The following is a basic timeline of the Bábí and Baháʼí religions emphasizing dates that are relatively well known. For a more comprehensive chronology of the timeline, see the references at the bottom.
The Baháʼí Faith was formed in the late 19th-century Middle East by Baháʼu'lláh, and teaches that an official line of succession of leadership is part of a divine covenant that assures unity and prevents schism. There are no major schisms in the Baháʼí Faith, and attempts to form alternative leadership have either become extinct with time or have remained in extremely small numbers that are shunned by the majority. The largest extant sect is related to Mason Remey's claim to leadership in 1960, which has continued with two or three groups numbering at most 200 collectively, mostly in the United States.
The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters (tablets) written between March 1916 and March 1917 by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to Baháʼís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were printed in America in Star of the West - Vol. VII, No. 10, September 8, 1916, and all the tablets again after World War I in Vol. IX, No. 14, November 23, 1918, before being presented again at the Ridván meeting of 1919.
Baháʼí literature covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia. Sometimes considerable overlap between these forms can be observed in a particular text.
Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb was a Persian-American author and Baháʼí who served as ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's secretary and interpreter from 1912 to 1919. He co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York and was excommunicated from the Baháʼí Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.
Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler was an American lawyer and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1907 to 1908.
Julia Lynch Olin was an American author and Baháʼí who co-founded the New History Society in New York City, and was later expelled from the religion by Shoghi Effendi around 1939. Through marriage, she was a member of the Astor and Dudley–Winthrop families.
Leroy C Ioas was a Hand of the Cause of the Baháʼí Faith. His parents declared themselves Baháʼís in 1898 and took Ioas to meet ʻAbdu'l-Bahá during the latter's travels in the United States in 1912. Ioas moved to San Francisco after marrying Sylvia Kuhlman and soon became active in the local Baháʼí community.
The Baháʼí Faith in Chile begins with references to Chile in Baháʼí literature as early as 1916, with the first Baháʼís visiting as early as 1919. A functioning community was not founded in Chile until 1940 with the beginning of the arrival of coordinated pioneers from the United States finding national Chilean converts and achieved an independent national community in 1963. In 2002 this community was picked for the establishment of the first Baháʼí Temple of South America which the community is still prosecuting. The US government estimated 6,000 Baháʼís in Chile as of 2007 though the Association of Religion Data Archives estimated some 26,000 Baháʼís in 2005.
The history of the Baháʼí Faith in Panama begins with a mention by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then head of the Baháʼí Faith, in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan, published in 1919; the same year, Martha Root made a trip around South America and included Panama on the return leg of the trip up the west coast. The first pioneers began to settle in Panama in 1940. The first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly of Panama, in Panama City, was elected in 1946, and the National Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1961. The Baháʼís of Panama raised a Baháʼí House of Worship in 1972. In 1983 and again in 1992, some commemorative stamps were produced in Panama while the community turned its interests to the San Miguelito and Chiriquí regions of Panama with schools and a radio station. The Association of Religion Data Archives estimated there were some 41,000 Baháʼís in 2005 while another source places it closer to 60,000.
The Baháʼí Faith in Sweden began after coverage in the 19th century followed by several Swede-Americans who had met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in the United States around 1912 and pioneered or visited the country starting in 1920. By 1932 translations of Baháʼí literature had been accomplished and around 1947 the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly had been elected in Stockholm. In 1962 the first National Spiritual Assembly of Sweden was elected. The Baháʼís claim about 1,000 members and 25 local assemblies in Sweden.
The Baháʼí Faith in Uruguay began after ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, mentioned the country in 1916. The first Baháʼí to enter the country was Martha Root in 1919. The first pioneer to settle there was Wilfrid Barton early in 1940 and the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly of Montevideo was elected in 1942. By 1961 Uruguayan Baháʼís had elected the first National Spiritual Assembly and by 1963 there were three Local Assemblies plus other communities. By 2001 there was an estimated 4,000 Baháʼís in Uruguay.
The Baháʼí Faith in Senegal begins after ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, mentioned Africa as a place the religion should be more broadly visited by Baháʼís. The first to set foot in the territory of French West Africa that would become Senegal arrived in 1953. The first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly of Senegal was elected in 1966 in Dakar. In 1975 the Baháʼí community elected the first National Spiritual Assembly of Senegal. Baháʼís claimed there are 34 local assemblies in 2003. The most recent estimate, by the Association of Religion Data Archives in a 2005 report estimates the population of Senegalese Baháʼís at 24700.
The Baháʼí Faith in Angola begins after ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote letters encouraging taking the religion to Africa in 1916. The first Baháʼí pioneered to Angola about 1952. By 1963 there was a Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly in Luanda and smaller groups of Baháʼís in other cities. In 1992 the Baháʼís of Angola elected their first National Spiritual Assembly. The Association of Religion Data Archives estimated some 2,000 Baháʼís in 2005.
The Baháʼí Faith in Portugal comes after the first mention of Portugal in Baháʼí literature when ʻAbdu'l-Bahá mentioned it as a place to take the religion to in 1916. The first Baháʼí visitor to Portugal was in 1926. Its first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in Lisbon in 1946. In 1962 the Portuguese Baháʼís elected their first National Spiritual Assembly. In 1963 there were nine assemblies. According to recent counts there are close to some 2000 members of the Baháʼí Faith in 2005 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives.
The Baháʼí Faith in Equatorial Guinea begins after ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote letters encouraging taking the religion to Africa in 1916. The first pioneer to Spanish Guinea was Elise Lynelle who arrived in Bata, Spanish Guinea, on 17 May 1954, and was recognized as a Knight of Baha'u'llah. In 1968 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Equatorial Guinea was elected in Santa Isabel,. The community has elected a National Spiritual Assembly since 1984. The community celebrated its golden jubilee in 2004. The Association of Religion Data Archives estimated some 3,500 Baháʼís in 2005.
The Baháʼí Faith in Barbados begins with a mention by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, in 1916 as the Caribbean was among the places Baháʼís should take the religion to. The first Baháʼí to visit came in 1927 while pioneers arrived by 1964 and the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1965. Hand of the Cause ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá attended the inaugural election of the Barbados Baháʼís National Spiritual Assembly in 1981.
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, son of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, visited the United States and Canada in 1912. Baháʼí Houses of Worship were completed in Wilmette, Illinois, United States in 1953 and in Panama City, Panama in 1972.
Hermann Zimmer was an early pioneer of the Baháʼí Faith in Germany. Zimmer is one of a few Baháʼís who revived the efforts of Ruth White to oppose Shoghi Effendi, claiming that the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was forged.
