November 1. On this date in 1914, Agnes Baldwin Alexander, later named a Hand of the Cause God, reached Japan. Between the time of her arrival and 1967, when she left for the last time, she spent a total of about 31 years in Japan.
On July 21, 1875, Agnes Baldwin Alexander was born in Honolulu to descendants of Christian missionary families, the Baldwins and the Alexanders, who were among the families of whom James A. Michener said, "They came to the islands to do good, and they did right well."
She became a Bahá’í in 1900 while visiting Italy.
After returning in 1901, she remained in Hawaii for 12 years, and of her experiences there wrote Personal Recollections of a Bahai Life in the Hawaiian Islands. Upon 'Abdu’l-Baha's request, Agnes Baldwin Alexander moved to Japan, arriving there on November 1, 1914. In 1921 she became the first to introduce the religion to Korea. Except for extended vacations in Hawaii, Alexander spent over thirty years in Japan.
Also at the request of 'Abdu’l-Baha, Alexander became an early advocate of Esperanto and used that new international language to spread the Bahá’í teachings at meetings and conferences. At Shoghi Effendi's request, Alexander wrote two histories: Forty Years of the Bahá’í Cause in Hawaii: 1902-1942 and History of the Bahá’í Faith in Japan: 1914-1938. Both of these volumes were published posthumously.
In 1957, Shoghi Effendi appointed her a Hand of the Cause of God.
In 1964, Alexander represented the Universal House of Justice, at the election of Hawaii’s first National Spiritual Assembly, which is distinct from the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. After suffering a broken hip in 1965, and spending two years in a Tokyo hospital, Alexander returned home to Honolulu in 1967.
On January 1, 1971, Alexander died. She was buried behind Kawaiahao Church with her missionary forebears.
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