Henry Steel Olcott

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Henry Steel Olcott

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Henry Steel Olcott 1832-1907, American religious leader and author, cofounder of Theosophist movement, b. Orange, N.J. After working as an agricultural scientist and a lawyer, he and Helena Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society (1875) in New York City. In 1878, they moved the society to Adyar near Madras (now Chennai), India. Theosophy, a mixture of Eastern religion and Western occultism, has been influential in popularizing Asian philosophy in the West.

Bibliography: See the autobiographical Old Autumn Leaves (6 vol., 1972-75). His writings include Buddhist Catechism (1881) and Theosophy, Religion, and Occult Science (1885).

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Olcott, Henry Steele

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | | © A Dictionary of Buddhism 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Olcott, Henry Steele (1832–1907). American army colonel and psychic investigator who became first president of the Theosophical Society.

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Theosophical Society

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | © The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Theosophical Society. Organization founded in New York by Mrs H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel H. S. Olcott in 1875, to derive from ancient wisdom and from the insights of evolution a world ethical code. In 1882, it moved its headquarters to India, and became the Adyar Theosophical Society. Although intended to be eclectic, it drew increasingly on Hindu resources. An important advocate of the Society was Annie Besant.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Theosophical Society." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved December 16, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-TheosophicalSociety.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article The American Encounter with Buddhism: 1844-1912, Victorian Culture and the Limits of Dissent.
Magazine article from: The Historian; 6/22/1993

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

When East is West.(Opinion)
Magazine article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life; 5/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...journalist, and spiritualist named Henry Steel Olcott. Born in 1832 into a Presbyterian family in Orange, New Jersey, Olcott became a convinced "convert to...The two became "chums," as Olcott described it, and the ex-Presbyterian...
Celebratethe sensesat society'sfestivities.(Neighbor)
Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 9/5/2008; ; 673 words ; ...religion, science and philosophy since the 1870s, when Henry Steel Olcott, a lawyer and journalist, and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky...1920s and built a stately building that now features the Olcott Library, with two stories of shelves filled with books...
Letters
Newspaper article from: Sun, The: Wheaton (IL); 10/5/2007; 446 words ; ...or in any way authenticated by this publication. Olcott wouldn't have allowed Cheney's acts Dick Cheney...services it provides to its military. I wish Col. Henry Steel Olcott were still alive. He would take care of military graft...
Gazette: Anniversaries
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 8/2/1999; 557 words ; ...Julius Schulhoff, organist and composer, 1825; Henry Steel Olcott, co- founder of the Theosophical Society, 1832...opened Theatre Royal in York staged a performance of Henry V, 1744; Napoleon was declared "Consul for life...
Anniversaries
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 8/2/1996; 564 words ; ...Julius Schulhoff, organist and composer, 1825; Henry Steel Olcott, co-founder of the Theosophical Society, 1832...opened Theatre Royal in York staged a performance of Henry V, 1744; Napoleon was declared "Consul for life...
The American Encounter with Buddhism: 1844-1912, Victorian Culture and the Limits of Dissent.
Magazine article from: The Historian; 6/22/1993; ; 700+ words ; ...s typology of Buddhist sympathizers to explain various reasons for interest in the religion. Esoterics, like Henry Steel Olcott, were drawn to Buddhism because of its occult dimension that promised to reveal "hidden sources of religious truth...
FAITH NOTES
Newspaper article from: Sun Publications (IL); 11/11/1998; 700+ words ; ...1571, Ext. 331. Daniel Ross Chandler will describe and discuss a concept of universal religion developed by Col. Henry Steel Olcott at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at 1926 N. Main St., Wheaton. For details, call (630) 668-1571...
The Unforgettable Dharmapala; The achievements of Anagarike Dharmapala (1864-1993).
M2 Presswire; 2/13/2003; 700+ words ; ...1stBooks Library) tells the story of Dharmapala. In 1880, as a lad of 16, he meets the American Theosophists Colonel Henry Steel Olcott and Madam Helena Petrovna Blavatsky on their arrival in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), near the southern tip of India, then...
Joy Dixon. Divine Feminism: Theosophy and Feminism in England.
Magazine article from: Utopian Studies; 1/1/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...Theosophy, as Dixon tells it, is an engaging one. Centered around strong personalities, such as H.P. Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, and Annie Besant, the movement shifted in its place among "the lunatic fringe" as its leaders changed. Cultural...
Cultural exchange and religious change: Buddhism, Vedanta and immortality in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain (1).
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of History; 8/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...The fourth section discusses the more contrary Theosophical Society (TS), whose leaders, Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, propounded alternatively individual and collective eschatologies that they too attempted to establish on a scientific...

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