Annie Wood Besant (Clapham, London October 1, 1847 – India September 20, 1933) was a prominent Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator.

Early life

Besant was divorced from her clergyman husband Frank Besant, younger brother of Walter Besant. Her husband was given sole custody of their two children. She fought for the causes she thought were right, starting with freedom of thought, women's rights, secularism (she was a leading member of the National Secular Society alongside Charles Bradlaugh), birth control, Fabian socialism and workers' rights.

Her most notable victory in this period was perhaps her 1888 campaign for improved health and safety conditions for workers in matchstick factories. At the time, the matchstick industry was an immensely powerful lobby, since electric light was not yet widely available, and matches were essential for lighting candles, oil lamps, gas lights, etc. (Only a few years earlier in 1872, lobbyists from the match industry had mananged to get the British government to change its planned tax policy.) Besant's campaign was the first time anyone had successfully challenged the match manufacturers on a major issue, and was seen as a landmark victory of the early years of British Socialism.

Theosophist

Besant was a prolific writer and a powerful orator. In 1889, she was asked to write a review on The Secret Doctrine, a book by H.P. Blavatsky. After reading it, she sought an interview with its author, and in this way, was converted to Theosophy.

Soon after becoming a member of the Theosophical Society she went to India for the first time (in 1893). After a dispute, where William Quan Judge, leader of the American section was accused of falsifying letters from the Masters, the American

President

Together with Charles Webster Leadbeater she investigated the universe, matter and the history of mankind through clairvoyance. The two became embroiled over Leadbeater's advice to young boys to masturbate. At the time such advice was highly controversial. He had to leave the Theosophical Society over this in 1906. In 1908 he was taken back into the fold through the agency of Besant, who had been elected president of the Theosophical Society in 1907 upon the death of the previous president Henry Steel Olcott.

Up until Besant's presidency, the society had as one of its foci Theravada Buddhism and the island of Ceylon, where Henry Olcott did the majority of his useful work. Under Besant's leadership there was a decisive turn away from this and a refocusing of their activities on "The Aryavarta", as she called central India. Besant actively courted Hindu opinion more than former Theosophical leaders. This was a clear reversal of policy from Blavatsky and Olcott's very public conversion to Buddhism in Ceylon, and their promotion of Buddhist revival activities on the subcontinent (see also: Maha Bodhi Society).

Krishnamurti

Soon after Besant's inheritance of the presidency, in 1909, Leadbeater discovered Jiddu Krishnamurti on the private beach that was attached to the societies headquarters at Adyar. Krishnamurti had been living there with his father and brother for a few months prior to this. This discovery started years of upheaval in the Theosophical Society in Adyar, as the boy was proposed as the incarnate vessel for the Christ. Jiddu Krishnamurti and

Eventually, in 1929, Krishnamurti ended up disbanding the Order of the Star of the East, which had been founded to support him and of which he had been made the leader. This destroyed Besant's spirit, as it went against her ideals.

Later years

She tried to accommodate Krishnamurti's views into her life, but never really succeeded. The two remained friends, though, until the end of her life. Annie Besant died in 1933 and was survived by her daughter, Mabel.

Trivia

She is the Great-Grandmother of Andrew Castle a television presenter and former professional tennis player.

Selected works

• The Political Status of Women (1874)
• Marriage, As It Was, As It Is, And As It Should Be: A Plea For Reform (1878)
• The Law Of Population (1877)
• Autobiographical Sketches (1885)
• "Why I became a Theosophist" (1889)
• An Autobiography (1893)
• The Ancient Wisdom (1898)
• Thought Forms (1901) ISBN 0835600084
• Bhagavad Gita (Translation) (1905)
• Introduction to Yoga (1908)
• Occult Chemistry
• The Doctrine of the Heart (1920)
• Esoteric Christianity

Also note:

• The Case for India The Presidential Address Delivered by Annie Besant at the Thirty-Second Indian National Congress Held at Calcutta 26th December 1917 (text of speech available at the Project Gutenberg web site).

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