Rahme Haider or Rahme Haidar (1880s – November 13, 1939), sometimes billed as "Princess" Rahme Haider, was an educator and lecturer based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Early life

Rahme Haider was said to be from

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

, in the

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

region. She attended a Presbyterian mission school in

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

, and then

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

in Ohio. Other accounts, including her death certificate, gave her hometown as

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, and her parents as Joseph Abou Haidar and Younise Abou Haidar.Ancestry.com. ''Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1968'' atabase on-line Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Death Certificate for Rahme Haidar, dated November 1939 in Philadelphia."Charming Talk by Princess"
''Corsicana Daily Sun'' (June 24, 1918): 11. via

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She was assigned as a missionary to Syrians in Los Angeles in 1909, by the

Northern Baptist Convention The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...

Career

Haider started a school for the children of Arabic speakers in Los Angeles. She also ran a Baptist Sunday school for children, and an evening school for young men and women, in the Syrian community there. With some backing from a local Syrian businessman, Phares Behanessey, she raised funds with a 1909 gala event in which Los Angeles society women, dressed in their "picturesque" interpretations of Middle Eastern attire, performed in a pageant. After her mission commitment ended, Haider toured from the mid-1910s to the mid-1930s as "Princess Rahme" (a self-created royal), in the United States and Canada,"Syrian Princess Royal Again a Winnipeg Visitor"
''Winnipeg Tribune'' (May 24, 1924): 14. via

giving lectures about Syrian history and culture to church and community groups. For many of her travels, she traveled with H. Lucille Burgess, who joined her in dramatic and musical portions of her presentation. Later in her career, she added a slide show and short film to her presentation. Haider and Burgess sometimes offered acting classes too, and directed local children in Biblical pageants while they were visiting a town for an extended run. Rahme Haider's autobiography and travelogue, ''Under Syrian Stars'', was published in 1929. In 1931 she declared her intention to seek American citizenship. One of her last publicized appearances was in

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York, United States. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of 2024, the estimated population of Cortland, New York, is 17,196, reflecting a dec ...

in January 1936.

Personal life

Haidar and Burgess traveled and worked together for years; Burgess was usually described as Haidar's secretary, assistant, or companion. Rahme Haidar died in 1939, in Philadelphia, in her fifties.

References

1880s births Baptist missionaries in the United States 1939 deaths Syrian writers Female Christian missionaries Syrian Baptists Syrian Christian missionaries People from Baalbek Denison University alumni {{authority control People from Damascus