David George Ronald Hofman (23 September 1908 – 9 May 2003) served as a member of the

Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate o ...

, the supreme governing body of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

, between 1963 and 1988. He worked as the world's first

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

for the

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

and later founded the publishing company George Ronald.

History

Early life and career

Mr. Hofman was born in 1908 in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

where his father served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

. Educated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, as a young man he set out to see the world. While in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

during the 1930s, he encountered the Baháʼí Faith at the home of May and

William Sutherland Maxwell William Sutherland Maxwell (November 14, 1874 – March 25, 1952) was a well-known Canadian architect and a Hand of the Cause in the Baháʼí Faith. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to parents Edward John Maxwell and Johan MacBean. Life ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

. He embraced the religion and continued his travels, living for a time in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, and appearing in a number of silent movies. Back in England he earned several acting roles in the West End of London and in 1938 was a television announcer on early

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

television transmissions. His voice was also heard on the radio, on the

BBC Empire Service #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. In 1943 Hofman founded the Baháʼí

publishing company Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

George Ronald. Its first title was The Renewal of Civilization, a book he wrote as an introduction to the Baháʼí Faith. Years later he authored a biography of

Hand of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands o ...

George Townshend George Townshend may refer to: *George Townshend (Royal Navy officer) (1715–1769), British naval commander *George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend (1724–1807), British field marshal, his nephew *George Townshend, 2nd Marquess Townshend (1753� ...

. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he married former US Olympic athlete Marion Holley, who predeceased him. They had two children. The Hofmans were active members of the Baháʼí community, establishing Baháʼí communities in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

and

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

. Mr. Hofman served for 27 years as a member of the

National Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...

of the United Kingdom.

Bibliography

*''Baháʼu'lláh, the Prince of Peace'' *''Commentary on the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá'' *''George Townshend, A Life'' *''The Renewal of Civilization'' David Hofman was also a member of the Northampton Repertory theatre 1942/1943/1944 an accomplished actor as Lorberg in Ibsens Hedda Gabler, Robert E Sherwoods The Queens Husband as King Eric.and The Petrified Forest.and many others,

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hofman, David George Ronald Members of the Universal House of Justice English religious leaders BBC people 1908 births 2003 deaths British Bahá'ís Converts to the Bahá'í Faith 20th-century Bahá'ís 21st-century Bahá'ís