Born 1850 to 1879
The later nineteenth century produced many of the figures who helped to establish psychical research as a serious field of enquiry. This subcategory gathers articles on researchers and authors born between 1850 and 1879, situating their lives and work within the intellectual climate they helped to shape.
Henri Bergson
Influential French philosopher (1859–1941) who was strongly interested in psi phenomena.
Frederick Bligh Bond
English architect and archeologist (1864–1945) remembered for his medium-guided excavations at Glastonbury Abbey.
Ernesto Bozzano
Italian psychologist and psychical researcher (1862–1943), author of number of books analysing psi phenomena.
Arthur Chattock
Arthur Chattock (1860–1934) was a British physicist who carried out telepathy experiments.
Pierre Curie
Nobel prize-winning French physicist (1859–1906) who in the years before his death became enthusiastic about seance phenomena.
Max Dessoir
German philosopher and psychologist (1867–1947) credited with originating the term ‘parapsychology’.
Arthur Conan Doyle
In later life, the creator of Sherlock Holmes (1859–1930) became an evangelist for Spiritualism.
Hans Driesch
German biologist and philosopher (1867-1941) who published extensively on psychical research and its connection to vitalism.
JW Dunne
JW Dunne (1875–1949) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and aeronautical engineer who became well-known for books about time and precognition.
Giovanni Battista Ermacora
Italian scientist (1858–1898) who devoted much time to researching telepathy and other psychical phenomena.
Everard Feilding
English barrister, psychical researcher and minor aristocrat (1867–1936), author of a 1909 report on physical medium Eusapia Palladino.
Théodore Flournoy
Swiss psychologist (1854–1920) noted for his book From India to the Planet Mars, a psychological study of the trance medium Hélène Smith.
EE Fournier d’Albe
Irish physicist and inventor (1868–1933), remembered in psychical research for his investigation of the Goligher mediumistic circle.
Tomokichi Fukurai
Pioneering Japanese experimental psychologist (1869–1952) who carried out psi research, noted for studies of ‘thoughtography’.
Hamlin Garland
Hamlin Garland (1860–1940) was an American psychical researcher, noted for his investigation of the Buried Crosses communications.
Gustave Geley
French investigator of mediums (1865–1924) remembered for his controversial attempts to provide proof of ectoplasm in the form of plaster moulds.
J Arthur Hill
J Arthur Hill (1872–1951) was an English author of books on psychical research and spiritualism.
Richard Hodgson
Australian-born psychical researcher, noted for his early strong scepticism of physical mediums and his later advocacy of Leonora Piper.
James Hervey Hyslop
James Hervey Hyslop (1854–1920) was an American philosopher and psychologist who was deeply engaged in psychical research.
LP Jacks
British preacher and philosopher (1860–1955) who was interested in psychical research and wrote about issues related to postmortem survival.
Alice Johnson
Cambridge zoologist (1860–1940) who played a significant role as researcher and administrator in the SPR's early years.
Carl Gustav Jung
Swiss psychiatrist CG Jung (1875–1961) had a strong interest in psi phenomena, perhaps best known through his concept of synchronicity.
Walter Leaf
Prominent English banker, classical scholar and psychical researcher (1852-1927) who contributed to the study of medium Leonora Piper.
Oliver Lodge
British physicist (1851-1940) remembered for his pioneering early work in electricity and radio, who became an active investigator of mental mediumship.
Edith Lyttelton
British playwright and social activist (1865–1948) who became involved with psychical research and practised automatic writing
Francisco I Madero
Wealthy landowner (1873–1913) who became Mexico's 37th president, whose career was profoundly influenced by his Spiritist beliefs.
William McDougall
Eminent British psychologist (1871–1938) who contributed hugely to the establishment of experimental parapsychology.
TW Mitchell
TW Mitchell (1869–1944) was a medical psychologist and psychotherapist interested in multiple personality disorder.
Gardner Murphy
American psychologist (1895–1979) who made major contributions to parapsychology in a career that spanned six decades.
Julian Ochorowicz
Polish philosopher, psychologist and inventor (1850–1917), who made notable investigations of physical mediumship.
Julian Ochorowicz
Polish philosopher, psychologist and inventor (1850–1917), who made notable investigations of physical mediumship.
Eugène Osty
French medical practitioner and psi researcher (1874–1938), noted for an innovative investigation of Rudi Schneider.
Gustav Pagenstecher
German-born physician and psychical researcher (1855–1942) remembered for work on psychometry.
Mikhail Petrovo-Solovovo
Russian diplomat and psychical researcher (1868–1954) known for interest in physical mediumship.
James George Piddington
John George Piddington (1869–1952) was a successful British businessman remembered for his investigation of mental mediumship.
Frank Podmore
Frank Podmore (1856–1910) played a significant role in the early years of the SPR, first as an investigator, later as a sceptical theorist.
Walter Franklin Prince
Episcopal minister and psychical researcher (1863–1934) known for his study of ‘Doris Fischer’, a case of multiple personality.
Charles Richet
Charles Richet (1850–1935) was a French physiologist and Nobel prizewinner who made notable contributions to the study of psychical research.
Robert Strutt (Lord Rayleigh)
British physicist (1875-1947) who designed a method of using infrared photography in the investigation of physical mediumship.
JJ Thompson
Nobel prize-winning British physicist (1856–1940) much interested in claims by mediums to produce psychokinetic effects.
Herbert Thurston
English Jesuit Roman Catholic priest, scholar and active member of the SPR (1856–1939), who held a more positive view of psi than his clerical peers.
GNM Tyrrell
English mathematician, physicist and radio engineer (1879–1952), remembered for his theoretical treatise on apparitions.
Margaret Verrall
Leading member of the SPR (1857–1916), notable for her study of automatic writing, which she herself successfully practised.