1938 15 Mar
193- |
Mary Virginia Thornburgh-Cropper (Maryam Khánum), the first Bahá'í of the British Isles, passed away in Kensington, London.
Find a Grave.
She was known to her friends as Minnie and first heard of the Bahá'í Faith in 1898 when she was 41.
She was an American living in London and had been married to an Englishman.
Shortly after reading about the Báb in an encyclopedia, by coincidence, she was invited by her friend Phoebe Hearst to be part of the first group of Western Bahá'í pilgrims to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Holy Land.
She is considered to be the first person to become a Bahá'í in the UK and throughout her life was a very active member of the community.
She was a member of the first elected National Spiritual Assembly of England (later Great Britain).
She made her motor-car available to 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His visits.
[SBR30, BW4p375, In the Footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Bahá p9]
For details of her life see BSR17–30.
For her obituary see BW8:649–51.
Notes: It is possibly she, rather than her mother, Mrs Thornburgh, who is referred to as a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in BW3:84–5. The picture is not that of Mrs Thornburgh-Cropper.
For biographical information see The Early Years of the British Bahá'í Community 1898-1911 p70-75. |
Mary Virginia Thornburgh-Cropper; - Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá; - In Memoriam; London, England; United Kingdom |
first Bahá’í of British Isles |
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