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60-489: Alexander was born on June 30, 1880, in Alexandria, South Dakota , the son of Berthold Michael James Conlin and Martha Michaels. Within the family Claude Alexander was known as "C. A." and his brother Clarence Berthold Conlin was known as "C. B." Clarence B. had a successful career as an attorney and he also worked as a stage mentalist, although his fame never equalled that of Claude Alexander. Between 1915 and 1924, Conlin, under

120-464: A Hindu. As Ramacharaka, he helped to popularize Eastern concepts in America, with Yoga and a broadly-interpreted Hinduism being particular areas of focus. The works of Yogi Ramacharaka were published over the course of nearly ten years beginning in 1903. Some were originally issued as a series of lectures delivered at the frequency of one lesson per month. Additional material was issued at each interval in

180-765: A basis for what Atkinson called "New Psychology" or "New Thought". Titles include Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World, and Practical Psychomancy and Crystal Gazing: A Course of Lessons on the Psychic Phenomena of Distant Sensing, Clairvoyance, Psychometry, Crystal Gazing, etc. Although most of the Atkinson titles were published by Atkinson's own Advanced Thought Publishing Company in Chicago, with English distribution by L. N. Fowler of London, England, at least

240-473: A failed attempt to outrun the authorities in a high-powered speedboat loaded with bootlegged liquor in the Queen Charlotte Strait between Canada and the U.S., and admitted to killing four men. Alexander himself claimed that he was involved in the shooting of Alaska gold rush con-man Jefferson "Soapy" Smith . No evidence of his involvement exists, nor is he mentioned in the context of Smith's death in

300-483: A few of his books in the "New Psychology" series were published by Elizabeth Towne in Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts, and offered for sale in her New Thought magazine The Nautilus . One such title, for which Atkinson is credited as the author, with the copyright internally assigned to Towne, is The Psychology of Salesmanship, published in 1912. The probable reason that Atkinson made an assignment of copyright to Towne

360-497: A grocer at 15 years old. He married Margret Foster Black of Beverly, New Jersey , in October 1889, and they had two children. Their first child died young. The second later married and had two daughters. Atkinson pursued a business career from 1882 onwards and in 1894 he was admitted as an attorney to the Bar of Pennsylvania . While he gained much material success in his profession as a lawyer,

420-676: A half-dozen saddle-stitched paper pamphlets under the Vishita name. All of them dealt with clairvoyance, mediumship, and the afterlife. Like Ramacharaka, Vishita was listed as a regular contributor to Atkinson's Advanced Thought magazine, but his books were published by the Advanced Thought Publishing Company, not by the Yogi Publication Society, which handled the Ramacharaka titles. Swami Panchadasi titles Despite

480-427: A number of electrical stage effects which were the forerunners of modern electronic stage effects. For example, his assistants would covertly obtain information about audience members and then transmit that information to an earpiece that was hidden under Alexander's turban. All of Alexander's biographers, Darryl Beckmann, David Charvet, and Alexander's biographer of the 1940s, Robert A. Nelson, have said that Alexander

540-445: A show by "Alexander" in the 1950s actually were witnessing a recreation performance by Mandrake. Alexander was mentioned by name in a 1950s episode of the NBC television production Playhouse 90 called "The Great Sebastians," starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne as a pair of stage magicians who resembled his old friends The Zancigs . Alexandria, South Dakota Alexandria

600-493: A well-known New Thought publisher and businessman, and teamed up with him. In December, 1901 he assumed editorship of Flower's popular New Thought magazine, a post which he held until 1905. During these years he built for himself an enduring place in the hearts of its readers. Article after article flowed from his pen. Meanwhile, he also founded his own Psychic Club and the Atkinson School of Mental Science. Both were located in

660-489: Is a city in central Hanson County, South Dakota , United States. The population was 649 at the 2020 census . It is the county seat of Hanson County. In 1879, the community was founded with the name Clarksville . Its post office was established in 1880, and the city later incorporated in 1885 as Alexandria . The city was named after Alexander Mitchell . According to the United States Census Bureau ,

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720-489: Is also popularly held to be one (if not all) of the Three Initiates who anonymously authored The Kybalion , which certainly resembles Atkinson's other writings in style and subject matter. Atkinson's two co-authors in the latter venture, if they even existed, are unknown, but speculation often includes names like Mabel Collins , Michael Whitty, Paul Foster Case , and Harriett Case. A major collection of Atkinson's works

780-468: Is among the holdings of a Brazilian organization called Circulo de Estudos Ramacháraca. According to this group, Atkinson has been identified as the author or co-author (with individuals such as Edward E. Beals and Lauron William de Laurence ) of 105 separate titles. These can be broken down roughly into the following groups: These works treat themes related to the mental world, occultism , divination , psychic reality, and mankind's nature. They constitute

840-496: Is claimed, Atkinson co-wrote with Bharata a series of books they attributed to Bharata's teacher, Yogi Ramacharaka. This story cannot be verified and—like the "official" biography that falsely claimed Atkinson was an "English author"—may be a fabrication. No record exists in India of a Yogi Ramacharaka, nor is there evidence in America of the immigration of a Baba Bharata. Furthermore, although Atkinson may have travelled to Chicago to visit

900-635: Is found in Advanced Thought , billed as A Journal of The New Thought, Practical Psychology, Yogi Philosophy, Constructive Occultism, Metaphysical Healing, Etc. This magazine, edited by Atkinson, advertised articles by Atkinson and Theron Q. Dumont—the latter two were later credited to Atkinson—and had the same address as The Yogi Publishing Society, which published the works attributed to Yogi Ramacharaka. Advanced Thought carried articles by Swami Bhakta Vishita, but when it came time for Vishita's writings to be collected in book form, they were not published by

960-493: Is that his "New Psychology" books had initially been serialized in Towne's magazine, where he was a freelance writer from 1912 at least through 1914. These include Atkinson's teachings on Yoga and Oriental philosophy, as well as New Thought and occult titles. They were written in such a way as to form a course of practical instruction. Yogi Ramacharaka titles When Atkinson wrote under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka, he claimed to be

1020-622: Is the author of the pseudonymous works attributed to Theron Q. Dumont and Yogi Ramacharaka . He wrote an estimated 100 books, all in the last 30 years of his life. He was mentioned in past editions of Who's Who in America , in Religious Leaders of America , and in similar publications. His works have remained in print more or less continuously since 1900. William Walker Atkinson was born in Baltimore, Maryland , on December 5, 1862, to Emma and William Atkinson. He began his working life as

1080-756: The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition , where the authentic Indian yogi Swami Vivekananda attracted enthusiastic audiences, he is only known to have taken up residence in Chicago around 1900 and to have passed the Illinois Bar Examination in 1903. Atkinson's claim to have an Indian co-author was not unusual among the New Thought and New Age writers of his era, who often embraced a vaguely exotic theme of "orientalism" in their writings and credited Hindus, Buddhists, or Sikhs with possession of special knowledge and secret techniques of clairvoyance, spiritual development, sexual energy, health, or longevity. In 1875,

1140-525: The occultist L. W. de Laurence . Atkinson died November 22, 1932, in Los Angeles , California , at the age of 69. Atkinson was a prolific writer, and his many books achieved wide circulation among New Thought devotees and occult practitioners. He published under several pen names, including Magus Incognito, Theodore Sheldon, Theron Q. Dumont , Swami Panchadasi, Yogi Ramacharaka , Swami Bhakta Vishita, and probably other names not identified at present. He

1200-463: The 1910s, Atkinson put his attention into another pseudonym, that of Theron Q. Dumont. This entity was supposed to be French, and his works, written in English and published in Chicago, combined an interest in New Thought with ideas about the training of the will, memory enhancement, and personal magnetism. In 1903, the same year that he began his writing career as Yogi Ramacharaka, Atkinson was admitted to

1260-471: The Bar of Illinois. Perhaps it was a desire to protect his ongoing career as a lawyer that led him to adopt so many pseudonyms—but if so, he left no written account documenting such a motivation. How much time Atkinson devoted to his law practice after moving to Chicago is unknown, but it is unlikely to have been a full-time career, given his amazing output during the next 15 years as a writer, editor, and publisher in

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1320-502: The Crystal Silence League. The latter is a manual that explains the technique of affirmative prayer , and presents methods for the development of Spiritualistic mediumship , and divination through crystal ball scrying . The back cover displays Alexander's connection to the New Thought movement, for it lists an extensive array of titles that Alexander offered for sale at his book shop, including works written and published by

1380-474: The New Thought author William Walker Atkinson under his own name and also under the pseudonyms Theron Q. Dumont , Yogi Ramacharaka , and Swami Panchadasi; as well as a book by Atkinson's sometime co-author, the occultist L. W. de Laurence . The biographer David Charvet, who interviewed surviving members of Alexander's family, wrote that Alexander had "seven marriages (sometimes to more than one woman at once)." The biographer Darryl Beckmann wrote that Alexander

1440-540: The West. In any case, with or without a co-author, Atkinson started writing a series of books under the name Yogi Ramacharaka in 1903, ultimately releasing more than a dozen titles under this pseudonym. The Ramacharaka books were published by the Yogi Publication Society in Chicago and reached more people than Atkinson's New Thought works did. In fact, all of his books on yoga are still in print today. Atkinson apparently enjoyed

1500-632: The Yogi Publishing Society. Instead they were published by The Advanced Thought Publishing Co., the same house that brought out the Theron Q. Dumont books and published Advanced Thought. In the 1890s, Atkinson became interested in Hinduism . After 1900, he devoted a great deal of effort to the diffusion of yoga and Oriental occultism in the West. It is unclear whether he actually ever subscribed to any form of Hindu religion or merely wished to write on

1560-608: The above has a basis in fact, The Kybalion bears notable structural resemblances to The Arcane Teachings , an anonymous set of six books attributed to Atkinson. A full description of the similarities between the two works can be found on the Kybalion page. With Edward Beals, which may have been another pseudonym, Atkinson wrote the so-called "Personal Power Books"—a group of 12 titles on humanity's internal powers and how to use them. Titles include Faith Power: Your Inspirational Forces and Regenerative Power or Vital Rejuvenation . Due to

1620-420: The age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.15. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under

1680-461: The age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 31,875, and the median income for a family was $ 45,333. Males had a median income of $ 30,500 versus $ 19,500 for females. The per capita income for

1740-531: The age of 74 due to complications from an operation for stomach ulcers . He was survived by two sons and a daughter. He was buried in Seattle, Washington . Alexander's career and personal life have long been shrouded in mystery. However, interviews with his son and the scrapbooks of the Nartel twins have uncovered many details. In the late 20th century, Clarence's granddaughter Cathy Stevenson inherited scrapbook material on

1800-542: The careers of both her grandfather "C. B." and great-uncle "C. A.," which allowed Charvet to take a closer look at the life of Alexander the Crystal Seer and his family. With respect to the question of psychic phenomena, magic , spiritualism , and the occult , Alexander led a sort of double life, especially after he retired from the stage. On the one hand, in 1921 he wrote and published The Life And Mysteries Of The Celebrated Dr. Q (also known as The Dr. Q. Book ), which

1860-505: The city has a total area of 0.62 square miles (1.61 km ), all land. Alexandria is part of the Mitchell, South Dakota Micropolitan Statistical Area . As of the census of 2010, there were 615 people, 231 households, and 171 families residing in the city. The population density was 991.9 inhabitants per square mile (383.0/km ). There were 249 housing units at an average density of 401.6 per square mile (155.1/km ). The racial makeup of

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1920-462: The city was $ 16,120. About 2.8% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line , including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over. William Walker Atkinson William Walker Atkinson (December 5, 1862 – November 22, 1932) was an attorney, merchant, publisher, and author, as well as an occultist and an American pioneer of the New Thought movement. He

1980-529: The city was 98.5% White , 0.5% Asian , 0.7% from other races , and 0.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population. There were 231 households, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.0% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who

2040-430: The city. The population density was 1,041.9 inhabitants per square mile (402.3/km ). There were 251 housing units at an average density of 464.5 per square mile (179.3/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 99.29% White , 0.18% Native American , 0.18% Asian , and 0.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.18% of the population. There were 234 households, out of which 32.5% had children under

2100-481: The fact that a) their works were released by a series of publishing houses with shared addresses, and b) they wrote for a series of magazines with a shared roster of authors, the editor of all of which was Atkinson. His pseudonymous authors acted first as contributors to the periodicals and were then spun off into their own book-writing careers, with most of their books being released by Atkinson's own publishing houses. One key to unravelling this tangled web of pseudonyms

2160-516: The fields of New Thought, yoga, occultism, mediumship, divination, and personal success. The high point of his prodigious capacity for production was reached in the late 1910s. In addition to writing and publishing a steady stream of books and pamphlets, Atkinson started writing articles for Elizabeth Towne 's New Thought magazine Nautilus , as early as November 1912, while from 1916 to 1919, he simultaneously edited his own journal Advanced Thought . During this same period he also found time to assume

2220-527: The form of supplementary text books. Ramacharaka's Advanced Course in Yoga Philosophy and Oriental Occultism remains popular in some circles. According to Atkinson's publisher, the Yogi Publication Society, some of these titles were inspired by a student of the "real" Yogi Ramacharaka, Baba Bharata , although there is no historical record that either of these individuals ever existed. In reply to inquiries about Yogi Ramacharaka, this official information

2280-493: The idea of writing as a Hindu so much that he created two more Indian personas, Swami Bhakta Vishita and Swami Panchadasi. Strangely, neither of these identities wrote on Hinduism. Their material was for the most part concerned with the arts of divination and mediumship , including "oriental" forms of clairvoyance and seership. Of the two, Swami Bhakta Vishita was by far the more popular, and with more than 30 titles to his credit, he eventually outsold even Yogi Ramacharaka. During

2340-557: The movement as an editor and author. He was responsible for publishing the magazines Suggestion (1900–1901), New Thought (1901–1905) and Advanced Thought (1906–1916). In 1900 Atkinson worked as an associate editor of Suggestion, a New Thought Journal , and wrote his first book, Thought-Force in Business and Everyday Life , being a series of lessons in personal magnetism, psychic influence, thought-force, concentration, will-power, and practical mental science. He then met Sydney Flower ,

2400-404: The popularity of his Yogi Ramacharaka and Swami Bhakta Vishita series, the work that Atkinson produced under his third Hindu-sounding pseudonym, Swami Panchadasi, failed to capture a wide general audience. The subject matter, Clairvoyance and Occult Powers , was not authentically Hindu, either. Theron Q. Dumont titles As Theron Q. Dumont, Atkinson stated on the title pages of his works that he

2460-444: The possibility that Spiritualism might contain elements of truth, and from 1919 onward he also operated a publishing house, the C. Alexander Publishing Company in Los Angeles , California , which released his own astrological , pro-Spiritualist, and New Thought material, including a 5-volume series called The Inner Secrets of Psychology and a booklet for his students titled Personal Lessons, Codes, and Instructions for Members of

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2520-668: The role of the honorary president of the International New Thought Alliance . Among the last collaborators with whom Atkinson may have been associated was the mentalist C. Alexander , "The Crystal Seer," whose New Thought booklet of affirmative prayer , Personal Lessons, Codes, and Instructions for Members of the Crystal Silence League , published in Los Angeles during the 1920s, contained on its last page an advertisement for an extensive list of books by Atkinson, Dumont, Ramacharaka, Vishita, and Atkinson's collaborator,

2580-479: The same building as Flower's Psychic Research and New Thought Publishing Company. Atkinson was a past president of the International New Thought Alliance . Throughout his subsequent career, Atkinson was thought to have written under many pseudonyms . It is not known whether he ever confirmed or denied authorship of these pseudonymous works, but all of the supposedly independent authors whose writings are now credited to Atkinson were linked to one another by virtue of

2640-536: The same person as T. J. Shelton, who (like Atkinson) wrote on subjects related to health and healing for The Nautilus magazine and was also one of several honorary presidents of the International New Thought Alliance. Discovery of a 1925 letter from Theodore Sheldon to Florence Sabin of Johns Hopkins University provides evidence of Theodore Sheldon's existence as an actual person, apart from William Walker Atkinson. The original copy of this letter

2700-413: The stage name "Alexander, The Man Who Knows," was a popular and highly paid stage mentalist. Alexander promoted his psychic act as a form of mental telepathy or mind reading. Audience members gave him sealed questions, which he answered from the stage after staring into a crystal ball . His techniques were not revealed during his lifetime. Alexander is credited as the inventor and/or popular developer of

2760-543: The stage, he kept these in storage and eventually sold the unused posters and all of his stage equipment and props to a magic dealer, Robert Nelson, in Ohio in 1944. Nelson in turn sold portions of the stage show and many of the posters to another magician, Leon Mandrake , who toured in the Pacific Northwest during the 1950s under Alexander's name in order to make use of the large supply of full-color posters. Thus, those who saw

2820-436: The stress and over-strain eventually took its toll, and during this time he experienced a complete physical and mental breakdown, and financial disaster. He looked for healing and in the late 1880s he found it with New Thought , later attributing the restoration of his health, mental vigor and material prosperity to the application of the principles of New Thought. Some time after his healing, Atkinson began to write articles on

2880-484: The subject. According to unverifiable sources, while Atkinson was in Chicago at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, he met one Baba Bharata, a pupil of the late Indian mystic Yogi Ramacharaka (1799 – c. 1893). As the story goes, Bharata had become acquainted with Atkinson's writings after arriving in America, and since the two men shared similar ideas, they decided to collaborate. While editing New Thought magazine, it

2940-476: The thorough historical biography on Smith's life and death. According to Beckmann, Alexander was a "con-man" as well as a stage performer. A newspaper account in which it was stated that Alexander shot and killed a street mugger who attacked him, and was let off on the grounds of self-defense, was cited by Charvet. Alexander invested a great deal of money into the production and printing of beautiful chromolithograph posters for his stage show. When he retired from

3000-481: The truths he felt he had discovered, which were then known as Mental Science. In 1889, an article by him entitled "A Mental Science Catechism ," appeared in Charles Fillmore 's new periodical, Modern Thought. By the early 1890s Chicago had become a major centre for New Thought, mainly through the work of Emma Curtis Hopkins , and Atkinson decided to move there. Once in the city, he became an active promoter of

3060-817: The year of Randolph's death, the Ukrainian-born Helena Petrovna Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society , by means of which she spread the teachings of mysterious Himalayan enlightened yogis, the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom , and the doctrines of the Eastern philosophy in general. After this pioneer work, some representatives from known lineages of Indian and Asian spiritual and philosophical tradition like Vivekananda , Anagarika Dharmapala , Paramahansa Yogananda , and others, started coming to

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3120-521: Was "married eleven times." In a later interview with Charvet in 2006, Conlin's then-89-year-old son, John, claimed that Alexander was actually married 14 times. Charvet recounts in his biography that Alexander spent time in local jails (including a jail break in Oklahoma in 1906) and federal prison in Washington state, went on trial for attempting to extort $ 50,000 from oilman millionaire G. Allan Hancock, made

3180-489: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age in the city was 37.5 years. 28.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 26.3% were from 45 to 64; and 12.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.8% male and 50.2% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 563 people, 234 households, and 146 families residing in

3240-947: Was an "Instructor on the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism, Paris, France"—a claim manifestly untrue, as he was an American living in the United States. The Atkinson titles released under the Dumont name were primarily concerned with self-improvement and the development of mental will power and self-confidence. Among them were Practical Memory Training, The Art and Science of Personal Magnetism, The Power of Concentration , and The Advanced Course in Personal Magnetism: The Secrets of Mental Fascination, The Human Machine', Mastermind". Theodore Sheldon titles The health and healing book, Vim Culture has often been attributed to William Walker Atkinson. Theodore Sheldon does not appear to be

3300-492: Was later re-published by Nelson Enterprises of Columbus, Ohio , for the stage magic trade. In this book, Alexander exposed the techniques used by fraudulent spiritualist mediums to dupe their clients, provided blueprints for the manufacture of psychic act stage props, and even revealed the famous "Zancig Code" pioneered by the mentalists Julius and Agnes Zancig . On the other hand, like the Zancigs, he never completely discounted

3360-546: Was located in Florence Sabin's university archives and makes reference to Ms. Sabin as Theodore Sheldon's childhood teacher from "the banks of Lake Geneva," which is important biographical data about an otherwise unknown writer. While it's possible that Atkinson could have been a ghost writer or contributor to Sheldon's work, the personal nature of Sheldon's correspondence with Florence Sabin would have been very difficult for Atkinson to fabricate, suggesting that Theodore Sheldon

3420-464: Was more than an Atkinson pen name. Magus Incognito titles The Secret Doctrines of the Rosicrucians by Magus Incognito consisted of a nearly verbatim republication of portions of The Arcane Teachings , an anonymous work attributed to Atkinson (see below). Three Initiates Ostensibly written by "Three Initiates," The Kybalion was published by the Yogi Publication Society. Whether any of

3480-479: Was not authentically Hindu, nor did he write on the topic of Hinduism. His best-known titles, which have remained in print for many years after entering the public domain, were "The Development of Seership: The Science of Knowing the Future; Hindoo and Oriental Methods" (1915), "Genuine Mediumship, or Invisible Powers", and "Can We Talk to Spirit Friends?" Atkinson produced more than two dozen Swami Bhakta Vishita books, plus

3540-587: Was provided by the Yogi Publication Society: Note that in at least one point, this "official" account is false: William Walker Atkinson was an American, not "an English author" and L. N. Fowler, an occult publishing house, was the British publisher of books that Atkinson had published under various of his own imprints in Chicago. Swami Bhakta Vishita titles Atkinson's second Hindu-sounding pseudonym, Swami Bhakta Vishita, billed as "The Hindoo Master"

3600-654: Was the highest-paid mentalist in the world at the height of his career, during the 1920s. Both sources state that he earned multiple millions of dollars during his career on stage and that during his lifetime he may have been the highest paid entertainer in the field of magic. Alexander retired from the stage in 1927, at the age of 47. He remained part of the social circles of entertainment personalities in Southern California, counting among his friends stars like Marion Davies , Margaret Sullavan , Jackie Coogan , Harold Lloyd , and Clara Bow . He died on August 5, 1954, at

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