Bahaipedia:Today's featured individual/November
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Today is Tuesday, September 16, 2025; it is now 09:13 UTC
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- November 1
Charles Dunning was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Orkney Islands. Dunning was born, it would seem, to uphold the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh at the inception of its second century and to serve as a soldier of courage and fortitude in the greatest spiritual crusade of mankind's history. His pioneering road opened in March 1948 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Moving amongst the people of Belfast, Charles soon met its difficulties, "the suspicion and mistrust" - "there is a terrifying bitterness here" - the religious antagonism which greatly puzzled him. "for how can we say we love God, whom we have never seen, if we do not love all those around us, whom we can see?" He perceived that Belfast would "make great strides" should it come to understand the Bahá’í teachings. Within ten weeks he was arranging the first public meetings, to which George Townshend and his son Brian came from Dublin to speak.
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- November 2
Mildred Clark was a pioneer and Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Lofoten Islands. Mildred Clark choose pioneering as her field of service from the earliest days of her association with the Bahá’í Faith, and she never relaxed in her service. In the first Seven Year Plan (1937-1944) assigned to the United States she pioneered to Denver, Colorado. In 1946, at the inception of the second Seven Year Plan (1946-1953), she offered to go to Europe and was requested by the European Teaching Committee to settle in Norway where, in 1948, she assisted in the formation of the first Spiritual Assembly of Oslo. In January, 1950 she pioneered to the Netherlands and in 1952 she was asked to go to Luxembourg.
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- November 3
Leroy Ioas (1896 - 1965) was a Hand of the Cause of God of the Bahá’í Faith. In 1952 he was appointed to the International Bahá’í Council, precursor to the Universal House of Justice where he served until 1961 as Secretary General. Leroy's service to the Faith was outstanding and inspiring to his communities. In 1912 he led his parents to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a crowded hotel lobby by the radiance which enveloped Him. Although only sixteen, he took the Master for his guide, and was aware of His guidance at several critical periods of his life. He was present when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the Temple in Wilmette - his father had helped to draft the petition to the Master for permission to build it - and as a young man he taught classes on its grounds.
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- November 4
Mírzá Mahmúd was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and the only Iranian Bahá’í teacher who was given the chance to meet face to face with a Qajar Shah. He was later identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. During his life the Islamic divines of Dúghábád caused the governor of the district to have Mírzá Mahmúd arrested for being a Bahá’í. He was sent in chains to Mashhad where from his prison-cell he managed to secretly send a letter to Nasiri'd-Din Shah, who issued an order for his release. The clerics of Mashhad managed to have him exiled, rather than set free, to a remote corner of Khorasan named Kalát.
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- November 5
Hají Ákhúnd was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh, Hand of the Cause, and Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. He was living in Mashhad when he accepted the message of The Báb, this caused him to be immediately expelled from the city and the college he was attending. He eventually settled in Tihrán where he accepted Bahá’u’lláh and became a Bahá’í. It is recorded that when there was an outburst against the Bahá’ís in Tihrán, he would wrap his cloak around himself and sit waiting for the guards to come and arrest him.
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- November 6
Mabel Grace Geary was a pioneer and Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Cape Breton Island. While attending the first All-American International Teaching Conference in Chicago in 1953 the stirring message of the Guardian inspired Grace to offer to pioneer at the beginning of the Ten Year Spiritual Crusade. The difficult years spent in Cape Brenton Island were surmounted by her unwavering faith and characteristic courage. Her volunteer services as librarian at the public library in Baddeck afforded her excellent opportunities to spread the Glad Tidings of Bahá’u’lláh. Always ready to meet a need in the Cause, she returned to Charlottetown in 1961 to help complete the Spiritual Assembly there.
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- November 7
Leroy Ioas (1896 - 1965) was a Hand of the Cause of God of the Bahá’í Faith. In 1952 he was appointed to the International Bahá’í Council, precursor to the Universal House of Justice where he served until 1961 as Secretary General. Leroy's service to the Faith was outstanding and inspiring to his communities. In 1912 he led his parents to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a crowded hotel lobby by the radiance which enveloped Him. Although only sixteen, he took the Master for his guide, and was aware of His guidance at several critical periods of his life. He was present when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the Temple in Wilmette - his father had helped to draft the petition to the Master for permission to build it - and as a young man he taught classes on its grounds.
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- November 8
Richard Nolen was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Azores. He was born in Almont, Michigan, March 14, 1914. In 1948, through an advertisement in the area newspaper, he learned of the Bahá’í Faith and met Kenneth and Roberta Christian in Lansing, Michigan. He immediately accepted the Bahá’í Cause and it became the dominating passion of his life. He participated in local, state and national activities and was a tireless, humble and successful teacher. Responding to the call of the beloved Guardian for pioneers to arise in the Ten Year Crusade, Mr. Nolen and his family immediately volunteered to go to a virgin territory. It was suggested by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States that he go to the Azores Islands where the climate is mild.
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- November 9
Violet McKinley (1882-1959) was a pioneer and Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Cyprus. Born at Enfield, north of London, into the prosperous trading environment of the late Victorian epoch, Violet McKinley (née Watson) was blessed with two great spiritual advantages: an extremely delicate constitution, which kept the thought of the other world very close, and a persistently inquiring mind - she always wanted to know 'Why?' This condition was stimulated by an orthodox but solid education at home. Too frail to go to school, she had a continental governess for eight years, with hard study of the nineteenth century romantics: Schiller, Goethe, Victor Hugo, Heine, Lamartine, etc. Her study was conducted all in German on week, all in French the other, and this, coupled with a deep religious sense that had been instilled in her by a very narrow but thoroughly sincere and right minded nurse during her early childhood, developed a viewpoint totally unsympathetic to the shallow and materialistic background of her class and daily life.
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- November 10
Ṭáhirih an influential poet and theologian of the Bábí faith in Iran. As a prominent Bábí she is highly regarded by Bahá’ís, and often mentioned in Bahá’í literature as an example of courage in the struggle for women's rights. Ṭáhirih also holds a unique theological importance; as she is explained by the Báb to be the spiritual return of Fátimih, daughter of Prophet Muḥammad, and one of the fourteen Shi‘i infallibles. In 1848 Bahá’u’lláh made arrangements for Ṭáhirih to leave Tehran and attend a conference of Bábí leaders in Badasht. She is perhaps best remembered for appearing in public without her veil in the course of this conference signalling that the Islamic Sharia law was abrogated and superseded by Bábí law. It was at the Badasht conference that she was given the title Ṭáhirih by Bahá’u’lláh, which means "the Pure One".
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- November 11
Martha Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá’í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá’í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures. Of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first Monarch to accept Bahá’u’lláh. Introduced to the Faith in 1909 by meeting Roy C. Wilhem she spent several months researching the religion and met several members of the Bahá’í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá’í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá’í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.
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- November 12
Bahá’u’lláh meaning "Glory of God" is the founder of the Bahá’í Faith. He fufilled the Bábí prophecy of "He whom God shall make manifest", but in a broader sense He was also the "supreme Manifestation of God", referring to the fulfillment of the eschatological expectations of a prophetic cycle beginning with Adam, and including Abrahamic religions, as well as Zoroastrianism, the Indian religions, and others. Bahá’u’lláh is the initiator of a new religion, as Jesus or Muhammad were — but also the initiator of a new cycle, like that attributed to Adam. Bahá’u’lláh authored many books, tablets and prayers, of which only a fraction has been translated into English until now. He revealed thousands of tablets with a total volume more than 70 times the size of the Qur'an and more than 15 times the size of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. most notably are the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Kitáb-i-Íqán. (more...)
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- November 13
Richard Nolen was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Azores. He was born in Almont, Michigan, March 14, 1914. In 1948, through an advertisement in the area newspaper, he learned of the Bahá’í Faith and met Kenneth and Roberta Christian in Lansing, Michigan. He immediately accepted the Bahá’í Cause and it became the dominating passion of his life. He participated in local, state and national activities and was a tireless, humble and successful teacher. Responding to the call of the beloved Guardian for pioneers to arise in the Ten Year Crusade, Mr. Nolen and his family immediately volunteered to go to a virgin territory. It was suggested by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States that he go to the Azores Islands where the climate is mild.
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- November 14
Charles Dunning was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Orkney Islands. Dunning was born, it would seem, to uphold the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh at the inception of its second century and to serve as a soldier of courage and fortitude in the greatest spiritual crusade of mankind's history. His pioneering road opened in March 1948 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Moving amongst the people of Belfast, Charles soon met its difficulties, "the suspicion and mistrust" - "there is a terrifying bitterness here" - the religious antagonism which greatly puzzled him. "for how can we say we love God, whom we have never seen, if we do not love all those around us, whom we can see?" He perceived that Belfast would "make great strides" should it come to understand the Bahá’í teachings. Within ten weeks he was arranging the first public meetings, to which George Townshend and his son Brian came from Dublin to speak.
view -
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history
- November 15
Martha Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá’í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá’í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures. Of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first Monarch to accept Bahá’u’lláh. Introduced to the Faith in 1909 by meeting Roy C. Wilhem she spent several months researching the religion and met several members of the Bahá’í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá’í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá’í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.
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- November 16
Mildred Clark was a pioneer and Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Lofoten Islands. Mildred Clark choose pioneering as her field of service from the earliest days of her association with the Bahá’í Faith, and she never relaxed in her service. In the first Seven Year Plan (1937-1944) assigned to the United States she pioneered to Denver, Colorado. In 1946, at the inception of the second Seven Year Plan (1946-1953), she offered to go to Europe and was requested by the European Teaching Committee to settle in Norway where, in 1948, she assisted in the formation of the first Spiritual Assembly of Oslo.
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history
- November 17
Leroy Ioas (1896 - 1965) was a Hand of the Cause of God of the Bahá’í Faith. In 1952 he was appointed to the International Bahá’í Council, precursor to the Universal House of Justice where he served until 1961 as Secretary General. Leroy's service to the Faith was outstanding and inspiring to his communities. In 1912 he led his parents to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a crowded hotel lobby by the radiance which enveloped Him. Although only sixteen, he took the Master for his guide, and was aware of His guidance at several critical periods of his life. He was present when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the Temple in Wilmette - his father had helped to draft the petition to the Master for permission to build it - and as a young man he taught classes on its grounds.
view -
talk -
history
- November 18
Richard Nolen was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Azores. He was born in Almont, Michigan, March 14, 1914. In 1948, through an advertisement in the area newspaper, he learned of the Bahá’í Faith and met Kenneth and Roberta Christian in Lansing, Michigan. He immediately accepted the Bahá’í Cause and it became the dominating passion of his life. He participated in local, state and national activities and was a tireless, humble and successful teacher. Responding to the call of the beloved Guardian for pioneers to arise in the Ten Year Crusade, Mr. Nolen and his family immediately volunteered to go to a virgin territory. It was suggested by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States that he go to the Azores Islands where the climate is mild.
view -
talk -
history
- November 19
Ṭáhirih an influential poet and theologian of the Bábí faith in Iran. As a prominent Bábí she is highly regarded by Bahá’ís, and often mentioned in Bahá’í literature as an example of courage in the struggle for women's rights. Ṭáhirih also holds a unique theological importance; as she is explained by the Báb to be the spiritual return of Fátimih, daughter of Prophet Muḥammad, and one of the fourteen Shi‘i infallibles. In 1848 Bahá’u’lláh made arrangements for Ṭáhirih to leave Tehran and attend a conference of Bábí leaders in Badasht. She is perhaps best remembered for appearing in public without her veil in the course of this conference signalling that the Islamic Sharia law was abrogated and superseded by Bábí law. It was at the Badasht conference that she was given the title Ṭáhirih by Bahá’u’lláh, which means "the Pure One".
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- November 20
Siyyid Kázim (Arabic: سيد كاظم بن قاسم الحسيني الرﺷتي) (1793-1843) was the son of Sayyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death. He came from a family of well known merchants. He was a Mullah who, through study of the Islamic writing told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around Asia, Europe and Africa for the search.
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- November 21
Varqá was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a tablet addressed to Varqá regarding the high station of the King and Beloved of Martyrs. "His executioner, Hajibu'd Dawlih, was particularly enraged with his prisoners, and brought out Varqá and Rúhu'lláh into an inner room. Varqá's calm reply to questioning further maddened his captors. The executioner plunged a dagger into the chest of Varqá saying 'How are you?' to which Varqá repllied 'Feeling better than you'. Hajibu'd Dawlih then asked him which should die first, him or his son Rúhu'lláh, to which Varqá replied 'It is the same to me.'"
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- November 22
Siyyid Kázim (1793-1843) was the son of Sayyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death. He came from a family of well known merchants. He was a Mullah who, through study of the Islamic writing told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around Asia, Europe and Africa for the search.
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history
- November 23
Martha Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá’í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá’í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures. Of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first Monarch to accept Bahá’u’lláh. Introduced to the Faith in 1909 by meeting Roy C. Wilhem she spent several months researching the religion and met several members of the Bahá’í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá’í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá’í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.
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talk -
history
- November 24
Charles Dunning was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Orkney Islands. Dunning was born, it would seem, to uphold the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh at the inception of its second century and to serve as a soldier of courage and fortitude in the greatest spiritual crusade of mankind's history. His pioneering road opened in March 1948 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Moving amongst the people of Belfast, Charles soon met its difficulties, "the suspicion and mistrust" - "there is a terrifying bitterness here" - the religious antagonism which greatly puzzled him. "for how can we say we love God, whom we have never seen, if we do not love all those around us, whom we can see?" He perceived that Belfast would "make great strides" should it come to understand the Bahá’í teachings. Within ten weeks he was arranging the first public meetings, to which George Townshend and his son Brian came from Dublin to speak.
view -
talk -
history
- November 25
Mildred Clark was a pioneer and Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Lofoten Islands. Mildred Clark choose pioneering as her field of service from the earliest days of her association with the Bahá’í Faith, and she never relaxed in her service. In the first Seven Year Plan (1937-1944) assigned to the United States she pioneered to Denver, Colorado. In 1946, at the inception of the second Seven Year Plan (1946-1953), she offered to go to Europe and was requested by the European Teaching Committee to settle in Norway where, in 1948, she assisted in the formation of the first Spiritual Assembly of Oslo. In January, 1950 she pioneered to the Netherlands and in 1952 she was asked to go to Luxembourg.
view -
talk -
history
- November 26
Martha Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá’í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá’í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures. Of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first Monarch to accept Bahá’u’lláh. Introduced to the Faith in 1909 by meeting Roy C. Wilhem she spent several months researching the religion and met several members of the Bahá’í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá’í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá’í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.
view -
talk -
history
- November 27
Mabel Grace Geary was a pioneer and Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Cape Breton Island. While attending the first All-American International Teaching Conference in Chicago in 1953 the stirring message of the Guardian inspired Grace to offer to pioneer at the beginning of the Ten Year Spiritual Crusade. The difficult years spent in Cape Brenton Island were surmounted by her unwavering faith and characteristic courage. Her volunteer services as librarian at the public library in Baddeck afforded her excellent opportunities to spread the Glad Tidings of Bahá’u’lláh. Always ready to meet a need in the Cause, she returned to Charlottetown in 1961 to help complete the Spiritual Assembly there.
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- November 28
‘Abdu’l-Bahá was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh and successor to Him as leader of the Bahá’í Faith; he was appointed by Bahá’u’lláh as the authoritative expounder and perfect exemplar of the Bahá’í teachings and as the Center of Bahá’u’lláh's Covenant. The most memorable event in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's childhood was the imprisonment of His father following the attempt made on the life of the Shah on 15 August 1852. After four months Bahá’u’lláh was released from prison but ordered into exile, the first in a series of future exiles. Bahá’u’lláh passed away on 29 May 1892 and in such works as the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Tablet of the Branch, Bahá’u’lláh had indicated that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was to be His successor. For nearly thirty years ‘Abdu’l-Bahá personally supervised almost every aspect of the growth and development of the Bahá’í Faith. At the beginning of His ministry, the Faith was confined to the Middle East and appeared to any outside observer to be merely a persecuted Muslim sect. By the time of His passing, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had supervised its transformation into a religion that encircled the globe, with believers from many different religious backgrounds and the respect of a large number of prominent people in the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
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- November 29
Leroy Ioas (1896 - 1965) was a Hand of the Cause of God of the Bahá’í Faith. In 1952 he was appointed to the International Bahá’í Council, precursor to the Universal House of Justice where he served until 1961 as Secretary General. Leroy's service to the Faith was outstanding and inspiring to his communities. In 1912 he led his parents to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a crowded hotel lobby by the radiance which enveloped Him. Although only sixteen, he took the Master for his guide, and was aware of His guidance at several critical periods of his life. He was present when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the Temple in Wilmette - his father had helped to draft the petition to the Master for permission to build it - and as a young man he taught classes on its grounds.
view -
talk -
history
- November 30
Richard Nolen was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Azores. He was born in Almont, Michigan, March 14, 1914. In 1948, through an advertisement in the area newspaper, he learned of the Bahá’í Faith and met Kenneth and Roberta Christian in Lansing, Michigan. He immediately accepted the Bahá’í Cause and it became the dominating passion of his life. He participated in local, state and national activities and was a tireless, humble and successful teacher. Responding to the call of the beloved Guardian for pioneers to arise in the Ten Year Crusade, Mr. Nolen and his family immediately volunteered to go to a virgin territory. It was suggested by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States that he go to the Azores Islands where the climate is mild.
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talk -
history
Today's featured individual archive
January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
Today is Tuesday, September 16, 2025; it is now 09:13 UTC
