Hólmfríður Árnadóttir

Hólmfríður Árnadóttir (1 February 1873 – 25 November 1955) was an Icelandic writer and teacher, and the first Bahá'i convert in Iceland.

Hólmfríður Árnadóttir
A young white woman with dark hair, wearing round glasses and a tall white fabric headpiece and dark embroidered jacket.
Hólmfríður Árnadóttir wearing traditional Icelandic garb, from a 1919 publication.
Born1 February 1873
Kálfsstaðir, Hjaltadalur
Died25 November 1955 (1955-11-26) (aged 82)
Reykjavik
Occupation(s)Writer, teacher, translator
Known forFirst Baha'i convert in Iceland

Early life

Árnadóttir was born on her father's farm at Kálfsstaðir. Her parents were Árni and Margrét.[1]

Career

Árnadóttir wrote a children's book in English, When I was a Girl in Iceland (1919), part of a series of books about childhood in different countries.[2][3] The series also included Mercedes Godoy's When I was a Girl in Mexico (1919).[4] At the time, she was living in New York, and teaching Icelandic and Danish language classes for Columbia University Extension.[5][6] In 1919, she spoke at the first convention of the National Woman's Party, in Washington, D.C., one of several international speakers on the status of women in other nations.[7]

Árnadóttir was the first Icelandic convert to the Bahá'i faith in 1924, introduced by American Bahá'i Amelia Collins. In 1925, she traveled to the United States to attend the International Council of Women meeting in Washington.[8] She assisted the American Bahá'i teacher, Martha Root, during her visit to Iceland in 1936. In 1939, she translated Baha’u’llah and the New Era by John Esslemont into Icelandic.[9][10][11]

Personal life

Árnadóttir died in 1955, aged 82 years, in Reykjavik.[1]

References
  1. "Hólmfríður Árnadóttir frá Kálfsstöðum -- minning". Morgunblaðið. 17 December 1955. p. 26. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  2. Árnadóttir, Hólmfríður (1919). When I was a Girl in Iceland. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company.
  3. Greene, Constance Murray (1919-09-14). "Five More Books for Children". New York Herald. p. 67. Retrieved 2020-08-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Godoy, Mercedes (1919). When I was a Girl in Mexico. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company.
  5. "Juveniles". The Boston Globe. 1919-09-20. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-08-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Brief Notes". The American-Scandinavian Review. 6: 168. May–June 1918.
  7. "Women of U.S. Hear Progress of Feminism". The Washington Herald. 1921-02-17. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-08-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Foreign Women Delegates in Boston for Week-end". The Boston Globe. 1925-05-16. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-08-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "The Bahá'ís of Iceland". Bahá'í samfélagið. 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  10. "Amelia Collins". Bahai Chronicles. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  11. Arnadóttir, Hólmfrídur (1939). "A Tribute from Iceland". The Baháʼí World. 7: 803 – via Internet Archive.
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