January

January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, coming between December (of the previous year) and February (of the current year). It has 31 days. January generally occurs during the months of Sharaf and Sulṭán in the Badi calendar.

Events

Recurring

• The feast of Sulṭán takes place in the month of January.

Historical

The following are examples of historical events which happened on each day of the month of January.

January 1

• 1912: ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá, prominent Bahá’í, Hand of the Cause and trustee of Huqúqu'lláh is born
• 1962: Amelia Collins, prominent Bahá’í and Hand of the Cause passes away in Haifa, Israel
• 1971: Death of Hand of the Cause of God, Agnes Alexander

January 2

• 1986: On the closing day of the Counsellors' Conference, the Universal House of Justice announces certain features of the Six Year Plan and the methods by which national goals were to be worked out in consultation between the Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies.
• 2018: A court in Sana’a, Yemen issued an unprecedented ruling sentencing Yemeni Baha’i Hamed bin Haydara to death due to his religious beliefs, and calling for the dissolution of all Baha’i Spiritual Assemblies in the country.

January 3

• 1914: David Ruhe, member of the Universal House of Justice, is born.
• 1922: The first, private reading of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in which the Master established the institution of the Guardianship and appointed Shoghi Effendi (pictured) to that position.
• 2008: Two among a series of 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan take place in London and Abidjan.

January 4

• 1913: Malietoa Tanumafili II, the first reigning Bahá'í monarch, is born.

January 5

• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gives a talk at Elizabeth Herrick's home in London.

January 6

• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá travels from London to Edinburgh by train, leaving London in the morning and arriving at Edinburgh's Waverly Station in the afternoon. He stays at the home of Elizabeth Whyte in Edinburgh.
• 1932: Catherine Huxtable, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Gulf Islands, is born.
• 1993: Bahá’í jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie passes away.

January 7

• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delivers a talk to the Esperanto Society in Edinburgh, his first speech in Scotland. He also visits Outlook Tower, an educational institution.
• 1989: A week-long teaching project is launched in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, resulting in 43 enrolments and the re-formation of two Local Spiritual Assemblies.

January 8

• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is given a tour of the Edinburgh College of Arts, and a tour of North Canongate School. He also delivers a talk and attends a performance of Handel's Messiah.
• 1924: Universal House of Justice member Hushmand Fatheazam is born.

January 9

• 1914: Birth of John Ferraby, Hand of the Cause, and Custodian of the Bahá’í Faith
• 1951: Formation of the International Bahá’í Council by Shoghi Effendi
• 2001: The Universal House of Justice addresses a message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, providing details of the upcoming Five Year Plan for 2001–2006.

January 10

• 1913: `Abdu'l-Bahá returns to London.
• 1976: The most northerly-located Local Spiritual Assembly in the world is formed in the Ińupiat community of Barrow, Alaska.
• 2008: Two among a series of 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan take place in Toronto and Guadalajara.

January 11

• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gives a talk at Caxton Hall in Westminster.

January 12

• 1853: Bahá’u’lláh and His family begin their journey to Baghdad following His exile from Tehran.
• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá attends a dinner and delivers a talk at the home of Richard Shapely in London.
• 2010: After 20 months of unlawful detention in Iran's Evin Prison, the Baha'i 7 (pictured) are summoned to court and charged with fabricated offenses, including espionage, "propaganda against the state," and "spreading corruption on earth."

January 13

• 1845: The trial of Mullá `Alíy-i-Bastámí takes place in Baghdád. A fatwá is issued against him and the Báb, condemning the Báb, who is unnamed in the fatwá, to death as an unbeliever.
• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delivers a talk at the Cadogan Gardens.
• 1927: A World Unity Conference is held in Dayton, Ohio, one of many such conferences to be held in the year in major cities of the United States.
• 1943: Universal House of Justice member Kiser Barnes is born.

January 14

• 1870: May Ellis Bolles, later known as May Maxwell, is born in Englewood, New Jersey.
• 1961: Dedication of the Mother Temple of Africa, Kampala, Uganda.
• 1975: The House of 'Abdu'lláh Páshá in ‘Akká (pictured) is purchased.

January 15

• 1850: Mullá Ádí-Guzal completes his pilgrimage to the graves of Mullá Husayn and Quddús on behalf of the Báb.
• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá travels to Bristol and stays the night at the Clifton Guest House, owned by Wellesley Tudor Pole.
• 2011: Participants from 18 nations mark the Golden Jubilee of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Kampala, Uganda with a program of prayers and choral singing inside the House of Worship.

January 16

• 1845: The Báb arrives in Medina from Mecca. During the journey to Medina, He reveals The Epistle between Two Shrines.
• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá returns from Bristol to London and delivers a talk at the Cadogan Gardens.
• 2015: Following more than a year of imprisonment, Yemeni Bahá’í Hamed bin Haydara is indicted under baseless charges of spying for Israel and converting Muslims to the Bahá’í Faith.

January 17

• 1908: Ruth Katharine Meyer, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to Margarita Island, is born.
• 2008: Three of the 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan take place in Lae, Papua New Guinea; Vancouver, Canada; and Managua, Nicaragua.

January 18

• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá meets with members of the British Muslim community and speaks at Shah Jehan Mosque in Woking, the first Mosque built in England.
• 2014: The Egyptian Constitution of 2014 takes effect after it is passed in a national referendum. While guaranteeing the ‘inviolable’ right of freedom of religion to certain religious communities, these freedoms are not extended to Bahá’is.
• 2019: Marking the 100th anniversary of the commencement of the Paris Peace Conference, the Universal House of Justice releases a message regarding world peace.

January 19

• 1973: The publication of the Synopsis and Codification of the Laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is announced by the Universal House of Justice.
• 2000: Rúhíyyih Khánum passes away, representing the last remnant of the family of Bahá’u’lláh who remained loyal to Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice.

January 20

• 1913: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá attends a reception at the home of Dr. Felix Mosscheles, and a dinner held by a Rajput Prince. He delivers his last talk in London at the Higher Thought Centre.
• 1922: Roy Fernie, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Gilbert and Ellis Islands, is born.
• 2010: Lawyers of the seven Bahá’í leaders imprisoned in Iran are notified that the next session of their trial will be held on February 7.
• 2015: An updated version of the official website of the worldwide Bahá’í community, bahai.org, is launched.

January 21

• 1923 - Birth of Brigitte Lundblade, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Shetland Islands

January 22

• 1844: Mullá Husayn returns to Karbalá after a journey of two years in Persia.
• 1872: A group of seven Bahá'ís, acting against Bahá'u'lláh's command, murder three Azalís, including Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahání, the "Antichrist of the Bahá'í Revelation". A backlash against the Bahá'í community in ‘Akká ensues.

January 23

• 1934: Shoghi Effendi gives Queen Marie of Romania the gift of a Tablet in the handwriting of Bahá’u’lláh.
• 1934: Agnes Parsons dies after an automobile accident. She is primarily remembered for her contribution to the cause of race unity in North America.
• 1958: The first Intercontinental Conference held at the mid-point of the Ten Year Crusade convenes in Kampala, Uganda.
• 1985: The Universal House of Justice outlines its plans for the International Year of Peace to National Spiritual Assemblies.

January 24

• 1990: The first All-Union Bahá'í Conference takes place in Moscow, the first national Bahá'í conference held in the USSR in about 60 years.
• 2008: Three among a series of 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan take place in Ulaanbataar, Sydney, and Madrid.

January 25

• 1926: British Orientalist Edward G. Browne, the only Western scholar to meet Bahá'u'lláh, passes away.
• 1954: Australian Stanley P. Bolton becomes the first Bahá’í to arrive in Tonga.
• 2018: A new educational facility is established on the grounds of the Lotus Temple, the Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi, India.
• 2019: The board of directors of the Baha’i International Development Organization holds its first meeting.

January 26

• 1987: Death of Universal House of Justice member Charles Wolcott.
• 2000: Death of Adib Taherzadeh, prominent Bahá’í, author and member of the Universal House of Justice.

January 27

• 1849: A third army arrives as reinforcements for the seige underway at the Fort of Shaykh Tabarsi.
• 1977: An International Teaching Conference is held in Bahia, Brazil. 1,300 people are in attendance, making it the largest such gathering of Bahá’ís to date in Brazil.
• 1979: Construction begins for the first Bahá’í House of Worship of the Pacific Islands in Western Samoa. The King of Samoa, Malietoa Tanumafili II, and Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum lay the cornerstone together.
• 2017: Fred Schechter, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for French Somaliland and Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre, passes away.

January 28

• 1913: Prominent Ottomans Ahmad Páshá and Munír Páshá call on 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris.
• 1924: Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Isabella Brittingham passes away in Philadelphia.
• 1926: Martha Root sends a note and a copy of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era to Queen Marie of Romania.
• 1955: Schoolteacher Dorothy Senne becomes a Bahá'í in Johannesburg, the first South African woman to do so.
• 1984: The Association of Bahá’í Studies of Francophone Europe holds its first informational meeting at the Hotel de la Paix in Geneva, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed in 1911.

January 29

• 1993: The first Latin American Bahá'í Social and Economic Development Seminar takes place in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

January 30

• 1926: Martha Root holds her first interview with Queen Marie of Romania.
• 1994: The first worldwide fireside on the Internet, ‘Pioneering in Cyberspace the Bahá'í Faith and the Internet', is held.

January 31

• 1867: Mírzá Muhammad-‘Alí, a Bahá'í physician, is executed in Zanján; Áqá Najaf-‘Alíy-i-Zanjání, a disciple of Hujjat, is executed in Tihrán.
• 1899: The Báb's remains arrive in the Holy Land.
• 1983: The Universal House of Justice takes up its permanent seat.
• 2008: Two among a series of 41 regional conferences of the Five Year Plan take place in Auckland and Battambang.