David Hofman

David Hofman
Born	David George Ronald Hofman September 23, 1908 Poona, India
Declared	1933 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	May 9, 2003 (aged 94) Oxford, England
Known for	Founder of George Ronald Publisher
NSA member	British Isles 1936 - 1941 1947 - 1951 1956 - 1963
UHJ member	1963 - 1988
Spouse(s)	Marion Holley (1910 - 1995) m. 1945 Kathleen Hyett (1921 - 2004)
Children	Mark, May
Works •  Media

David George Ronald Hofman (September 23, 1908 - May 9, 2003) was a British Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles and the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá’í Faith. He also notably founded the Bahá’í publisher George Ronald.

Biography

Hofman was born in Poona, India, in 1908 where his father was serving in the British Army but he moved to England to attend school. He considered himself an atheist in his youth but moved to Canada in 1928 where he met May and William Sutherland Maxwell who introduced him to the Bahá’í Faith and he declared in 1933 while visiting their home in Montreal. He later settled in Hollywood in the United States while in North America and became an actor being cast in some silent films.

Hofman returned to England in January 1936 and he continued acting in stage productions at the West End theatre in London. He was immediately an active member of the early British Bahá’í community and was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles in 1936 and served intermittently on the body from the 1930's to the early 1960's often as Secretary. In 1937 he was hired by the BBC as an announcer for their television transmissions becoming the first person to serve as a television announcer in the world and he also did radio work for the BBC's Empire Service.

Hofman was drafted into the military at the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 and he was assigned to the National Fire Service, served until being discharged in 1943, then returned to his theatre career. In 1943 he founded the publishing company George Ronald to facilitate the production and distribution of Bahá’í literature. The company struggled initially largely due to paper being strictly rationed in the United Kingdom due to the Second World War and it was only able to publish titles occasionally. In 1947 it became a fulltime business at the direction of Shoghi Effendi with Hofman serving as its head and Shoghi Effendi granted it commissions for several major Bahá’í publications allowing for it to become sustainable.

In December 1945 Hofman married fellow Bahá’í Marion Holley who he had met in California in 1936 and they pioneered within England to Northampton. In 1948 they pioneered to Birmingham and they later pioneered to Oxford. In 1951 Hofman was appointed as the secretary of the British Isles Africa Committee, responsible for overseeing efforts to pursue the African Campaign serving for one year. During the Ten Year Crusade from 1953 to 1963 they pioneered to Watford in England and Cardiff in Wales to establish Bahá’í communities.

In 1963 Hofman attended the First International Convention in Haifa as a member of the British National Assembly and cast a vote in the first election of the Universal House of Justice. He was elected to the body himself and had to move to Haifa to serve on the Institution. He attended the First Bahá’í World Congress in London later in the year at which he read the message from the Universal House of Justice to the Congress.

Hofman served on the Universal House of Justice until retiring from the body in 1988 and he returned to England with Marion settling in Steeple Aston where they served on the Local Spiritual Assembly. They later moved to Oxford. He continued to serve the international Bahá’í community making several extensive travel teaching trips and he met with public officials to establish positive relations for the Faith perhaps most notably in Australia and Canada.

Hofman's wife Marion passed in 1995. He remarried some time after before his passing in 2003. He was survived by his second wife, Kathleen, his children May and Mark, and several grandchildren.

The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following in a message after his passing:

"He will be remembered, for an adamantine loyalty to the Cause, an unfailing response to the call and guidance of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice, a central role in the advancement of the British Baha'i community and the launching of the brilliant Africa Campaign, and his outstanding contributions to Baha'i literature both as an author and a publisher."

Publications

Books

• 1943 - A Commentary on the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
• 1946 - The Renewal of Civilization
• 1953 - God and His Messengers
• 1982 - Commentary on the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
• 1983 - George Townshend, A Life
• 1991 - Bahá’u’lláh: The Prince of Peace

Essays

• 1987 - Foreword and annotations to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Master by George Townshend.

Talks

• 1963 - Reading of the First Message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’í World
• 1992 - Talk at the 1992 World Congress

References

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:David Hofman

Bahai.works has a related page: Author:David Hofman

• Publications listed at Goodreads
• The Universal House of Justice. The Bahá’í World - An Internationl Record 2003-2004. Baha'i World Centre, Haifa: World Centre Publications. ISBN 0-85398-972-9.
• Publications listed in Jan Jasion's George Ronald: A Bibliographic History, accessed online April 30, 2019.