Bahaipedia:Today in History/February

Today in Bahá’í History
Selected anniversaries of events in Bahá’í history.
January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
Bahá - Jalál - Jamál - ‘Aẓamat - Núr - Raḥmat - Kalimát - Kamál - Asmá’ - ‘Izzat - Mashíyyat - ‘Ilm - Qudrat - Qawl - Masá’il - Sharaf - Sulṭán - Mulk - Ayyám-i-Há - ‘Alá’

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It is now 10:05 on Saturday, December 13, 2025 (UTC)

February 1:

1926: Martha Root arrives in Bulgaria, the earliest documented visit to that country by a Bahá’í. She stays 12 days.
1959: The ‘first Dependency of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Wilmette’, the Bahá’í Home for the Aged, opens.
1992: The Local Spiritual Assembly of Zanzibar Island is formed, the first administrative body on the island since the revolution of 1964.
2012: The publication of Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in Korean is announced.

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February 2:

1849: Mullá Ḥusayn dies in battle at the fort of Shaykh Tabarsí.

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February 3:

1950: Dr Sulaymán Birgís is martyred in Káshán, Iran.
1957: Enoch Olinga arrives in the Holy Land, the first black African Bahá’í to go on pilgrimage.
1964: Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and her companion Violette Nakhjavání leave Haifa at the start of their 55,000 mile, 9-month journey through India, Ceylon, Nepal and Sikkim.
1992: The Association of Bahá'í Publishers and Distributors is established at a Bahá'í Publishers' Conference in Oakham, England, with its headquarters in the Netherlands.
2009: The publication of We are Ashamed, an open letter from a group of academics, writers, artists, journalists and Iranian activists throughout the world to the Bahá'í community.

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February 4:

1912: Two Bahá'ís are killed in Máhfurúzak, Mázandarán.
1955: Bahá’í women in Hisár, Khurásán, Iran, are assaulted.
1977: An International Teaching Conference is held in Mérida, Mexico, attended by more than 2,000 Bahá’ís.

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February 5:

1975: A strip of land facing the resting place of Shoghi Effendi is bought by the Universal House of Justice to ensure protection of the site.

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February 6:

1913: ‘Abdu'l-Bahá visits Versailles.
1933: By this date there are about 50 Bahá’ís under arrest in Adana, Turkey.
1987: Maori women hold the first National Women’s Hui in the tribal area of Ngati Tuwaretoa, New Zealand.
2019: The Call of the Divine Beloved, a collection of Bahá’u’lláh's mystical works, is published.

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February 7:

1862: Edward G. Browne, one of the few Westerners to meet Bahá’u’lláh, is born in England.
1974: The construction of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice is initiated with the acceptance of the design conceived by architect Husayn Amánat.
2003: The dedication of the Louis G. Gregory Museum in his birthplace, Charleston, South Carolina.
2004: Mr. Bihnam Mithaqi and Mr. Kayvan Khalajabadi, who had been imprisoned in Iran since April 29, 1989 for "association with Baha'i institutions," are released.
2009: Two among a series of 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan take place in Frankfurt and Padua.

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February 8:

2013: The Universal House of Justice announces a series of 95 youth conferences to be held throughout the world from July to October 2013.

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February 9:

1898: Hájí Muhammad-i-Turk is shot, beaten and then burned to death in a main street in Mashhad by four religious students.
1940: The monuments of Navváb and Mírzá Mihdí are dedicated at a ceremony in Haifa.
1996: The first National Bahá'í Winter School of Belarus is held near Minsk.

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February 10:

1954: John Leonard arrives in the Falkland Islands and is named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh.

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February 11:

1929: William H. Randall, Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, dies.
2004: British Baha'i Lois Hainsworth receives the award of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to the Women's National Commission, the Baha'i Office for the Advancement of Women, and UNIFEM UK.

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February 12:

1845: The Báb leaves Medina for Jiddah.
1953: The first Intercontinental Teaching Conference is convened by the British National Spiritual Assembly in Kampala, Uganda. With this conference the Ten Year Crusade is launched.
1980: Hand of the Cause of God and well celebrated author Hasan Balyuzi dies in London.
2011: Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet are transferred to the notorious Section 200 of Gohardasht prison. The rest of the Bahá'í 7, all male, are still held under close scrutiny in a separate wing of the prison reserved for political prisoners.
2015: The official opening of the new location of the Afnan Library Trust at Sandy, near Cambridge, in the United Kingdom.

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February 13:

1942: Ustád Habíbu’lláh Mu‘ammarí is martyred in Nayríz, Iran.
1971: A months-long ban on Bahá’í activities in the Central African Republic is lifted, and the Bahá’í Faith is officially recognized.

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February 14:

1850: Fourteen Bábís are arrested as a result of the actions of an informer.
1876: Hand of the Cause Keith Ransom-Kehler, the first American Bahá'í martyr, is born in Kentucky.
1910: Ola Pawlowska, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Saint Pierre and Miquelon, is born.
2008: The Bahá'í International Community issues a statement entitled Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward as One.
2009: One of a series of 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan takes place in Istanbul, Turkey.

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February 15:

1891: The first public lecture in the West on the Bahá'í Faith is given by E. G. Browne at the Southplace Institute, London.
1896: Leroy Ioas, Hand of the Cause of God, is born in Wilmington, Illinois.
1954: Charles Duncan and Harry Clark, both Americans, arrive in Brunei and are named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh.
1979: The National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of Iran is seized by the Revolutionary Guards. All the records of the National Spiritual Assembly, including a membership list of all the Bahá’ís in Iran, are confiscated by the government.

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February 16:

1899: Hermann Grossmann, Hand of the Cause of God, is born in Rosario de Santa Fé, Argentina.
1993: A stamp featuring the Seat of the Universal House of Justice is issued by the Philatelic Service of the Israel Postal Authority.

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February 17:

1941: Death of Hyde Dunn, appointed posthumously as a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi.

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February 18:

1954: Indian Bahá'í Shirin Fozdar went to Saigon to establish the religion in Indochina.
1967: Incorporation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Philippines.

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February 19:

1850: Seven Bábís are executed in Tihrán on the false charge of having plotted to kill the Grand Vizier. They become known as the Seven Martyrs of Tihrán.
1878: German-Russian Bahá'í George Adam Benke is born in Ukraine. After his death, he is named by Shoghi Effendi as the first European Bahá'í martyr.
1968: Malietoa Tanumafili II, King of Western Samoa, embraces the Bahá'í Faith, becoming the first reigning monarch to do so.
1993: The first Bahá'í Winter School of Slovenia and Croatia takes place in Mozirje, Slovenia, attended by 20 adults and seven children.

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February 20:

1993: The first National Youth Conference of Hungary is held in Debrecen, attended by 60 youth.
2012: The passing of Anneliese Bopp, former Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre, in Germany.

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February 21:

1852: Birth of Isabella Brittingham, prominent American Bahá'í teacher, is born in New York City.
1954: Charles (‘Chuck’) and Mary Dayton settle in Charlotte Amalie, on St. Thomas, and are named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Leeward Islands.
1961: The first Indian congress of Bolivia is held in Oruro, with Indians participating; Corinne True, Hand of the Cause of God, dies in Chicago.
1990: Jalál Kháḍih, Hand of the Cause of God, dies in Toronto.
2009: Two among a series of 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan take place, in Baku and Accra.

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February 22:

1847: Birth of Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Hand of the Cause Thornton Chase.
2019: New educational facilities at the Eric Manton Bahá'í Institute are dedicated in Mwinilunga, Zambia.

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February 23:

1902: The first recorded Bahá’í teaching conference in North America takes place in Chicago.

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February 24:

1897: Hand of the Cause Jalal Khazeh is born.
1929: Universal House of Justice member Douglas Martin is born.
2012: The International Symposium on Religion, Spirituality, and Education for Human Flourishing is held in Marrakech, Morocco, with a Bahá’í delegation in attendance.

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February 25:

1890: The Sháh of Iran provides the Bahá'ís of Sidih a decree promising their protection; instead, they are murdered when they return to the city.
1889: Edward G. Browne mentions the Bahá’í Faith as part of a series of academic talks and papers in England.
1991: The Iranian government issues a confidential memorandum on the "Bahá’í question", specifically calling for Iran’s Bahá’ís to be treated in such a way “that their progress and development are blocked,” providing conclusive evidence that the campaign against the Bahá’ís is centrally directed.

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February 26:

1979: In a message to all National Spiritual Assemblies, the Universal House of Justice offers an official refutation of a number of false accusations against Iranian Bahá’ís.

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February 27:

1845: The Báb boards a ship and departs Jiddah. He sails to Muscat and stays there for two months.
2015: The Education is Not a Crime campaign marks its worldwide Day of Action in support of Bahá'í students in Iran.

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February 28: