Owen, Alan Robert George (1919-)

Mathematician and parapsychologist. He was born July 4, 1919 at Bristol, England. During World War II, he studied at Cambridge University (B.A. 1940, M.A. 1945, Ph.D. 1948). After graduation he became a research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge (1948-52) and met C. D. Broad, who kindled Owen's interest in parapsychology. Owen also met and, in 1952, married Iris May Pepper. He joined and became president of the Cambridge Society for Psychical Research, and was a council member of the Society for Psychical Research. While at Cambridge, he conducted research on poltergeist. The published results, Can We Explain the Poltergeist?, received the 1964 award from the Parapsychology Foundation as the best book of the year. Owen later moved to Canada where he taught genetics and mathematics at the University of Toronto. He cofounded with his wife, Iris Owen, the New Horizons Research Foundation in Toronto and the Toronto Society for Psychical Research. Before moving to Canada, he had investigated the British psychic, Matthew Manning. He stayed in contact with Manning, and in 1974 invited him (then 18 years old) to Toronto, to be studied at a seminar on psychokinesis. During this visit, Manning successfully tried the metal-bending phenomenon popularized by Uri Geller. Electroencephalograph recordings revealed significant movements toward theta and delta frequencies prior to Manning bending metal objects. Owen retired in 1988.

Sources:

Berger, Arthur S., and Joyce Berger. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research. New York: Paragon House, 1991.

Owen, A. R. G., Can We Explain the Poltergeist? New York: Garrett Publications, 1964.

——. Hysteria, Hypnosis, and Healing. 1971.

——. Psychic Mysteries of Canada. New York: Harper & Row, 1975.

Owen, A. R. G., J. P. Rindge, and W. Cook. "An Investigation of Psychic Photography with the Beilleux Family." New Horizons (1972).

Owen, A.R.G. and J. Whitton. "Proceedings of the First Canadian Conference on Psychokinesis." New Horizons (1975).

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