David Hofman
From Bahaikipedia
David George Ronald Hofman (1908 - 2003) was a member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, from 1963 to 1988 and founder of George Ronald Publisher, Oxford, England.
Mr. Hofman was born in 1908 in Poona, India where his father served in the British Army. Educated in England, as a young man he set out to see the world. While in Canada during the 1930s, he encountered the Bahá'í Faith at the home of May and William Sutherland Maxwell in Montreal. He embraced the Faith and continued his travels, living for a time in Hollywood, California, and appearing in a number of silent movies. Back in England he earned several acting roles in the West End of London and in 1937 became the world's only television announcer on the BBC's first television transmissions. His voice was also heard on the radio, on the BBC's Empire Service.
Following World War II he married former US Olympic athlete Marion Holley, who predeceased him. They had two children. The Hofmans were very active members of the Bahá'í community, establishing Bahá'í communities in Northhampton, Birmingham, Oxford, Cardiff, and Watford. Mr. Hofman served for 27 years as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom. To promote books of religious interest, including titles on the Bahá'í Faith, he established the publishing firm George Ronald; its first title was The Renewal of Civilization, a book he wrote as an introduction to the Bahá'í Faith. Years later he authored a biography of Hand of the Cause George Townshend.
Mr. Hofman was elected to the Universal House of Justice at the first International Convention in 1963 and served on that body for 25 years. After his retirement in 1988, he made several extended international teaching trips, meeting not only with Bahá'í communities but with public officials and leaders of thought. After his passing the Universal House of Justice wrote, "He will be remember for an adamantine loyalty to the cause, an unfailing response to the call and guidance of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice, a central role in the advancement of the British Bahá'í community and the launching o the brilliant African campaign, and his outstanding contributions to Bahá'í literature both as an author and a publisher."
[edit] Publications
- Bahá'u'lláh, the Prince of Peace
- Commentary on the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
- George Townshend, A Life
- The Renewal of Civilization
[edit] References
- The Universal House of Justice [2005]. The Bahá'í World - An Internationl Record 2003-2004. Baha'i World Centre, Haifa: World Centre Publications.
