Sara Louisa Blomfield (; 1859 – 1939) was an Irish humanitarian and early member of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, and a supporter of the rights of children and women.Memorial to a shining star
London, United Kingdom, 10 August 2003 (BWNS) She became styled ''Lady Blomfield'' after her husband was knighted in 1889.

Career

Blomfield was born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and spent much of her adult life in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Broadway, Worcestershire. She was married to the noted Victorian era architect

Arthur Blomfield Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...

, son of Charles James Blomfield,

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

. An accomplished writer and humanitarian, Blomfield assisted in founding the Save the Children Fund and was a supporter of the adoption of the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. Blomfield joined the

in 1907 and soon became one of its outstanding proponents and historians. During the visit of

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 un ...

to Paris, she took copious notes of his public meetings which were used in preparing the volume called " Paris Talks". As a tribute to her, ʻAbdu'l-Baha bestowed upon her the name "Sitárih Khanum" (in Persian, "sitárih" means "star", and "khanum" means "lady"). After the passing of ʻAbdu'l-Baha in 1921, Blomfield accompanied

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...

on his trip from Britain to

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. While in Haifa, she interviewed members of Baha'u'llah's family. Those recorded recollections, together with her account of the days when she hosted ʻAbdu'l-Baha in London, make up the contents of her book, "The Chosen Highway." Blomfield was an anti-vivisectionist. She was a member of the Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society's executive council.

Death

Blomfield spent her final days at a nursing home. She died on 31 December 1939 at Belsize Grove, Hampstead.

Selected publications

* * ''The Passing of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá'', coauthored with

. * Blomfield's copious notes are the basis of much of Paris Talks.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blomfield, Sara Louisa Blomfield, Lady 1859 births 1939 deaths 20th-century Bahá'ís Baháʼí feminists Burials at Hampstead Cemetery Blomfield family Children's rights activists Converts to the Bahá'í Faith Irish anti-vivisectionists Irish Bahá'ís Irish women's rights activists