Marion Carpenter Yazdi Explained

Marion Carpenter Yazdi
Birth Name:Marion Bernice Carpenter
Birth Date:2 October 1902
Birth Place:Marcellus, Cass County, Michigan, U.S.
Death Place:Natick, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, U.S.
Known For:Writer, first follower of the Baháʼí Faith to attend University of California at Berkeley, and Stanford University
Occupation:Writer
Spouse:Ali M. Yazdi
Parents:Crowell E. Carpenter
Elizabeth

Marion Carpenter Yazdi (née Marion Bernice Carpenter; October 9, 1902 at Marcellus, Cass County, Michigan,[1] – February 2, 1996 at Natick, Middlesex County, Massachusetts[2] or at Wellesley, Norfolk County, Massachusetts)[3] was an American and the first adherent of the Baháʼí Faith to attend the University of California at Berkeley, and at Stanford University.[4] She was a daughter of Crowell E. and Elizabeth Carpenter, natives of Michigan and Ohio, respectively, who moved from Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo County, Michigan to Santa Paula, Ventura County, California between the 1910 and 1920 censuses.[5]

She married in 1926 to Ali M. Yazdi (1899–1978), a native of Persia (now Iran) who immigrated to the United States in 1920.[6] He was a civil engineer,[7] and a noted Baháʼí writer and lecturer[8] who served in the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States and as chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Berkeley, California for 30 years.[9] His life and service were commemorated by Marion in her 1982 book, Youth in the Vanguard: Memoirs and Letters Collected by the First Baháʼí Student at Berkeley and at Stanford University.[10]

The Ali and Marion Yazdi Building at 2910–2912 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California is a registered Berkeley Landmark (no. 324) since July 7, 2016.[11] [12]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; National Archives Microfilm Publication T715; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  2. State of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Death Index, 1970-2003. Boston, MA, USA: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Health Services, 2005.
  3. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.
  4. Yazdi, Marion Carpenter. 1982. Youth in the vanguard: memoirs and letters collected by the first Baháʼí student at Berkeley and at Stanford University. Wilmette, Ill.: Baháʼí Publishing Trust, 1982.
  5. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910, NARA microfilm publication T62; Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C., and Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920; NARA microfilm publication T625. Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  6. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, T626; California, Alameda County, Berkeley, Enumeration District No. 1-203, Sheet 12A, Lines 37-38.
  7. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, T626; California, Alameda County, Berkeley, Enumeration District No. 1-203, Sheet 12A, Lines 37-38.
  8. Yazdi, Ali M. 1986. "Memories of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá", published in The Baháʼí World 1979-1983, Vol. XVIII, Haifa: Baha'i World Center, 1986,, pp. 907-11
  9. Memories of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá by Ali M. Yazdi, Baháʼí Library Online, http://bahai-library.com/yazdi_bw18_memories_abdulbaha, accessed 14 Dec 2010.
  10. Memories of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá by Ali M. Yazdi, Baháʼí Library Online, http://bahai-library.com/yazdi_bw18_memories_abdulbaha, accessed 14 Dec 2010.
  11. Web site: Berkeley Landmarks Designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Berkeley, CA . Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA).
  12. Web site: Raguso . Emilie . 2017-02-24 . Property owner fights Berkeley landmark designation with lawsuit . 2023-07-01 . . en-US.