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

Early life

Hólmfríður was born on her father's farm at Kálfsstaðir. Her parents were Árni and Margrét.

Career

Hólmfríður 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. The series also included Mercedes Godoy's ''When I was a Girl in Mexico'' (1919). At the time, she was living in New York, and teaching Icelandic and Danish language classes for Columbia University Extension. In 1919, she spoke at the first convention of the

National Woman's Party The National Woman's Party (NWP) was an American women's political organization formed in 1916 to fight for women's suffrage. After achieving this goal with the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the NWP ...

, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, one of several international speakers on the status of women in other nations. Hólmfríður was the first Icelandic convert to the Bahá'i faith in 1924, introduced by American Bahá'i

Amelia Collins Amelia Engelder Collins (June 7, 1873 – January 1, 1962) was a prominent American Baháʼí from a Lutheran family. She became Baháʼí in 1919. She made large donations to several Baháʼí projects in Haifa, Israel, such as to the buildin ...

. In 1925, she traveled to the United States to attend the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...

meeting in Washington. She assisted the American Bahá'i teacher,

Martha Root Martha Louise Root (August 10, 1872 – September 28, 1939) was an American traveling teacher of the Baháʼí Faith in the early 20th century. From the declaration of her belief in 1909 until her death thirty years later, she went around the ...

, during her visit to Iceland in 1936. In 1939, she translated ''Baha’u’llah and the New Era'' by

John Esslemont John Ebenezer Esslemont M.B., Ch.B. (1874 – 1925), from Scotland, was a prominent British adherent of the Baháʼí Faith. Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith, posthumously named Esslemont a Hand of the Cause of God, one of ...

into Icelandic.

Personal life

Árnadóttir died in 1955, aged 82 years, in Reykjavik.

References

External links

"Holmfridur Arnadottir (1873-1955)"
''Baha'i Heroes and Heroines'' (March 8, 2015); a blogpost about Árnadóttir. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnadottir, Holmfridur 1873 births 1955 deaths Holmfridur Arnadottir Holmfridur Arnadottir Holmfridur Arnadottir Converts to the Bahá'í Faith