- 1874-05-19 — Birth of John Ebenezer Esslemont, Hand of the Cause of God, in Aberdeen, Scotland.
- 1919-12-25 — Shoghi Effendi presented a precious gift to his friend Dr Esslemont, "a drop of the coagulate and sacred blood of Bahá'u'lláh". [PG126]
- 1921-12-01 —
Dr Esslemont made a trip from Bournemouth to London to visit Shoghi Effendi and offer support. He invited him back to Bournemouth where he stayed from the evening of the 2nd of December until the morning of the seventh. [PG199]
- Shoghi Effendi wrote to a Bahá'í student in London describing his reaction to the news of the Master's passing. It would appear he had reconciled himself to the situation. [PG100; PP40-41]
- See PG201 for the observations of others.
- On the 7th of December he received a cable from the Greatest Holy Leaf urging him to return to the Holy Land. He left for London immediately. [PG100]
- 1923-09-00 —
J. E. Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was published in Britain by George Allen and Unwin. [DJEE28; RG77]
- The American edition of the book was published by Brentano's Publilshers of New York.
- Dr Esslemont had been in invited to Haifa by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to discuss the book he was writing. He spent two and on-half month during the winter of 1919-1920 as a guest of 'Abdu'l-Bahá who amended and corrected four chapters. [UC45]
- Shoghi Effendi viewed this as a landmark in British Bahá'í history. [UD97]
- Over the years he encouraged its translation into dozens of languages. [RG77]
- See DJEE37-8 for the importance of this work.
- For a list of publications in various languages and formats see The Story of J. E. Esslemont and his Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era: Bibliography by Jan Jasion.
- 1924-11-21 — Dr John E. Esslemont arrived in Haifa to help Shoghi Effendi with his work. [DJEE31; SBR233]
- 1925-11-22 —
John Esslemont, Hand of the Cause of God, Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, passed away in Haifa. [BW3p84-85, BBD81, SETPE1p108-110]
- For letters of Shoghi Effendi announcing his death and giving details of his life and funeral see BA97–8 and UD40–3.
- For an obituary see BW1:133–6 and BW8:929–35.
- He was buried next to the grave of Vakílu'd-Dawlih, the chief builder of the House of Worship at 'Ishqábád. [DJEE37]
- Shoghi Effendi elevated him to the station of Hand of the Cause of God on his death. The announcement was made on November 30th. [BA7-98; BWT3:333; DJEE40; PP92; UD403, MoCxxii
- See also Moojan Momen, Dr John E. Esslemont (BPT UK 1975) and BW8p929-935 for "John Ebenezer Esslemont: His Life and Service" by Jesse E. Revell.
- In addition to the publication of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era in Britain by George Allen and Unwin in 1923 he also published a booklet called
Bahá'u'lláh and His Message in New York by the Bahá'í Publishing Committee in 1921. (32 p). It was reprinted in London by the National Bahā'i Assembly of England, 1924. (23 p.), and a revised and edited publication was done by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles. London, 1938.
- The Message of Bahá'u'lláh: (Based on "Bahá'u'lláh and His Message") was published in London by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust in 1945. (30 p.). [DJEE28; RG77; The Story of J. E. Esslemont and his Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era: Bibliography by Jan Jasion]
- 1925-11-30 —
Shoghi Effendi appointed Dr. John Esslemont a Hand of the Cause of God.
- With the passing of Dr Esslemont Shoghi Effendi was left without qualified administrative assistance. This situation remained in place until the formation of the International Bahá'í Council in 1951. [PP92-95, SETPE1p112]
- 1926-01-28 — Martha Root sent a note and a copy of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era to Queen Marie of Romania. [GBF42; GPB390; MR242]
- 1931-00-01 —
The first Chinese translation of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was published. [PH36]
- The translation was made by Dr Tsao Yun-siang, President of the Xinhua University in Beijing. [PH36]
- 1933-00-03 — On the initiative of Martha Root, Mr. György Steiner, an Esperantist in the city of Győr translated J.E. Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and The New Era into Hungarian between 1931-33. This was the first major work published in Hungarian about the Bahá'í Faith. The Preface of the book was written by Mr. Rusztem Vámbéry, son of Arminius Vámbéry. [www.bahai.hu] [BW5p377, 609]
- 1942-06-25 —
'Abdu'l-Jalíl Bey Sa'ad died in Egypt and Shoghi Effendi appointed him to the rank of Hand of the Cause of God on the day of his passing. [LoF57-59; MoCxxii; BW9:597]
- For his obituary see BW9:597–9.
- 'Abdu'l-Jalíl Bey Sa'ad was, for many years, the president of the National Spiritual Assembly and a judge in the Civil Courts in Egypt. Through his sustained effort the Declaration of Trust was recognized as valid and legalized in 1934.
- He made an important contribution in translating into Arabic. Among his accomplishments were The Dawn-Breakers, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, Laws of Personal Status and Rules of Procedure.
- In 1941 he employed the Declaration of Trust as an instrument to induce the Ministry of Civil Defence to grant permission to build the Hazíratu'l-Quds in Cairo. While supervising this project in the intense heat he fell ill and died suddenly after an operation.
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