This Day In Spiritualist History

Jun
9
Fri
1927: Death of Victoria Woodhull
Jun 9 all-day
1927: Death of Victoria Woodhull

Victoria Woodhull (September 23, 1838 – June 9, 1927), a medium and carnival show clairvoyant, was the first woman-owned Wall Street brokerage house, the first woman to address a Congressional committee and the first woman to run for president. She championed free love, believed that marriage was institutionalized slavery and supported paid sex work.

Jun
27
Tue
1857: Birthday of Leonora Piper
Jun 27 all-day
1857: Birthday of Leonora Piper

Leonora Piper (then Simonds) was born on June 27, 1857 and raised in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Jul
6
Thu
1862: Death of Achsa W. Sprague
Jul 6 all-day
1862: Death of Achsa W. Sprague

Achsa W. Sprague, a19th Century “Trance Speaker,” was an early abolitionist and women’s rights pioneer. She died on July 6, 1862.

Jul
7
Fri
1930: Death date of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Jul 7 all-day
1930: Death date of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was both the creator of Sherlock Holmes and an influential supporter of the #Spiritualist movement. In the rare newsreel footage found here , Sir Arthur speaks about both. 

Jul
29
Sat
1889: Birthday of Margery Crandon
Jul 29 all-day
1889: Birthday of Margery Crandon

Mysterious rapping, eerie music, otherworldly voices — witnesses ascribed these strange phenomena and others to the historic séances of Margery “Mina” Crandon, one of America’s most celebrated spiritualist mediums. Read more here.

Aug
6
Sun
1874: Birth of Charles Fort
Aug 6 all-day
1874: Birth of Charles Fort

Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms Fortean and Forteana are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort’s books sold well and are still in print. His work continues to inspire admirers, who refer to themselves as “Forteans,” and has influenced some aspects of science fiction.

Fort’s collections of scientific anomalies, including The Book of the Damned (1919), influenced numerous science fiction writers with their skepticism and as sources of ideas. “Fortean” phenomena are events which seem to challenge the boundaries of accepted scientific knowledge, and the Fortean Times (founded as The News in 1973 and renamed in 1976) investigates such phenomena.

Aug
11
Fri
1826: Birth of Andrew Jackson Davis
Aug 11 all-day
1826: Birth of Andrew Jackson Davis

Andrew Jackson Davis (August 11, 1826 – January 13, 1910),  known as the “Poughkeepsie Seer,”  was an early healing medium and spiritualist. As a young man, he developed the ability to go into magnetic trance on his own, and in that state, he was able to diagnose disease. In the late 1840s, he claimed he met the spirit of the ancient Greek physician, Galen, who gave him a magic staff that he believed he could use for healing.

Aug
12
Sat
1831: Birth of Madame Blavatsky
Aug 12 all-day
1831: Birth of Madame Blavatsky

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, often known as Madame Blavatsky; was a Russian occultist, philosopher, and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the leading theoretician of Theosophy, the esoteric movement that the society promoted. Read more about Madame Blavatsky here.

Sep
23
Sat
1838: Birthdate of Victoria Woodhull
Sep 23 all-day
1838: Birthdate of Victoria Woodhull

Victoria Woodhull (September 23, 1838 – June 9, 1927), a medium and carnival show clairvoyant, was the first woman-owned Wall Street brokerage house, the first woman to address a Congressional committee and the first woman to run for president. She championed free love, believed that marriage was institutionalized slavery and supported paid sex work.

Oct
3
Tue
1804: Birth of Allan Kardec
Oct 3 all-day
1804: Birth of Allan Kardec

Allen Kardec, the 19th Century founder of “Spiritism” and a man who changed the course of Latin American religious movements, was born on October 3, 1804.