Besant
Besant names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Besant ANNIE (bes'ant)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ANNIE (bes'ant), an English theosophist and author, born in London, Oct. 1, 1847; was married in 1867 to the Rev. Frank Besant, brother of Sir Walter Besant, but was legally separated from him in 1873. She manifested an earnest interest in social and political topics, and, in 1874, became connected with the National Secular Society. Owing to the publication of "Fruits of Philosophy," Mrs. Besant was prosecuted, in connection with Charles Bradprosecution laugh (June, 1877), but the failed. In 1883 she announced her adhesion to Socialism. For three years she was a member of the School Board of London. She was prominently connected with various socialistic movements, and in 1889 joined the Theosophical Society, of which she became president in 1907. She visited the United States in 1891 and 1892-1893 and lectured on Madame Blavatsky and reincarnation, theosophy, and occultism. Among her numerous publications are "Reincarnation" (1892); "Autobiography" (1893); "Death and After" (1893); "Building of the Kosmos" (1894); "The Self and Its Sheaths" (1895); "Path of Discipleship" (1896); "Four Great Religions" (1897); "The Ancient Wisdom" (1897); "Three Paths to Union with God" (1897); etc.
Besant SIR WALTER (bes-ant')
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
SIR WALTER (bes-ant'), an English novelist, born in Portsmouth, Aug. 14, 1836. After graduation at Cambridge, he went to Mauritius as professor in the Royal College, but returned to London, where he long was secretary of the Palestine Exploration Fund. In 1871 he formed a literary partnership with James Rice, which continued until the death of the latter. Among their novels are "Ready Money Mortiboy" (London, 1871); "The Golden Butterfly" (1876); "The Seamy Side" (1881); and "The Chaplain of the Fleet" (1881). Alone he wrote "Studies in Early French Poetry" (1868); "The French Humorists" (1873); "All Sorts and Conditions of Men" (1882), "All in a Garden Fair" (1883); "Dorothy Foster" (1884); "Amorel of Lyonesse" (1890); "St. Katharine's by the Tower" (1891); "The Ivory Gate" (1892); "Beyond the Dreams of Avarice"; "The Master Craftsman"; "The Pen and the Book"; "The Alabaster Box" (1900); etc. He died June 9, 1901.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote this in 1921 Annie Besant was president of the Theosophical Society and deep in Indian politics — a side the entry omits entirely: she had founded the Home Rule League and been elected president of the Indian National Congress in 1917. Her most publicised act came after: from 1911 she promoted the young Jiddu Krishnamurti as the vehicle of a coming World Teacher, only for him to dissolve the organisation built around him in 1929 and go on to a long independent career as a teacher. Besant remained Theosophical president until her death at Adyar, near Madras, on 20 September 1933. Walter Besant, who died in 1901, is now read far less than in his lifetime, but two things he built outlast the novels: the Society of Authors, which he founded in 1884 and which still represents British writers, and the People's Palace in London's East End, inspired by "All Sorts and Conditions of Men."
Written for this edition, 2026.