Howard Struven
Howard Christmas Struven (December 25, 1882 - February 1, 1977) was an American Bahá’í who served as a travel teacher in the early days of the Faith in the West notably undertaking an international teaching trip in 1909. He also helped establish the Bahá’í community of Baltimore.
Biography[edit]
Struven was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to German migrants Rosa and Dietrich Struven. He worked as a builder in his youth and eventually established a successful business career despite never attending college. In the late 1890's Struven became a Bahá’í possibly being introduced to the religion by his brother, Edward, and being deepened on its principles by Lua Getsinger.[1]
In 1909 Struven was appointed to a Baltimore Bahá’í committee which was responsible for developing a constitution and by-laws for an administrative body for the community. On July 20, 1909, he departed Baltimore in order to accompany Mason Remey on an international teaching tour which was the most extensive travel teaching trip undertaken at the time and Struven funded the trip with money he had intended to use to attend college. They first toured the United States then sailed to Honolulu, Hawaii. From Hawaii they visited Japan where they taught in four cities including Tokyo then went on to Shanghai, Singapore, then three cities in Burma. They then went to India then the Holy Land where they met with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá before returning to America in June, 1910.[1]
In 1910 Struven was elected to represent the Baltimore Bahá’ís at the Bahá’í Temple Unity Convention and in 1911 he was sent to represent the Baltimore community at the Persian-American Educational Society Conference. He married to Estelle Lowndes in 1912 and in November the same year he hosted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for lunch in his home. In approximately 1914 he moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, and his family were the first Bahá’ís in the city.[1]
In the late 1930's Struven undertook work for Roy C. Wilhelm in Stoneham, Maine, and Teaneck, New Jersey, and he moved his residence to Maine. He spent time in Florida in 1953 then returned to Baltimore before the end of the year and in 1962 he was elected to the inaugural Local Spiritual Assembly of Baltimore. He passed away in 1977 in Owings Mill, Maryland.[1]
