Born in Englewood, New Jersey, USA, in January 1870, May heard of the Faith from Lua Getsinger while in Paris and was among the first party of Western pilgrims to meet 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1898-9. 'Abdu'l-Baha instructed her to remain in Paris and teach the Faith there. This she did, making Paris the first Baha'i centre on the European continent. In 1902 she married Sutherland Maxwell, the architect of the Shrine of the Bab.
May Maxwell served the Faith selflessly for forty years as a teacher and administrator. In 1940 she responded to an appeal of the Guardian for pioneers to go to South America and went to Buenos Aires where she died shortly after her arrival. Shoghi Effendi elevated her to the rank of a martyr on her death. May Maxwell is the mother of Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. (Adapted from ‘A Basic Baha’i Dictionary’, by Wendi Momen)