Rúhíyyih Khanum

Rúhíyyih Khánum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum
Born	Mary Maxwell 08 August 1910 (1910-08-08) New York City, United States of America
Died	19 January 2000 (2000-01-20) (aged 89) Haifa, Israel

Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum (August 8, 1910 – January 19, 2000), born as Mary Sutherland Maxwell in New York City but raised in Montreal, was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, who was the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963. In 2004, CBC viewers voted her number 44 on the list of "greatest Canadians" on the television show The Greatest Canadian.

She was also a noted speaker from her teens and lectured frequently on the impacts of racism and prejudice. A prolific writer since her youth, Rúhíyyih Khánum was the author of several published books such as Prescription for Living and The Priceless Pearl. Rúhíyyih Khánum was heavily involved in ecology and environmental issues, being a co-founder of the organization Alliance of Religions and Conservation which is an interfaith organisation aimed at assisting the major religions of the world to develop environmental programmes based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices. After Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, for Bahá'ís she became the last remaining link to the family of `Abdu'l-Bahá, who headed the Faith from 1892 to 1921 and was the eldest son of the Faith's Founder, Bahá'u'lláh.

Rúhíyyih Khánum was born in New York City on August 8, 1910 to William Sutherland Maxwell and May Maxwell, and was raised in Montreal, Québec where her father was a prominent architect. Through her father, Mary was of Scottish ancestry. The family originated from Aberdeen and Jedburgh. Through her mother, she was primarily of English stock. In 1912 `Abdu'l-Bahá visited Canada and stayed in the Maxwell's home. There he met Mary, aged two, and described her as the "essence of sweetness". `Abdu'l-Bahá showed much affection to baby Mary.