John Esslemont
Encyclopedia
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
(1874-1925), was a prominent British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Bahá'í
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He was the author of the well-known introductory book on the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, which is still in circulation. He was named posthumously by Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
as the first Hand of the Cause
Hands of the Cause
The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...
he appointed, and as one of the Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá
Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá
Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, designated nineteen Western Bahá'ís as Disciples of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and 'Heralds of the Covenant':*Dr. John E. Esslemont*Thornton Chase*Howard MacNutt*Sarah Farmer*Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney*Lillian Kappes...
. He was also an accomplished medical Doctor and linguist becoming proficient in western and eastern languages.
Background
John Esslemont was born in AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
on 19 May 1874, the third son and fourth child of John E. Esslemont (1859-1927), a successful merchant, and Margaret Esslemont (née Davidson). He came from an eminent family and was educated at Ferryhill School, Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery-S6.-History:...
, and the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
. Esslemont is related to 19th Century Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Peter Esslemont
Peter Esslemont
Peter Esslemont was a Scottish Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892.Esslemont was born in Balnakettle, Udney, Aberdeenshire the son of Peter Esslemont, a farmer, and his wife Ann Connon. He was educated at Public School, Belhelvie...
- John's great-grandfather is Peter's grandfather. He graduated in medicine in 1898 with honorable distinction. Unfortunately, Esslemont had contracted tuberculosis during his college days and this caused him to give up his promising career in medical research. He traveled internationally and married Jean Fraser to whom he was drawn by their mutual interest in music. On return to Scotland Esslemont took the position of medical superintendent of Home Sanitorium for tuberculosis in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. Esslemont became the first Bahá'í of Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
in early 1915 after hearing of the religion in December 1914 from a co-worker's wife who had met `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1911 and had some pamphlets to share. In about 1918 `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
, then head of the religion, wrote a tablet in his honor and also mentioned interest in a book he was working on. After receiving an early draft of this book `Abdu'l-Bahá invited Esslemont to Palestine which he accomplished in the winter of 1919-20, after the Battle of Megiddo (1918) settled the land. Ultimately `Abdu'l-Bahá was able to personally review several chapters. News of Esslemont's declaration of faith, and his forthcoming book, played a role in establishing the beginning of the Australian Bahá'í community
Bahá'í Faith in Australia
The Bahá'í Faith in Australia has a long history beginning with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, in 1916 following which United Kingdom/American emigrants John and Clara Dunn came to Australia in 1920. They found people willing to convert to the Bahá'í Faith in...
and elsewhere. Esslemont was elected chairman of the Bahá´í Local Spiritual Assembly of Bournemouth when it was elected in a few years and later as vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom until he left the country in 1924 following the closing of the sanitorium where he had been employed. He then traveled to Palestine to assist in translation work.
Esslemont, besides speaking English well, was proficient in French, German, and Spanish, and was an Esperantist
Esperantist
An Esperantist is a person who speaks or uses Esperanto. Etymologically, an Esperantist is someone who hopes...
and later learned Persian and Arabic well enough to assist in translation. In 1916 he began work on a book which became Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, perhaps the foremost introductory volume on the Bahá'í Faith which eventually was published in 1923, revised and reprinted and translated into dozens of languages down to the present day. Following the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi vacationed in Esslemont's familiar area of Bournemouth, and later Esslemont took permanent residence in Palestine to assist Effendi who then also helped further refine Esslemont's book.
Esslemont died in 1925 from his tuberculosis and is buried in the Bahá'í Cemetery in Haifa along with several other well known Bahá'ís. Shoghi Effendi posthumously designated Esslemont as the first of the Hands of the Cause
Hands of the Cause
The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...
he appointed in 1951, as well as one of the Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá
Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá
Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, designated nineteen Western Bahá'ís as Disciples of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and 'Heralds of the Covenant':*Dr. John E. Esslemont*Thornton Chase*Howard MacNutt*Sarah Farmer*Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney*Lillian Kappes...
. In 1955, Esslemont was described by Shoghi Effendi as one of the "three luminaries of the Irish, English and Scottish Bahá'í communities."
There is a Bahá'í school
Bahá'í school
A Bahá'í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá'í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í central figures, or Bahá'í administration...
named after Esslemont, The John Esslemont School, in the Grampian
Grampian
Grampian was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. It is now divided into the unitary council areas of:*Moray*Aberdeenshire*City of AberdeenThe region had five districts:*Aberdeen*Banff and Buchan...
region of North East Scotland has operated since 1987. There is also a John Esslemont Memorial Lecture held annually in June in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, where speakers from medical backgrounds present research to peers.In Austria a publishing house was founded in 2010 in memory of his lifework, the Esslemont Verlag, publishing Bahá'í gift books.
Publications
- Esselmont's Baha'u'llah and the New Era was originally published in 1923 and has been translated into numerous languages and remains a key introduction to the Bahá'í religion. More than sixty years later, it remains in the top ten of cited Baha'i books.
- Esslemont performed the first review of the worldwide progress of the Bahá'í religion in 1919. While unpublished it was identified and reviewed by recent scholars and was intended to be a chapter in Baha'u'llah and the New Era.