Balfour, Arthur James (1st Earl of Balfour) (1848-1930)

British prime minister, classical scholar, and one of the most brilliant and eminent students of psychical research. In 1882, through his sister, the wife of Henry Sidgwick (first president of the Society for Psychical Research ), he became interested in psychic phenomena and the question of survival. In 1893 he became president of the Society for Psychical Research, serving his term between two periods as vice-president, from 1882 to 1892 and from 1895 to 1930. (His brother, the Rt. Hon. Gerald W. Balfour, another keen student of psychical research, was president of the Society for Psychical Research from 1906 to 1907.)

Born July 25, 1848, at Whittinghame, East Lothian, Scotland, Balfour was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge University (M.A.). He was awarded honorary degrees in law and philosophy by British, American, and Polish universities. From 1874 to 1885, he was a member of the British Parliament, and after holding various official posts, he became prime minister (1902-05), first lord of the admiralty (1915-16), and foreign secretary (1916-19).

In the field of psychical research, he held many sittings with Mrs. Willett (W. M. S. Coombe-Tennant ). He died March 19, 1930, in Surrey, England. It is reported that as he lay dying, he remarked, "I am longing to get to the other side to see what it's like."

Sources:

Balfour, Arthur James. Chapters of Autobiography. London: Cassell, 1930.

——. The Foundations of Belief. 8th ed. London: Longmans, Green, 1906.

——. Science, Religions, and Reality. London: Sheldon Press, 1925.

——. Theism and Humanism. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1915.

Pleasants, Helene, ed. Biographical Dictionary of Parapsychology. New York: Helix Press, 1964.

Prince, Walter Franklin. Noted Witnesses for Psychical Research. Boston: Boston Society for Psychical Research, 1928. Reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1963.