Early life and career Mr. Hofman was born in 1908 in
Pune,
India where his father served in the
British Army. Educated in
England, as a young man he set out to see the world. While in
Canada during the 1930s, he encountered the Baháʼí Faith at the home of
May and
William Sutherland Maxwell in
Montreal. He embraced the religion and continued his travels, living for a time in
Hollywood,
United States, and appearing in a number of silent movies. Back in England he earned several acting roles in the West End of London and in 1938 was a television announcer on early
BBC television transmissions. His voice was also heard on the radio, on the
BBC Empire Service. In 1943 Hofman founded the Baháʼí
publishing company George Ronald. Its first title was The Renewal of Civilization, a book he wrote as an introduction to the Baháʼí Faith. Years later he authored a biography of
Hand of the Cause George Townshend. Following
World War II he married former US Olympic athlete
Marion Holley, who predeceased him. They had two children. The Hofmans were active members of the Baháʼí community, establishing Baháʼí communities in
Northampton,
Birmingham,
Oxford,
Cardiff and
Watford. Mr. Hofman served for 27 years as a member of the
National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom. ==Bibliography==