Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Resignation from the Society for Psychical Research

Luca Gasperini's tribute to Bozzano is very welcome in "Ernesto Bozzano: An Italian Spiritualist and Psychical Researcher" in JSE 25:4 (Gasperini 2011). Bozzano's friendship with Conan Doyle would merit further exploration. As Gasperini notes, Conan Doyle resigned his membership...

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Main Author: Leslie Price
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SSE 2012-03-01
Series:Journal of Scientific Exploration
Online Access:http://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/443
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author Leslie Price
author_facet Leslie Price
author_sort Leslie Price
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description Luca Gasperini's tribute to Bozzano is very welcome in "Ernesto Bozzano: An Italian Spiritualist and Psychical Researcher" in JSE 25:4 (Gasperini 2011). Bozzano's friendship with Conan Doyle would merit further exploration. As Gasperini notes, Conan Doyle resigned his membership in the Society for Psychical Research in 1930, though he was an ordinary dues-paying member and not an honorary member. He did not take with him 77 other members. The passage cited from Mauskopf and McVaugh (1980) does indeed say that six members and one associate resigned in support of Doyle, and that 77 others resigned in the year, but there is no reason to reject the statement made by the Society for Psychical Research in their annual report: "A great majority of those who gave any reason for their resignation mention financial stringency, long illness, residence abroad, etc." (Annual Report . . . 1931). Recent research, cited by Gasperini, has shown that the Millesimo phenomena which Sir Arthur defended in 1930 were even more doubtful than was suggested at the time (Biondi 2009). Doyle went on to resign angrily as president of a leading Spiritualist body (London Spiritualist Alliance) shortly before his death in July 1930 (Gaunt & Price 2006).
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spelling doaj.art-a928aa990bd841bea91888331c62bbfc2022-12-22T03:21:40ZengSSEJournal of Scientific Exploration0892-33102012-03-01261Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Resignation from the Society for Psychical ResearchLeslie PriceLuca Gasperini's tribute to Bozzano is very welcome in "Ernesto Bozzano: An Italian Spiritualist and Psychical Researcher" in JSE 25:4 (Gasperini 2011). Bozzano's friendship with Conan Doyle would merit further exploration. As Gasperini notes, Conan Doyle resigned his membership in the Society for Psychical Research in 1930, though he was an ordinary dues-paying member and not an honorary member. He did not take with him 77 other members. The passage cited from Mauskopf and McVaugh (1980) does indeed say that six members and one associate resigned in support of Doyle, and that 77 others resigned in the year, but there is no reason to reject the statement made by the Society for Psychical Research in their annual report: "A great majority of those who gave any reason for their resignation mention financial stringency, long illness, residence abroad, etc." (Annual Report . . . 1931). Recent research, cited by Gasperini, has shown that the Millesimo phenomena which Sir Arthur defended in 1930 were even more doubtful than was suggested at the time (Biondi 2009). Doyle went on to resign angrily as president of a leading Spiritualist body (London Spiritualist Alliance) shortly before his death in July 1930 (Gaunt & Price 2006).http://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/443
spellingShingle Leslie Price
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Resignation from the Society for Psychical Research
Journal of Scientific Exploration
title Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Resignation from the Society for Psychical Research
title_full Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Resignation from the Society for Psychical Research
title_fullStr Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Resignation from the Society for Psychical Research
title_full_unstemmed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Resignation from the Society for Psychical Research
title_short Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Resignation from the Society for Psychical Research
title_sort sir arthur conan doyle s resignation from the society for psychical research
url http://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/443
work_keys_str_mv AT leslieprice sirarthurconandoylesresignationfromthesocietyforpsychicalresearch