Katherine True

Dr. Katherine K. True
Born	September 2, 1893 Chicago, Illinois
Died	September 25, 1963
NSA member	USA 1956 - 1960
Parent(s)	Moses Adams True, Corinne True
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Dr. Katherine Knight True (September 2, 1893 - September 25, 1963) was an American Bahá'í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States in the late 1950's. In her career she was a medical physician, and one of the earliest female fellows of the American College of Surgeons.

Biography

Katherine was born in Chicago in 1891 along with a twin brother, Kenneth, who passed when he was seven years old. Her mother, Corinne True, began investigating the Bahá'í Faith there in 1899. In 1900 Katherine wrote a letter to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and she received a Tablet from him in reply.

In 1909 she traveled to Rome accompanied by her older sister, Edna, to study. Their father Moses passed that year. In 1919 Katherine wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá again, expressing her desire to study medicine, and received a Tablet encouraging her to do so. Katherine accompanied her mother on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1922, shortly after the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Katherine enrolled to study medicine at Northwestern University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Pittsburg in 1926. In 1941 Katherine was invited to become a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons.

From 1945 to 1948 Katherine served on the Bahá'í National Teaching Committee, serving as Chair of the body for 1947 to 1948. From 1946 to 1963 she served on the European Teaching Committee. In 1952 she accompanied her mother on pilgrimage again. In 1956 she was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, and served on the body until 1960.

She passed away in 1963 after a short battle with leukemia.

References

• Obituary in The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 383-385. View as PDF.