- 1872-05-31 —
Birth of Thomas Breakwell, considered the first English Bahá'í, in Woking, Surrey, England.
- In fact Ethel Rosenberg declared two years before him.
- The very first in England was probably Marion Miller who became a Bahá'í in 1894 in Chicago and came to England in 1895. Marion Miller taught the faith to her aunt, Miss M. Brown of Bushey in Hertfordshire, who converted in 1896 or 97. Miss Miller later left the Faith and no-one knows what became of Miss Brown. [BBC Religions]
- 1899-04-00 — After May Bolles returned from pilgrimage in 1899 she was the lone Bahá'í in Paris but soon established the first Bahá'í group on the European continent. The list of those who enrolled in the Faith before 1902 include:
Edith MacKaye (the first to believe), and by the New Year of 1900, Charles Mason Remey and Herbert Hopper were next to follow. Then came Marie Squires (Hopper), Helen Ellis Cole, Laura Barney, Mme. Jackson, Agnes Alexander, Thomas Breakwell, Edith Sanderson, and Hippolyte Dreyfus, the first French Bahá'í. Emogene Hoagg and Mrs. Conner had come to Paris in 1900 from America, Sigurd Russell at fifteen years old returned from 'Akká a believer, and in 1901, the group was further reinforced by Juliet Thompson, Lillian James, and "the frequent passing through Paris of pilgrims from America going to the Master . . . and then again returning from the Holy Land." These are but a few, for "in 1901 and 1902 the Paris group of Bahá'ís numbered between twenty-five and thirty people with May Bolles as spiritual guide and teacher. [BW8p634; BFA2:151–2, 154–5; GBP259-26/a>; AB159; BBRSM106; SBBH1:93]
- 1901-06-00 —
Thomas Breakwell, an Englishman living in the United States, learned of the Bahá'í Faith in Paris from May Bolles. Within three days he became a believer and immediately wrote to `Abdu'l-Bahá. [AB74–5; BW7:707]
- For May Bolles' own account see BW7:707–11.
- He is the first male British Bahá'í. [BFA2:154]
- He is designated by Shoghi Effendi the `first English believer'. [GPB259]
- He is the first Western Bahá'í to pay Huqúqu'lláh. [BW7:710]
- See also AB74–80; BFA2:154; SEBW6572.
- 1901-09-00 —
Thomas Breakwell went on pilgrimage to `Akká, the first Englishman to do so. He was accompanied by Herbert Hopper. [BFA2:154; BW7:709]
- For an account of this pilgrimage see AB77 and BW7:710.
- 1902-06-13 —
Thomas Breakwell died from tuberculosis in Paris. (b. 31 May, 1872 in Woking) [AB77; BBD46; SEBW70]
- `Abdu'l-Bahá appeared to know this without being told. [AB78-9; SEBW70]
- See AB79, SEBW71–2, SWAB187–9 and the Utterance Project for `Abdu'l-Bahá's eulogy.
- Shoghi Effendi designated him one of three`luminaries shedding brilliant lustre on annals of Irish, English and Scottish Bahá'í communities', together with John Esslemont and George Townshend. [MBW174]
- See Wikipedia for an account of his life.
- For biographical information see The Early Years of the British Bahá'í Community 1898-1911 p82-83.
- See Cimetière de Pantin for the location of his resting place c/w photos.
Thomas Breakwell died in relative obscurity, a victim of tuberculosis in a poor quarter of the city of Paris. His earthly remains now lie in the communal charnel house at the cemetery of Pantin. It was not until the summer of 1997 that a dignified but suitably modest monument to mark his resting place was finally unveiled to the world. [The Life of Thomas Breakwell by Rajwantee Lakshiman-Lepain p10-11]
- See The Life of Thomas Breakwell by Rajwantee Lakshiman-Lepain. iiiii
- See the narration of the Tablet of Visitation for Thomas Breakwell by Àbdu'l-Bahá in Arabic with English subtitles. The transliteration and recitation of the Tablet was by Adib Masumiam with the design and editing of the video by Violetta Zein.
- For the story of the revelation of the Tablet see Memories of Nine Years in Akká by Youness Afroukhteh as translated by Riaz Masrour, p. 132-137)
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