Chronology: Date 1959

date	event	tags	firsts
1959 4 Nov	The Hands of the Cause issued a message from their third Conclave. [MC166–70] The date for the election of the Universal House of Justice was fixed at Ridván 1963. [MC166] They called for the election at Ridván 1961 of 21 national spiritual assemblies in Latin America. [MC167–8] They called for the election at Ridván 1962 of 11 national spiritual assemblies in Europe. [MC168] They called for the election at Ridván 1961 of the International Bahá'í Council by postal ballot of the members of the national and regional spiritual assemblies constituted at Ridván 1960. [MC168] The name of Hand of the Cause Charles Mason Remey was missing from the list of signatories to this letter. [MC170]	- Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Universal House of Justice, Election of; International Bahá'í Council; Charles Mason Remey; Covenant-breakers; Akka, Israel
1959 23 Oct - 1 Nov	The third Conclave of the Hands of the Cause of God was convened at Bahjí. [BW13:351; MC127-173] For the agenda of the meeting see MC163–4. Charles Mason Remey unsuccessfully attempted to convince his fellow Hands that the Guardianship should continue. [BBRSM130; MC217]	Bahji, Israel; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Charles Mason Remey; Guardianship; Covenant-breakers; Akka, Israel
1959 Sep	Clifford and Catherine Huxtable arrived in the Gulf Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh (albeit on 14 September 1969 see LNW101). [BW13:457]	Clifford Huxtable; Catherine Huxtable; Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Gulf Islands, BC	first pioneers Gulf Islands
1959 19 Aug	John Chang, his wife and child visited Hainan Island, just off China. He thought someone with a family would attract less attention than a single man but he was asked to leave by authorities after only 14 days. [KoB 3,171]	John Chang; Knight of Bahá'u'lláh; Hainan Island, China	shortest duration of stay for any Knight of Baha'u'llah
1959 18 Aug	Cheong Siu Choi (John Z. T. Chang), the Chinese headmaster of the Leng Nam Middle School and a highly respected leader in Macau, arrived with his family on Hainan Island and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] PH75 says this was August 1958.	Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Hainan Island, China
1950 Aug	John Z. T. Chang arrived in Hainan Island and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452]	Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Hainan Island, China	first pioneer Hainan Island
1959 14 Jun	The Hands of the Cause announced that the remains of the cousin of the Báb had been identified and had been transferred to a cemetery. [MC161]	- Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Haifa, Israel
1959 2 Jun	The first Greek woman to become a Bahá'í, Ketty Antoniou, enrolled in Greece.	Ketty Antoniou; Greece	first Greek Bahá'í woman
1959 7 May	Donald Corbin, a pioneer to Grenada Island, made a trip to Dominica specifically to try to reach the Carib Indians. [BN No 343 September 1959 p10-11]	Pioneer; Donald Corbin; Indigenous people; Dominica; Grenada
1959 Ridván	The Custodians announced that the resting place of the remains of the father of Bahá'u'lláh had been identified. [MC144]	Bahá'u'lláh, Family of; Haifa, Israel
1959 Ridván	The Custodians announced that the number of national and regional spiritual assemblies had risen to 31, the Faith was established in 255 countries, Bahá'ís lived in over 5,200 localities and had formed nearly 1,275 local spiritual assemblies, and Bahá'í literature had been translated into 261 languages. [MC137–8]	Custodians; Statistics; Growth; Ten Year Crusade; - Worldwide
1959 Ridván	The first local spiritual assembly in Cambodia was formed in Phnom Penh.	Local Spiritual Assembly; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Cambodia	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Cambodia
1959 Ridván	The first local spiritual assembly in Grenada was formed in St George's Parish.	Local Spiritual Assembly; St. Georges, Grenada; Grenada	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Grenada
1959 Ridván	The Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific Islands was formed with its seat in Suva, Fiji. [BN No 267 MY 1953 P1] Its area of jurisdiction comprised of ten island groups: Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Loyalty Islands, Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, and Tonga. [BW13:308] For the letter of the Custodians to the national convention see MC151–5. In 1963 the Universal House of Justice announced that the Assembly was to be dissolved and succeeded by a National Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific Ocean, and a National Spiritual Assembly of the South West Pacific Ocean, with the new Assemblies being formed the following year.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Suva, Fiji; Fiji; Samoa; New Caledonia; Vanuatu; Loyalty Islands; Gilbert and Ellice Islands; Marshall Islands; Cook Islands; Solomon Islands; Tonga	first NSA South Pacific Islands
1959 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of Turkey was formed. For the letter of the Custodians to the national convention see MoC148–51. Election of the first National Assembly of Turkey had to be carried on by mailed ballots because difficulties visited upon the Faith in that country prevented the holding of the Convention. Hand of the Cause Dhikru'lláh Khádem, officially representing the Hands of the Cause, was able to visit Turkey for the occasion, as did Professor Manfichihr Ḥakím, representing the National Assembly of Persia. [BW19p297-298]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Turkey	first NSA Turkey
1959 Ridván	Upon the establishment of an independent Spiritual Assembly for Burma, the National Assembly of India and Burma was succeeded by the present-day National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India. [BW13p300]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; New Delhi, India; India
1959 Ridván	Separate National Spiritual Assemblies were formed for India and Burma. Up until 1957 this group had included Pakistan. [BW13p300] For the letter of the Custodians to the national convention of Burma see MC155–7. See a picture of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Burma.	National Spiritual Assembly of India; National Spiritual Assembly of Myanmar (Burma); Custodians; National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Myanmar; India	first NSA Burma
1959 Ridván	Separate national spiritual assemblies were formed for Germany and Austria. [BW13p274, 283; BBRSM186] For the letter of the Custodians to the national convention of Austria see MC158–60. For a photo of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Austria see WMSH244. The members were: Johanna (Hauff) von Werthern, Franz Pollinger, Bertha Matthisen, Leopoldine Heilinger, Dr Mehdi Varqá, Gunther Hang, Ursula Kohler, Dr Masoud Berdjis and Dr Aminolláh Ahmedzadeh.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Austria; Germany	first NSA Austria; first NSA for Germany
1959 10 Apr	Representatives of the Bahá'í International Community presented to the President of the Human Rights Commission, Ambassador Gunewardene of Ceylon, a statement endorsing the Genocide Convention. [BW13:791–4]	Human Rights; United Nations; Genocide; Bahá'í International Community; - BIC statements; - Statements; New York, USA; USA
1959 Mar	A number of Bahá'ís, members of the local spiritual assembly, were arrested in Ankara, Turkey. [MC306] The incident received wide coverage in the press and the Bahá'ís were eventually released from prison. [MC306] A court case was subsequently brought against the Bahá'ís by the public prosecutor, who claimed that the Faith is a 'Tarighat', a sect forbidden by the law of the land, and lengthy litigation followed. [MC306–7]	Persecution, Turkey; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; LSA; Court cases; Ankara, Turkey; Turkey
1959 1 Feb	The 'first Dependency of the Mashriqul-Adhkár in Wilmette', the Bahá'í Home for the Aged, opened. [BW13:747] For the history of its building see BW13:743–8. For pictures see BW13:742, 744–7. See National Bahá'í Review No 4 April 1968 p11 .	Bahá'í home for the aged; Homes for the aged; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Dependencies of; Wilmette, IL; USA	first Dependency the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár Wilmette’
1959 (In the year)	The House of 'Abbúd was renovated and restored. [MC219]	House of Abbud; Restoration; - Bahá'í World Centre; Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; Akka, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel
1959 (In the year)	Bahá'í communities in the United States began the observation of World Peace Day to call attention to the need for world peace. [BBD175] This was replaced in 1985 by the observance of the UN International Day of Peace, which occurs on the third Tuesday in September. [BBD175]	World Peace Day; United Nations; International Day of Peace; Peace; World peace; USA
1959 (In the year)	The first Inuit in Alaska to become a Bahá'í, William Wiloya, enrolled in Nome.	First Bahá'ís by country or area; First believers by background; Inuit; Nome, AK; Alaska, USA; USA	first Inuit Bahá’í Alaska
1959 (In the year)	The mansion at Mazra'ih was renovated. [MC219]	House of Bahá'u'lláh (Mazraih); Restoration; - Bahá'í World Centre; Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; Akka, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel
1959 (In the year)	The establishment of a Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Iran. Since 1899, Bahá'í sacred texts had been hectographed and mimeographed by Mīrzā ʿAlī-Akbar Rūḥānī (known as Moḥebb-al-Solṭān) and others. Although the restrictive laws of the country prohibited the Bahá'ís from printing their literature by letterpress, through the establishment of the Trust, Bahá'í literature was regularly and systematically published in typewritten or calligraphic form until 1979 when the Trust was closed under the Islamic régime. Between 1959 and 1979, several hundred titles were produced and distributed. The trust was also responsible for the publication of circulars, newsletters, pamphlets, and magazines. In 1975 alone, it produced 181,390 copies of books and pamphlets totaling 31 million pages. In the early 1970s an audiovisual center was established in Iran which made rapid growth during the few years of its existence. In the mid-1970s the centre produced 27 cassette programs containing prayers, songs, and speeches amounting to 40,000 copies. They also produced 28 reels of film. [BW12p292; BW16p263; BW12p570; BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]	Publishing Trusts; Mírzá `Alí-Akbar Rúhání; Mohebb-al-Soltan; Iran
Try also a shorter date like 195 try also the Chronology Canada — 1959 or 195

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