GaryJJSpate: Created page with "{{OrganisationInfobox |name=Society for Psychical Research |type=Non-profit research organisation |founded=1882 |founders=Henry Sidgwick, William F. Barrett, Edmund Gurney, Frederic W. H. Myers, and others |known_for=First organisation dedicated to scientific psychical research |status=Active }} The '''Society for Psychical Research''' (SPR) is a British non-profit organisation founded in London in 1882 to investigate claims of psychic and paranormal phenomena — inclu..."

2026-07-22T01:50:19Z

Created page with "{{OrganisationInfobox |name=Society for Psychical Research |type=Non-profit research organisation |founded=1882 |founders=Henry Sidgwick, William F. Barrett, Edmund Gurney, Frederic W. H. Myers, and others |known_for=First organisation dedicated to scientific psychical research |status=Active }} The '''Society for Psychical Research''' (SPR) is a British non-profit organisation founded in London in 1882 to investigate claims of psychic and paranormal phenomena — inclu..."

New page

{{OrganisationInfobox
|name=Society for Psychical Research
|type=Non-profit research organisation
|founded=1882
|founders=Henry Sidgwick, William F. Barrett, Edmund Gurney, Frederic W. H. Myers, and others
|known_for=First organisation dedicated to scientific psychical research
|status=Active
}}

The '''Society for Psychical Research''' (SPR) is a British non-profit organisation founded in London in 1882 to investigate claims of psychic and paranormal phenomena — including telepathy, apparitions, mediumship, and hauntings — using the methods of scientific enquiry. It is generally regarded as the first learned society of its kind, and remains active today, over 140 years after its founding.

== Founding ==
The Society grew out of a conference held in London in January 1882, convened by physicist William F. Barrett, and was formally established the following month. Its founding council included philosopher [[Henry Sidgwick]] (its first president), Barrett, psychologist Edmund Gurney, and classicist [[Frederic Myers]], among others. Its stated purpose was to investigate "mesmeric, psychical and 'spiritualist' phenomena... in a purely scientific spirit," and membership was explicitly stated not to imply acceptance of any particular explanation for the phenomena studied — a position the Society has maintained throughout its history.

== Early work ==
The Society's early activity centred on collecting and cross-checking public reports of apparitions and testing claimed mediums, exposing a number of them as fraudulent in the process. Its first major published study was ''Phantasms of the Living'' (1886), co-authored by [[Frederic Myers]], Edmund Gurney, and Frank Podmore. The Society began publishing its ''Proceedings'' in 1882 and its ''Journal'' in 1884, both still running in various forms today.

== Notable presidents ==
The Society's presidency has been held by a wide range of prominent academics and public figures over its history, including Henry Sidgwick (twice), Arthur Balfour (later UK Prime Minister), American psychologist William James (1894–95), and J. B. Rhine, who was elected president shortly before his death in 1980.

== The Society today ==
The SPR remains active, headquartered at 1 Vernon Mews in West Kensington, London, where it maintains a library and archive of historic documents, photographs, and reports. It continues to publish a journal and magazine, run conferences and lectures, and maintains the online ''Psi Encyclopedia'' as a research resource. Related but independent bodies founded in its wake include the American Society for Psychical Research (1885) and the Scottish Society for Psychical Research (1987).

== See also ==
* [[Frederic Myers]]
* [[:Category:Parapsychology|Parapsychology]]
* [[Telepathy]]

[[Category:Organisations]]

Society for Psychical Research - Revision history