Besterman, Theodore (Deodatus Nathaniel) (1904-1976)

Librarian, world authority on bibliography, psychical researcher, and member of the Theosophical Society. He was born September 18, 1904, in Geneva, Switzerland, and was educated at Lycée de Londres and Oxford University. In addition to his activities in the field of psychic research, he also established a worldwide reputation as a bibliographer. He was a special lecturer at the London School of Librarianship (1931-38), then worked for the Association of Special Libraries and the Department for the Exchange of Information for UNESCO. He devoted two decades of his life to work on Voltaire and was editor of the Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century and the Complete Works of Voltaire.

Besterman, who became a Theosophist as a young man, soon combined his interests and professional credentials in such texts as Bibliography of Annie Besant (1924), A Dictionary of Theosophy (1927), The Mind of Annie Besant (1928), and a 1930 plea for a better relationship between the Society for Psychcical Research (SPR) and the Theosophical Society. Theosophy led Besterman to psychic research. He became librarian of the SPR in 1927 and editor of the society's Proceedings and Journal in 1929; he also served as investigation officer. Demanding high standards, he was critical of any sloppy work in the field. He openly denounced Albert von Schrenck-Notzing and Charles Richet, questioned the legitimacy of Mina Crandon ("Margery"), and regularly called attention to the problems inherent in human observation. His criticisms of Italian researcher Ernesto Bozzano caused Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to resign from the SPR.

His publications in the field of psychic research include Crystal Gazing (1924), In the Way of Heaven (1926), Library Catalogue of the Society for Psychical Research (1927), and Some Modern Mediums (1930). With Sir William Barrett, he produced The Divining Rod: An Experimental and Psychological Investigation (1926). Besterman severed his relationship with the society and with psychic research in 1935 and enjoyed a distinguished career as a bibliographer and editor. A final work of earlier writings was published in 1968 as Collected Papers on the Paranormal. He died November 11, 1976.

Sources:

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

Besterman, Theodore. A Bibliography of Annie Besant. London: Theosophical Society in England, 1924.

——. Collected Papers on the Paranormal. New York: Garrett Publicaions, 1968.

——. Dictionary of Theosophy. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1927.

——. The Mind of Annie Besant. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1927.

——. Mrs. Annie Besant: A Modern Prophet. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1934.

Bersterman, Theodore, and Sir William Barrett. The Divining Rod: An Experimental and Psychological Investigation. 1926. Reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1968.