Santoliquido, Rocco (1854-ca. 1930)

Italian scientist and Italy's director general of Public Health who became the first president of the Institut Métapsychique International, which was founded in 1919 in Paris by Jean Meyer on the initiative of Santoliquido and Gustav Geley.

Santoliquido's first experience in psychical research took place in 1906 in his own home. The table rapped out messages in the presence of his niece, "Louise." He soon became convinced that the information furnished could not have been acquired normally. Among the messages was one directed to him: "Instead of criticising my experiments you ought to be working on your report which is not yet finished." Santoliquido believed that the report had been posted, but found out that owing to the negligence of an employee, it was still in his office. He published a pamphlet on these experiments under the title Observation d'un cas de mediumnité intellectuel.

During World War I his international hygienic activities obliged him to reside in Paris. He became acquainted with Gustav Geley and took him on as a secretary. They often discussed the problems of psychical research. Santoliquido found the rich and generous Jean Meyer to endow a research facility, and in 1918 Meyer founded the Institut Métapsychique International in Paris, following up on Santoliquido's and Geley's initiative. Santoliquido remained its president for ten years and was then elected honorary president.

To provide permanent headquarters for international psychical congresses and research, he founded another center in Geneva with a provisional committee consisting of Hans Driesch, Dr. Young, Professor Grandjean and Eugen Osty. This Centre International de Conferences et de Congres de Recherches Psychiques de Geneve dissolved after his death.