Canadian Origins
Nancy Campbell (1906 – 1980)
In 1938, while studying at the Three Arts Club in New York City, Campbell met a woman who told her about the Bahá’í Faith. She was immediately interested and subsequently attended “firesides” — informal presentations of the Bahá’í Faith — at the home of Saffa and Carrie Kinney, members of the New York City Bahá’í community. Upon returning to Canada, she sought out Canadian Bahá’ís and then joined the Faith in 1941. In 1942, Campbell helped form Hamilton’s first Local Spiritual Assembly.
In 1958, she moved to Dundas, Ontario. She was a well-known figure in the artistic and intellectual life of her community, and she was active in many organizations devoted to the public good. In particular, her services to the Hamilton branch of the United Nations Association of Canada garnered wide commendation, and in 1978 she received an award for “Meritorious Service” from that association. The citation referred to the fact that “For many years, racial harmony and internationalism have been dominant characteristics in her relations with people — Miss Campbell found a deep spiritual significance for her art and world-embracing concerns over forty years ago when she discovered the Bahá’í Faith.”
Over the years, Campbell became renowned as a Bahá’í teacher. She talked about the Faith at public meetings, at summer schools and at numerous firesides. She visited aboriginal reserves in Canada and also shared the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith in Europe.
Nancy Campbell passed away at the age of 75, on 20 January 1980.
Early Canadian Bahá’ís
The Bahá’í community has a rich history of members who have contributed greatly to their society as well as to the early development of the Bahá’í community in Canada and the world.