Chronology: Date 1944

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1944, ascending — sort latest first

date	event	tags	firsts
1944 (In the year) 194-	In Iran a Central Women's Progress Committee was formed to organize women's activities throughout the country. Some of the fundamental tasks accomplished by this committee and its supportive bodies in various localities included holding the first convention of Anjoman-e Tarraqī-e Neswān (Society for the Advancement of Women) in 1947 in Tehran following which local and regional conferences, educational gatherings, and regular classes for illiterate women were conducted. As a result of continued effort and educational training, particularly during the Four Year Plan (1946-1950) the Bahá'í Persian women were enabled to acquire sufficient self-confidence and social recognition to fill elective and appointive offices in the community. [BW11p563; BW12p65; BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]	Central Womens Progress Committee (Iran); Society for the Advancement of Women; Women; Social and economic development; Iran
1944 (In the year) 194-	Gerardo Vega, of Costa Rica, was the first Latin-American native to pioneer when he began work in Panama. [BN No 171 November 1944 p4-5]	Pioneer; Gerardo Vega; Costa Rica; Panama	Gerardo Vega, of Costa Rica, was the first Latin-American native to pioneer when he began work in Panama.
1944 (In the year) 194-	Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone and his wife, Madge, were introduced to the Bahá'í Faith by Bertha and Joe Dobbins in Adelaide, Australia. They became Bahá'ís later in the year.	Collis Featherstone; Madge Featherstone; Bertha Dobbins; Joe Dobbins; Adelaide, Australia; Australia
1944 (In the year) 194-	A Bahá'í committee in Tihrán identified the House of Bahá'u'lláh in the city and purchased it.	House of Bahá'u'lláh (Tihran); Purchases and exchanges; Tehran, Iran; Iran
1944 (In the year) 194-	The National Spiritual Assembly of Australia was incorporated.	National Spiritual Assembly, incorporation; Australia
1944 (In the year) 194-	The first Bahá'ís arrived in the Mariana Islands. Joseph F. Peter and Joseph Tierno, United States servicemen, were based on Saipan, 1944–5.	Joseph F. Peter; Joseph Tierno; Saipan, Mariana Islands	first Bahá’ís in Mariana Islands
1944 (In the Year) 194-	The publication of The Divine Art of Living: Selections from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá by the Chicago Publishing Committee. It was compiled by Mabel Hyde Paine. The book saw four revisions and up until 2006 and is still being reprinted. [Collins4.114 - 4.117] In 1977 the study guide, Seven Round Table Discussions Based on The Divine Art of Living by Marian Crist Lippitt was published by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Wilmette, IL. [Collins7.1407 - 7.1410] The book was transcribed by Mary Francis Baral and published by the Bahá'í Service for the Blind in Los Angeles in 1962. [Collins8.55] The title was borrowed from a previous compilation by Mary M. Rabb that appeared in the Star of the West and then published bound in leather. It was also serialized in World Order in the early 1940's.	Divine Art of Living (book); Mabel Hyde Paine; Marian Crist Lippitt; Mary Francis Baral; Chicago, IL
1944 (In the year) 194-	As early as 1944 Mr. Rajab–Ali Vahdat, an agronomist of Iranian origin was the first Bahá'í to settle in what is now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the company of his wife of Belgian nationality. They settled in the city of Kabongo, then in the city of Kamina in what is now Upper Katanga. [bahai.org]	Rajab-`Alí Vahdat; Kabongo, Democratic Republic of Congo; Kamina, Democratic Republic of Congo	first pioneer to settle in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
1944 Jan 194-	A Memorial to Keith Ransom-Kehler was erected in Isfahan to commemorate her work in Iran. She was the second American Bahá'í to die in Iran while serving the Cause. See picture. [BN No 169 Jul 1944 p8	Keith Ransom-Kehler; - In Memoriam; Isfahan, Iran; Iran
1944 22 Jan 194-	Prior to mailing the manuscript to Horace Holley, Shoghi Effendi made the last corrections of the last installment of God Passes By. At that time the book had the working title of "Prospect and Retrospect". This marked the culmination of approximately two years of almost continuous work. [PP222]	God Passes By (book); - Bahá'í World Centre
1944 21 Mar 194-	On the occasion of the Centenary of the Declaration of the Báb, the Guardian provided two gifts to the Bahá'í world. To the Western believers it was God Passes By, and to the friends in the East, The Tablet of Naw-Rúz 101. Both dealt with the history of the Cause in the course of the century, a history of persecution and oppression, a history of suffering and victory, a history of joy and love, a history of the growth of the Cause of God, of its rise and of its descent into a wave-tossed sea of happenings, of its evolution from an embryonic state to its triumphant march towards its culminating point determining the destiny of man. The Tablet of Naw-Rúz 101 has been named Lawh-i-Qarn (Tablet of the Centennial). It was unveiled in a solemn pilgrimage ceremony at the House of the Báb in the presence of the 91 delegates exactly one hundred years after the visit of Mullá Husayn. A partial English translation of this Persian document can be found in Tablet of the Centennial by Shoghi Effendi translated by Khazeh Fananapazir. This paper also makes reference to the article below. Dr Àlí Muhammad Varqa's article, Le Style persan du Gardien, was presented at the Association for Bahá'í Studies 9th Annual Conference in Ottawa in 1984 and can be found in the book of the proceedings of that conference, The Vision of Shoghi Effendi p209. In his paper he quotes from a number of Tablets to describe the style of Shoghi Effendi's writing in Persian, one of them is the Tablet of the Centennial. On 28 November 2023 the Universal House of Justice, in a message to the Bahá'ís of the world, provided a review of the previous 100 years of the Formative Age.	Lawh-i-Qarn (Tablet of the Centennial); Shoghi Effendi, Writings of; Centenaries; Historical overviews by Central Figures or BWC; Shíráz, Iran; Iran
1944 Apr 194-	The first Bahá'í shortwave radio broadcast was beamed from New York towards South America. [BW9:44–5] VV76 says this was 1943.	Bahá'í Radio; Firsts, other; New York, USA; United States (USA)	first Bahá’í shortwave radio broadcast
1944 20 Apr 194-	The end of the first Seven Year Plan. Some of the accomplishments of the plan were: Local Spiritual Assemblies were established in every province of Canada, in every state in the United States and in 14 republics in Latin America. Seven National Spiritual Assemblies were established during this approximate period. The exterior of the House of Worship in Wilmette was completed. In North America, 136 LSAs, 197 groups and 1,300 localities were established. [The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement) p2]	Seven Year Plan
1944 Ridván 194-	The Bahá'ís of the British Isles launched a Six Year Plan, the British Six Year Plan (1944-1950). [Ruhi 8.2 p46] The homefront goals were to: To raise to nineteen the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies To double the membership of the community To settle pioneers in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire	- Teaching Plans; British Six Year Plan; United Kingdom; British Isles
1944 Ridván 194-	The first local spiritual assembly in Jamaica was established in Kingston.	Local Spiritual Assembly; Kingston, ON	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Jamaica
1944 Ridván 194-	The first local spiritual assembly in Puerto Rico was established in San Juan.	Local Spiritual Assembly; San Juan, Puerto Rico	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Puerto Rico
1944 Ridván 194-	The first local spiritual assembly in Colombia was established in Bogotá.	Local Spiritual Assembly; Bogota, Colombia	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Colombia
1944 Ridván 194-	The first local spiritual assembly in Honduras was established in Tegucigalpa.	Local Spiritual Assembly; Tegucigalpa, Honduras	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Honduras
1944 Ridván 194-	The first local spiritual assembly in Peru was established in Lima. [Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 p10]	Local Spiritual Assembly; Lima, Peru	first Local Spiritual Assembly in Peru
1944 Ridván 194-	The thirty-sixth National Convention was held in Wilmette and hosted representatives of the Bahá'í communities of Central and South America. Those elected to serve the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada were: George O. Latimer (Chairman), Allen B. McDaniel (Vice), Horace Holley (Secretary), Louis G. Gregory (Recording Secretary), Roy C. Wilhelm (Treasurer), Dorothy Baker. Amelia E. Collins, Philip G. Sprague, Leroy Ioas. The Assembly appointed Siegfried Schopflocher to serve as the Treasurer of the Canadian Bahá'í Fund. [BN No 169 July 1944 p2; BN No285 Nov 1954 p3-4] Prior to 1944 delegates to the National Convention were chosen from local communities by proportional representation. [BN No 16 March 1927 p1 refers] After this point delegates no longer represented Local Assemblies but were chosen on a provincial (or state) basis. [MA70-71; OBCC157, 174n2] In 1944 there were 35 delegates to the National Convention. iiiii	Conventions, National; George Latimer; Allen McDaniel; Horace Holley; Louis G. Gregory; Roy C. Wilhelm; Dorothy Baker; Amelia Collins; Philip G. Sprague; Leroy Ioas; Siegfried Schopflocher; North America; United States (USA); Canada
1944 May 194-	The British at their national convention, decided to ask the Guardian for their own Six Year Plan. [UDXVI] He responded immediately by setting them the task of forming 19 assemblies spread over England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire. [UD173] Shoghi Effendi described this as 'their first collective enterprise'. [UDXVI, 173–4] See also BBRSM158, 185.	Conventions, National; - Teaching Plans, National; Firsts, other; LSA; United Kingdom; Ireland; British Isles	first British collective enterprise
1944 May 194-	The first All-American Bahá'í Convention was held. Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: George 0. Latimer, (Chair), Allen McDaniel, (Vice), Horace Holley, (Sec'y), Louis Gregory, (Recording Sec'y), Roy Wilhelm, (Treas), Dorothy Baker, Amelia Collins, Philip Sprague, and Leroy Ioas. [BW No 169 September 1944 p6] For the first time the delegates had been selected at state and provincial conventions by votes from all believers rather than by communities with local assemblies. [BW9:44; PP390] Hilda Yen Male (Hilda Yen) asked to attend the 1944 Baháʼí Annual convention as an observer. She was moved by the spontaneous gestures of welcome and care shown between individuals society normally kept apart as the material demonstration of the ideals of a worldwide unity across all humanity. She requested to enroll as a Baháʼí. She then asked to address the convention as a Baháʼí: "Fellow Baha'is, this is more than a pleasure. It is a miracle that I am participating with you in discussing such important matters. I contacted two denominations and a parliament of religions before I met Julia Goldman, Baha'i, who sowed this seed in my heart. While convalescent from a flying crash, my life was given me for service to God. Julia took me under her wing. I saw God vaguely; then more clearly, through the Baha'i Faith. Then came the battle of Hongkong(sic) where all shared in a common danger and hunger - forced to live the oneness of mankind. At length I secured a priority to fly to America and how do I rejoice to be in this free country! Conferring with Americans I have found this country the best to execute the message of peace. I have been blessed in meeting other Baha'is. I have been deeply impressed by the love and affection among Baha'is. China is well prepared by its sages for the Baha'i Faith. …" [BW No 169 September 1944 p6]	Conventions, National; Conventions, District; First conventions; Hilda Yen; North America; United States (USA)	first All-American Bahá’í Convention
1944 2 May 194-	The German government held a public trial of some of the jailed Bahá'í leaders in Darmstadt. Dr. Hermann Grossmann was allowed to testify as a witness for the defense about the non-political nature of the Bahá'í Faith and the attitude of the trial had been pre-ordained. The government found the Bahá'ís guilty, levied large fines and banned all Bahá'í institutions ordering that they be immediately disbanded. [Bahá'í Teachings; German Bahá'í website archives]	Persecution, Germany; Hermann Grossmann; Darmstadt, Germany; Germany
1944 12 May 194-	Bahá'ís were persecuted at Ábádih, Iran. The Bahá'í centre was attacked by a mob of four thousand, the building was looted and destroyed and several Bahá'ís badly beaten. [BW18p389] For Western accounts see BBR479.	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Destruction; - Persecution; - Persecution, Mobs; Haziratul-Quds (Bahá'í centres); Ábádih, Iran; Iran
1944 19–25 May 194-	An international celebration of the Centenary of the founding of the Faith was held at the House of Worship in Wilmette. For a description of this event see BW10:158–61. For the programme see BW10:162–70. For a list of the countries participating in the conference see BW10:168.	Centenaries; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; Wilmette, IL; United States (USA)
1944 22–23 May 194-	The Centenary of the Declaration of the Báb was commemorated in the Holy Land. [BW10:150] For a description of this event by Rúhíyyih Khánum see BW10:150–7. For press accounts see BW10:156–7.	Centenaries; Báb, Declaration of; Haifa, Israel
1944 22–23 May 194-	The Centenary of the Declaration of the Báb was celebrated at the House of the Báb in Shíráz. [BW10:181] Ninety delegates to the national convention and members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran assembled discreetly for the occasion. For details of this event and the caution with which the arrangements for it were made see BW10:181–3. The Guardian sent the Persian Bahá'ís a lengthy letter detailing how the observance and the week-long festivities to follow are to be made. [BW10:183] For details of the events see BW10:183–8.	Báb, Declaration of; Báb, House of (Shiraz); Conventions, National; NSA; Centenaries; Shíráz, Iran; Iran
1944 22 May 194-	Centenary of the Declaration of the Báb. For a survey of the growth and development of the Bahá'í Faith in the hundred years since its inception see BW10:142–9. Celebrations were held in many parts of the world: Britain [BW10:188–201] Sir Ronald Storrs delivered an address at the opening of the Bahá'í Centenary Exhibition in London. These are extracts from that speech: "My first glimpse of 'Abbás Effendi was in the summer of 1909, when I drove round the Bay of Acre in an Arab cab, visited him in the barracks and marveled at his serenity and cheerfulness after 42 years of exile and imprisonment. I kept touch with him through my confidential agent, Husayn Bey Ruhi, son of a Tabriz martyr. [BW10p189-195] India [BW10:202–8] Egypt [BW10:208–17] Iraq [BW10:217–22] Australia [BW 10:222–8] Latin America [BW10:228–33] The end of the celebrations marking this occasion signal the end of the First Epoch of the Formative Age. [BBD79; CF5; PP390] See the publication The Bahá'í Centenary 1844-1944.	Centenaries; Báb, Declaration of; Formative Age; Cycles, Eras, Ages and Epochs; - Worldwide
1944 23 May 194-	Shoghi Effendi unveiled the model of the Shrine of the Báb at the centenary celebration of the Declaration of the Báb in Haifa. [BBD210; BW10:154, 157; DH140; GBF104; PP239–40; UD166] BW10:157 suggests this was 24 May.	Báb, Shrine of (Haifa); Báb, Declaration of; Centenaries; Models; * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); * Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; - Bahá'í World Centre; Mount Carmel; Haifa, Israel
1944 8 Aug 194-	Three Bahá'ís were murdered in Sháhrúd, Iran, after three weeks of anti-Bahá'í agitation. Many Bahá'í houses were attacked and looted. [BW18:389] The murderers confessed, were put on trial and were acquitted. [BW18:389, Towards a History of Iran's Baha'i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Human rights; Court cases; Shahrud, Iran; Iran
1944 after Aug 194-	Following the murder of Bahá'ís at Sháhrúd, Iran, and the widespread publicity on the outcome of the trial, there was an upsurge in persecution of Bahá'ís throughout Iran. [BW18p389] At Ábádih Bahá'ís were beaten and their houses were sacked. [BW18:389] The Bahá'í centre at Bandar Jaz was attacked. [BW18:389] Two Bahá'ís were knifed at Bandar Sháh. The attackers were set free and attacked a further three Bahá'ís, leaving one an invalid. [BW18:390] Bahá'ís, including women and children, were attacked and beaten at Bushrúyih, their homes and shops looted and burned and the Bahá'í cemetery desecrated. [BW18:390] Bahá'í houses were attacked and looted at Fárán, Káshán and Ná'in. [BW13:390] Bahá'í houses were set on fire in Gulpáygán and Zábul. [BW18:390] Bahá'ís were driven from town in Bujnúrd, Gunábád and Tabas. [BW18:390] The Bahá'í cemetery at Mahmúdábád was desecrated. Bahá'ís were beaten at Miyán-du-áb, Rafsanján, Sangsar and Sírján. [BW18:390] Bahá'ís were stoned at Qasr-i-Shírín. [BW18:390]	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Destruction; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Iran; Ábádih, Iran; Bandar-Jaz, Iran; Bandar Shah, Iran; Bushrúyih, Iran; Faran, Iran; Kashan, Iran; Nain, Iran; Gulpaygan, Iran; Zabul, Iran; Bujnurd, Iran; Gunabad, Iran; Tabas, Iran; Mahmudabad, Iran; Miyan-du-ab, Iran; Rafsanjan, Iran; Sangesar, Iran; Sirjan, Iran; Qasr-i-Shirin, Iran
1944 Nov 194-	The Local Spiritual Assembly of Bogotá, Colombia, was disbanded. It was not reformed until April 1946.	Local Spiritual Assembly; Bogota, Colombia; Colombia
1944 Nov 194-	Shoghi Effendi sent the cable below to the Bahá'í world: "Monib Shahid, grandson of both `Abdu'l-Bahá and the King of Martyrs, married according to the Moslem rites the daughter of a political exile who is nephew of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. This treacherous act of alliance with enemies of the Faith merits condemnation of entire Bahá'í world." [Bahá'í News, December, 1944 No. 172]	Covenant-breaking; Munib Shahid; Haifa, Israel
	The passing of John Stearns, pioneer to Quito while in Lima, Peru for medical treatment. He was buried in the British Cemetary. [BW10p539-540; Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 p11]	- In Memoriam; John Stearns; Lima, Peru; Peru
1944 Nov (mid) 194-	The publication of God Passes By, a survey of the history of the first century of the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths by Shoghi Effendi. [BBRSM137; CB308; PG217-218; GPBXI; Collins5.62] Shoghi Effendi intended the book to be a gift to the Bahá'ís of the West on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb but conditions in the United States delayed its publication. [GT79–80; PP224] For information on how Shoghi Effendi wrote the book, "the only true book we have from his pen", see GBF95–6 and PP222–4. Shoghi Effendi also wrote a shorter version of the same theme as God Passes By in Persian. [PP420] See A User's Guide to God Passes By on Bahá'í Blog. See Shoghi Effendi: The Range and Power of His Pen by 'Ali Nakhjavani p113 for information on the writing of God Passes By.	* Shoghi Effendi (chronology); God Passes By (book); Shoghi Effendi, Writings of; Gifts; * Publications; * Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Historical overviews by Central Figures or BWC; - Bahá'í World Centre


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