John Esslemont

In addition to his work for the Baháʼí Faith, Esslemont was an accomplished physician, as well as a linguist, proficient in English, French, Spanish, German, Esperanto, and later Persian and Arabic.

This would fundamentally alter his career and his life, focusing his efforts on tuberculosis treatment, care and eradication, as well as working to preserve his own health to the extent possible.

He worked in South Africa for five years, serving as Medical Officer of a government hospital and then as the District Surgeon at Kroonstad.

In addition to his role as a medical provider, John organized events for his patients in order to raise their morale, and spent long hours comforting those at the very end of their lives.

Having investigated many belief systems, Esslemont was interested to discover yet another in the Baháʼí Faith, borrowing a few pamphlets from Katherine Parker which intrigued him further.

He also contributed money to the Baháʼí temple fund in the United States and translated one of Baháʼu'lláh's early works, "The Hidden Words", into Esperanto.

In about 1918 ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, wrote a tablet in Esslemont's honor, and also showed interest in a book he was working on.

After receiving an early draft of this book ʻAbdu'l-Bahá invited Esslemont to Palestine, which he undertook in the winter of 1919-20, after the Battle of Megiddo (1918).

News of Esslemont's declaration of faith, and his forthcoming book, played a role in establishing the beginning of the Australian Baháʼí community and elsewhere.

[3] Esslemont, besides speaking English well, was proficient in French, German, and Spanish, and was an Esperantist[2][5] and later learned Persian and Arabic well enough to assist in translation.

[2] In 1916 Esslemont began working on a book which was to become Baháʼu'lláh and the New Era, perhaps the foremost introductory volume on the Baháʼí Faith which was eventually published in 1923, and has since been translated into dozens of languages.

As a result of having direct access to Abdu'l-Baha, Esslemont was able to collect a considerable amount of new information about the history and teachings of the Baháʼí Faith.

He actively sought out new treatments and techniques to fight the disease, while personally moving to climates that he believed would be more hospitable to his health than his native Scotland.

[19] There is also a John Esslemont Memorial Lecture held annually in November in Aberdeen, where speakers from medical backgrounds present research to peers.