Charles Mason Remey

Observations of a Bahai Traveler Charles Mason Remey

Charles Mason Remey (1874-1974) was the son of Admiral George Collier Remey and grew up in the house at 1527 New Hampshire Avenue, which is the headquarters of Westphalia Press and the Policy Studies Organization. He drew plans and did a study of the house, which is deposited in the Library of Congress. He studied to be an architect at Cornell (1893-1896) and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris (1896-1903) where he learned about the Bahai movement. Remey became president of the Bahai international council and when Shoghi Effendi, the supreme leader or Guardian of the faith died in 1957, Remey asserted that he was the new Guardian. Most did not accept this claim and his own followers subsequently split in different groups. Regardless of his later problems in asserting his supreme leadership, his books about his early travels and his architectural drawings and criticisms are outstanding.