George O. Latimer

George O. Latimer
Born	1890 California, U.S.A.
Died	June 21, 1948 Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
NSA member	Bahá’í Temple Unity 1921 - 1922 US & Canada 1933 - 1940 1941 - 1948 United States 1948
Works •  Media

George Orr Latimer (1890 - June 21, 1948) was an American Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, and the independent National Assembly of the United States, for many years. He also wrote some essays on the Faith which were published in Star of the West, and wrote some pamphlets on the Faith.

Biography

Latimer was born and raised in a Bahá'í family in Portland, Oregon, his parents were James W. (d. 1943) and Rouhani Latimer. His father was a restaurateur who served as the Secretary of the Portland Local Assembly into the 1930's. In his youth George studied at Portland Academy and Williams College, and after graduating he became an attorney and worked in insurance.

When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited the United States of America in 1912 Latimer attended a talk given by him in Dublin, New Hampshire. In 1914 he visited Europe for nine months with Mason Remey and they sent a cable to the 1914 Convention of the Bahá’í Temple Unity held in Chicago from Paris. He noted that despite the onset of WWI the largest attendance for Bahá'í meetings in Europe were in Germany. They also visited Holland. After touring Europe they visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Holy Land in October 1914, travelling via Egypt and Syria, and Latimer presented some manuscripts to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which were approved for publication in Star of the West.

In 1916 Latimer spoke at the Convention of the Bahá’í Temple Unity, and that year he assisted in teaching the Faith in the Western States of the U.S. In 1918 he was at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and unable to attend the Convention, on account of his having been enlisted for military service. He received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, translated by Shoghi Effendi, in 1918 granting him permission to go on a second pilgrimage to the Holy Land when his military service was complete. In 1919 Latimer's parents received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in which He wrote:

"Praise be to God, your son, George Latimer, is enkindled with the fire of the love of God, and is with all his power engaged in service. This youth shall be confirmed and shall plant for you a tree that shall eternally yield fresh fruits."

Latimer traveled to the Holy Land in November 1919, and wrote a record of his time there which he self-published under the title The Light of the World in Boston in 1920. In January 1920 he accompanied Fádil Mazandarání on a teaching trip to Vancouver, in Canada.

In April 1920 Latimer was appointed to the newly established nineteen member National Teaching Committee for the United States at the Bahá’í National Convention. He was assigned along with two others to the Western Division and he was appointed Regional Secretary for the Western Division. In 1921 he was elected to the Bahá’í Temple Unity and chosen to serve as Chairman of the body. He served for one year. In 1924 he spoke at public meetings held as part of the annual Conference of the Western States Regional Teaching Committee in San Francisco. By 1925 he was serving as Chairman of the Regional Teaching Committee of the Pacific States.

In 1927 Latimer was appointed to a newly established Pacific Coast Summer School Committee, alongside John Bosch and Leroy Ioas, which aimed to establish a Summer School on the Pacific Coast of the United States which was to instruct those who wished to teach the Faith. They selected a site in Geyserville, California, on which to establish the Summer School, and it was held that year. He taught at the Geyserville Summer School for many years.

In 1929 Latimer was appointed to the National Teaching Committee, in addition to continuing to serve on the Geyserville School Committee. He made teaching trips on the Pacific Coast of the United States in 1929. In 1930 he chaired a Teaching Conference in Seattle, Washington. In 1931 he was appointed to the U.S. Bahá’í Economics Committee, in addition to continuing to serve on the Geyserville Summer School Committee and National Teaching Committee. He made teaching trips to Seattle and Vancouver in 1931, speaking on the National Broadcasting hour of Esperanto on KJR while in Seattle. In 1933 he visited San Francisco with Amelia Collins where they attended a Bahá’í meeting.

In 1933 Latimer was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, and he served on the body for the next seven years. Later in 1933 he visited the Bahá’í community of Glendale, California, with Leroy Ioas. In November 1936 he spoke at a public meeting in San Francisco alongside Mountfort Mills. He also spoke in Oregon City, which made the front page of a local paper. In January 1937 he presided some public meetings held by the National Spiritual Assembly in Nashville, Tennessee over four days. Latimer and Dorothy Baker drafted the letter to the Guardian from the 1937 U.S. National Convention. In 1938 he was elected as Vice-Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly. He spoke at meetings held to promote the Faith in Knoxville in 1938. He spoke at a meeting held by the National Spiritual Assembly in Los Angeles in February 1939. Also in 1939 he spoke on the Oneness of Mankind at a Religious Unity Service held at the Temple of Religions and Tower of Peace in San Francisco. Latimer was not re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly in 1940, but did continue to serve on the Geyserville Summer School Committee. He spoke on the Faith in Colorado Springs in 1940.

In 1941 Latimer was re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S. and Canada, and he served on the body until it was succeeded by independent Assemblies for the two Countries in 1948. He made a teaching trip to Western Canada in 1941, speaking at public meetings at the same time as Rowland Estall. In 1942 he was again elected to the office of Vice-Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly. In 1943 he was elected as Chairman of the National Assembly, succeeding longterm Chair Allen B. McDaniel who was elected Vice-Chair. In May 1944 he made a teaching trip to Vancouver. In 1948 he was elected to the first independent National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, established at the same time as an independent National Assembly for Canada.

Latimer passed away in Portland in June, 1948, a short time into his term on the National Assembly. Leroy Ioas was elected to fill his role. Shoghi Effendi cabled the following after his passing:

"Greatly deplore passing of distinguished disciple of ‛Abdu'l-Baha, firm pillar of the American Bahá'í community, George Latimer. His outstanding services in the closing years of the Heroic and first stages of the Formative Ages of the Faith are imperishable."

References

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:George O. Latimer

Bahai.works has a related page: Author:George Orr Latimer