George Townshend was born in Dublin, Ireland, and educated at Oxford. Townshend was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1906 in the United States. He first heard of the Baha'i Faith after his return to Ireland when a friend wrote to him from the United States. He soon began to work for the Faith although it was not until 1947 that he formally resigned his orders and became a full member of the Baha'i community. He was among the first group of Hands of the Cause named by Shoghi Effendi in 1951. He wrote a number of books, the most well-known being The Promise of all Ages (1934), The Heart of the Gospel (1939), and Christ and Baha'u'llah (1957). He died 25 March 1957. (Wendi Momen, A Basic Baha’i Dictionary)