| 2013 28 July |
The passing of Amin Banani (b. 23 September 1926 in Tehran) in Santa Monica. He was survived by his wife Sheila Wolcott (m. 1951)and daughters Sussane and Laila. Find a grave.
During World War II, like a number of other young Persian men, Amin was sent to study in the United States. He graduated with a BA, majoring in history from Stanford University in 1947. During his study at Stanford he became familiar with western music and read philosophy and world literature. He obtained his MA from Columbia University in 1949 and returned to Stanford for his PhD degree, which he received in 1959.
In 1953 Amin and Sheila became Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for being among the first Bahá'ís to settle in Greece. In Athens Dr. Banani taught history at the Overseas Program of the University of Maryland in Athens until 1958 when his work permit expired and they were obligated to leave the country.
A list of some of his publications can be found on Bahá'í Library.
A tribute to Dr Banani Professor Amin Banani, 1926–2013: A Prominent Scholar of Iranian Studies by Ehsan Yarshater.
His three-part lecture on Shoghi Effendi's letters entitled The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh can be found on Soundcloud. Another talk The Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha can be found at "Bahá'í Talks".
In the late 1940s he accepted assignments to represent the Bahá'í community at a UN conference of nongovernmental organizations and a human rights commission. In the early 1950s he also served the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly on its National Youth Committee. For more complete biographical information see his eulogy on the US Bahá'í site and another in the Lights of Irfan. |
In Memoriam; Amin Banani; Sheila Wolcott; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Santa Monica, CA; USA |
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Canada