A Bahá'í Glossary - Bahá'í Chronology - 112 B.E. (A.D. 1955-1956)

Bahá'í Chronology - The Guradianship - 112 B.E. (A.D. 1955-1956)

	[ 59 Articles ]
• 112 B.E. • A.H. • April A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Shoghi Effendi announces the acquisition of 36,000 square metres of land for the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Holy Land. [DH175; MBW78–9] The entire sum for the purchase was donated by Amelia Collins. [MBW79]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • April A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first person to become a Bahá'í in the Bahamas, Molly Newbold, enrols. As she did not remain a Bahá'í, Arnold Wells, a tinsmith who became a Bahá'í on 20 April, is regarded as the first Bahá'í. Christine Thompson, who owned a small fruit and vegetable shop, and Frank Ferguson, who owned a gas station, also enrolled on 20 April.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • April A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Shoghi Effendi announces that the Bahá'í Faith is represented in 236 countries, in 3,200 locations, by over 40 ethnic groups. Bahá'í literature is translated into 176 languages. [MBW76–8]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly in Zanzibar is formed.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly in Réunion is formed.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first five local assemblies in Bechuanaland (Lesotho) are formed in Seqonoka, Maseru, Mafeteng, Maphohloane and Sephapos' Gate.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first four local spiritual assemblies in The Gambia are formed in Bathurst (Banjul), Serrekunda, Lamin and Brikama.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) is formed in Salisbury (Harare).
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly of French Togoland (Togo) formed at Lomé.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual in Mozambique is established in Lourenço Marques. [BW13:290]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first native Mozambican Bahá'í, Festas Chambeni, takes the Bahá'í Faith to Angola. [BW13:290]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly in Italian Somalia is formed in Mogadishu.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly in Madagascar is formed in Tananarive (Antananarivo).
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly in the Seychelles is formed in Victoria.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly in the Bahamas is formed in Nassau.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Riḍván A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first local spiritual assembly in Vietnam is formed at Saigon-Cholon (Cholon is the Chinese section of Saigon). This body is also the first local assembly to be formed in Indochina.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 23 April A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Ramadán begins. Shaykh Muḥammad-Taqí known as "Falsafí" makes an inflammatory speech against the Bahá'ís from a mosque in Ṭihrán. [BW18:390] This is broadcast on national radio and stirs up the people against the Bahá'ís. [BW18:390] Beatings, killings, looting and raping go on for several weeks, usually incited by the local ‘ulamá. [BW18:390–1; MC16–17; ZK215–6] The House of the Báb in Shíráz is attacked and damaged by a mob led by Siyyid Núru'd-Dín, a mujtahid.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • Mau / July A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Persecutions against the Bahá'ís continue throughout Iran. BW18:391] Many Bahá'ís are beaten, including women and children. Bahá'í houses and shops are looted and burned. Bahá'ís employed in government service are dismissed. Bodies of dead Bahá'ís are disinterred and mutilated. Young Bahá'í women are abducted and forced to marry Muslims. Several Bahá'í women are publicly stripped and/or raped. Crops and orchards belonging to Bahá'ís are looted and destroyed. Bahá'í children are expelled from schools. The House of the Báb in Shíráz is damaged.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 2 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The police lock the doors of the National Bahá'í Centre in Ṭihrán thus preventing the holding of the final day of the National Bahá'í Convention. [BW18:390]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 4 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Sylvia Ioas is appointed to the International Bahá'í Council as its ninth member. [BW19:612; GBF110; MBW86; PP253]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 7 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The Iranian army occupies the National Bahá'í Centre in Ṭihrán. [BW18:390]
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• 112 B.E. • 8 May A.H. • A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Bahá'ís are beaten at Dámghán, Khurásán, Iran. [BW18:390]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 8 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The Bahá'í centre at Rasht, Iran, is attacked and taken over. [BW18:390]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 9 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Bahá'í houses are attacked and looted at Shíráz, Iran. [BW18:390]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 9 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The Bahá'í centre at Ahváz, Iran, is taken over. [BW18:390]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 16 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The Bahá'í centre at Isfahán, Iran, is taken over. [BW18:390]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 17 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The Iranian Minister of the Interior announces in parliament that the Government has issued orders for the suppression of the ‘Bahá'í sect' and the liquidation of the Bahá'í centres. [BBRSM174; BW18:391]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 22 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The dome of the National Bahá'í Centre in Ṭihrán is demolished with the personal participation of several high-ranking army officers. The publication of the pictures of this episode encourages a widespread outburst of persecution of Bahá'ís throughout Iran. [BW18:391] After the coup in 1953 the Shah was indebted to the clergy for their support and so they were given a greater latitude to persecute the Bahá'ís. In an attempt to show his gratitude the Shah sent a high ranking officer to ask if they had any special requests and they called for the Bahá'í Centre in Tehran to be destroyed. The army occupied the Centre and high-ranking officers and clerics jointly demolished the dome. [Towards a History of Iran's Baha'i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.] For pictures see BW13:293–4.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 23 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The Bahá'í International Community submits its Proposals for Charter Revision to the United Nations for the Conference for Revision of the UN Charter. [BW13:788, 795–802]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 24 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The Bahá'í centre at Karaj, Iran, is taken over. [BW18:391]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 27 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The Bahá'í centre at Máhfurúzak, Iran, is demolished. [BW18:391]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 30 May A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Bahá'ís are attacked and wounded and their houses attacked at Ábádih, Iran. [BW18:391]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 1 June A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The House of Bahá'u'lláh in Tákur, Mázandarán, Iran, is taken over. [BW18:391]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 2 June A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first pioneer to settle in Laos, Dr Heshmat Ta'eed, arrives in the country from Thailand.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 4 June A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Frank Wyss of Australia arrives on Cocos and is named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 28 July A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Seven Bahá'ís are stabbed and beaten to death by a mob in Hurmuzak, Iran. [BW18:391, Towards a History of Iran's Baha'i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.] Several other Bahá'ís, including women, are beaten and injured; Bahá'í houses and property are damaged. [BW18:391] See also M. Labíb, The Seven Martyrs of Hurmuzak. See entry for 26 September, 2016.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • August A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Appeals are made by National Spiritual Assemblies around the world through the Bahá'í International Community to the UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to ask the Iranian government to halt the attacks on the Bahá'ís. [BW13:789–91; BW16:329; MBW88–9; PP304, 311] The intervention of the Secretary-General of the UN, along with the efforts of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, bring an end to the physical persecution of the Bahá'ís, although their human rights are still denied. [BW13:790; BW16:329] This marks the first time the Faith is able to defend itself with its newly born administrative agencies. An "Aid the Persecuted Fund" was established. Historian Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi noted that the 1955 anti-Bahá'í campaign was both the apogee and the point of separation of the state-clergy co-operation. The Shah succumbing to international pressure to provide human rights, withdrew support. The result was that the period from the late fifties until 1977-1978 was a period of relative safety. [Towards a History of Iran's Baha'i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 23 August A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Shoghi Effendi announces plans to begin construction on the House of Worship in Kampala, Uganda. [MBW90; PP312]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • September / October A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Bahá'ís in Iran continue to be dismissed from their employment. Bahá'í students are expelled from Shíráz University. [BW18:391]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • September A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Travelling by foot, Udai Narain Singh arrives in Tibet from Gangtok, Sikkim., and is named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh, his second such distinction. He is named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh in spring 1956. [BW13:456]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • September A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Fowzieh Sobhi arrives in British Somaliland from Egypt, the first Bahá'í to reside in the country.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 23 / 25 September A.D. 1955 • A.M.	International Teaching Conference held in Nikko, Japan. [Japan Will Turn Ablaze p87, 97]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • October A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Daniel Haumont arrives in the Loyalty Islands and is named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 12 November A.D. 1955 • A.M.	Hand of the Cause of God Valíyu'lláh Varqá passes away in Stuttgart. For his obituary see BW13:831–834. Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 15 November A.D. 1955 • A.M.	‘Alí Muḥammad Varqá is appointed a Hand of the Cause to succeed his father. [GBF111; MBW91]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • December A.D. 1955 • A.M.	The first Samoan woman to become a Bahá'í, Mrs Lotoa Refiti (later Lotoa Rock), enrols. [Koala News, No. 22, February 1956]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • c. A.D. 1956 • A.M.	Shoghi Effendi acquires the title to the Pilgrim House at Bahjí from the Israeli government as part of the exchange for the Bahá'í properties at Ein Gev. [BBD177; DH226]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • A.D. 1956 • A.M.	The first indigenous person to become a Bahá'í in Dutch Guiana (Suriname), George van Axel Dongen, enrols.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • A.D. 1956 • A.M.	The first Tlinget to become a Bahá'í in Alaska, Joyce Anderson Combs, enrols.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • A.D. 1956 • A.M.	Shoghi Effendi buys the ruined house known as the Master's Tea House.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • A.D. 1956 • A.M.	The first people to become Bahá'ís in Cape Verde enrol.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • A.D. 1956 • A.M.	The first indigenous person to become a Bahá'í in New Guinea, Apelis Mazakmat, a school teacher and member of the local government council, enrols.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • A.D. 1956 • A.M.	Kedarnath Pradhan, from neighbouring Sikkim, arrives in Nepal, the first pioneer to the country. [Bahá'í Faith In Nepal by Prof. Anil Sarwal]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • A.D. 1956 • A.M.	A Roman Catholic priest lodges a complaint against the Bahá'ís of Morocco with the Moroccan Security Service.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • c. A.D. 1956 • A.M.	The first person in Tibet to become a Bahá'í, Chiten Tashi, a young businessman from the village of Chombethan, enrols.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • A.D. 1956 • A.M.	The publication of Religion for Mankind by Horace Holley.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • January A.D. 1956 • A.M.	The first Bahá'í pioneer in what is now the Central African Republic, Samson Nkeng, arrives in Bangui from the British Cameroons.
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 12 February A.D. 1956 • A.M.	The first four people to become Bahá'ís in Hong Kong, Nari Sherwani, Ng Ying Kay, Chan Lie Kun and Chan Lie Fun, enrol. [PH75]
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• 112 B.E. • A.H. • 25 February A.D. 1956 • A.M.	Ḥusayn Uskuli, (b. 1875) long-time pioneer to Shanghai from ‘Ishqábád, passes away in Shanghai at the age of 82 and is buried in the Kiangwan Cemetery in Shanghai. [PH29, BW13p871-873] He heard about the Faith at the age of 18 from Mírzá Haydar-'Alí. After his marriage he moved to 'Is̲h̲qábád where he was very active in the community. After his move to Shanghai his home was the centre of activity and hospitality for all those passing through. He was the only foreign-born Bahá'í to remain in China after the regime change. The xenophobic attitude of the government precluded any meaningful contact with the local citizenry. He was survived by four daughters and a son.
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< 111 B.E. | 113 B.E. >

Most of the Gregorian Calendar dates, A.H. 1166 (A.D. 1753) to 153 B.E (A.D. 1996), are from the original book, A Basic Bahá'í Chronology. From 153 B.E (A.D. 1996) to present the Gregorian Calendar dates are from A Basic Bahá'í Chronology online. The Hebrew, Islamic and Bahá'í dates were calculated by the ABG staff and may be subject to error, despite the great care that was taken. When the Gregorian date is "In the year", "c. Mar 1797", etc., we list the nearest approximate Hebrew, Islamic and Bahá'í dates.

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