Bahá'í in the Bahamas, Molly Newbold, enrolled.
  • As she did not remain a Bahá'í, Arnold Wells, a tinsmith who became a Bahá'í on 20 April, is regarded as the first Bahá'í. Christine Thompson, who owned a small fruit and vegetable shop, and Frank Ferguson, who owned a gas station, also enrolled on 20 April.
    		•  First Bahá'ís by country or area; Islands; Bahamas first Bahá’í in Bahamas

    Try also a shorter date like 1955-0 or 1955

    try also the Chronology Canada — 1955-04 or 1955-0 or 1955

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