Theosophical Society

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Organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy.

Founders: Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge

Location: New York City

Year: 1875

Helena Blavatsky was born in Yekaterinoslav, Russian Empire (today Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine). Her parents were Colonel Peter von Hahn (Russian: Пётр Алексеевич Ган, 1798–1873) of the ancient von Hahn family of German nobility (German: uradel) from Basedow (Mecklenburg) and Helena Fadeyeva (Russian: Елена Андреевна Фадеева, 1814–1843), the author under the pen-name "Zeneida R-va", of novels. Described by Belinsky as the "Russian George Sand", she died at the age of 28, when Blavatsky was 11. Blavatsky's sister Vera Zhelikhovsky was a writer of occult/fantastic fiction. Blavatsky's first cousin was Sergei Witte, who was Russian Minister, and then Prime Minister in the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. In his memoirs, Count Witte recalls his encounters with Helena.

Blavatsky's maternal grandparents were Andrey Mikhailovich Fadeyev, Governor of Saratov, later of Tbilisi, and his wife Princess Helene Dolgoruki, prominent figures of the age of Russian enlightenment. Blavatsky grew up amid a culture rich in spirituality and traditional Russian mythologies, which introduced her to the realm of the supernatural. Helena's great-grand nephew Boris de Zirkoff (Борис Цирков, 1902–1981) was an active member of the Theosophical Society and editor of the Blavatsky Collected Writings. Source Wiki

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (August 2, 1832 – February 17, 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer and the co-founder and first President of the Theosophical Society.

Olcott was the first well-known American of European ancestry to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. His subsequent actions as president of the Theosophical Society helped create a renaissance in the study of Buddhism. Olcott is considered a Buddhist modernist for his efforts in interpreting Buddhism through a Westernized lens.

Olcott was a major revivalist of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and he is still honored in Sri Lanka for these efforts. Olcott has been called by Sri Lankans "one of the heroes in the struggle of our independence and a pioneer of the present religious, national and cultural revival". More ardent admirers have claimed that Olcott was a Bodhisattva. (Ascended Master) Source Wikipedia

William Quan Judge (April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896) was a mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, his family emigrated to the United States. He became a naturalized citizen of the USA at age 21 and passed the New York state bar exam, specializing in commercial law. Source Wiki