François Marie Gabriel Delanne (23 March 1857 – 15 February 1926) was a notable French spiritist, psychical researcher, writer, and electrical engineer. He is best known for his book, "''Le Phénomène spirite''" (The Spiritist phenomenon).

Life and work

Delanne was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1857. His father, Alexandre Delanne, was a friend of the well-known founder of Spiritism,

Allan Kardec Allan Kardec () is the pen name of the French educator, translator, and author Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (; 3 October 1804 – 31 March 1869). He is the author of the five books known as the Spiritist Codification, and the founder of ...

, and his mother was an

automatic writing Automatic writing, also called psychography, is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Practitioners engage in automatic writing by holding a writing instrument and allowing alleged spir ...

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

(Fr: "médium écrivain"). Delanne was one of the principal exponents of Spiritism, apart from Léon Denis after the death of Kardec. Delanne's writings were mainly concerned with the question of the

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and with

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

. As a spiritist, he favoured a scientific approach to

psychic phenomena A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

. He managed "''La Revue scientifique et morale du spiritisme''" (The Scientific and Ethical review of Spiritism), the journal of the "''Union Spirite Française''" (French Spiritist Union), from its first appearance in March 1883. Gabriel Delanne died in Paris in 1926, and was buried in

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

References

*This article incorporates text from French Wikipedia, Gabriel Delanne.

Publications

By Delanne: *
Le Spiritisme devant la science
' (Paris, E. Dentu, 1885). French text *
Le Phénomène spirite, témoignage des savants, étude historique, exposition méthodique de tous les phénomènes, discussions des hypothèses, conseils aux médiums, la théorie philosophique
' (Paris, Leymarie éditeur, 1909). *
L'Évolution animique. Essais de psychologie physiologique suivant le spiritisme
' (2nd edition, Paris, Chamuel, 1897). French text. *
L'Âme est immortelle. Démonstration expérimentale de l'immortalité
'(Paris, Chamuel, 1899). French text. *
Evidence for a future life
' (P. Wellby; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904). English translation of "L'Âme est immortelle". * ''Les Apparitions matérialisées des vivants et des morts''
Volume 1Volume 2
(Paris, Leymarie, 1909-1911, 2 vol.) pp. 528 & 842. *

' (Paris, BPS, 1923). *

' (Paris, Vermet, 1985). Incorporating writing of Delanne: * Madame de Watteville

(Saint-Victor-sur-Rhins, Éditions du Fil d'argent, 2007). Preface. * G. Bourniquel & Delanne, G.

' (Paris, Henri Durville, no date) p. 340. * ''La Revue Métapsychique''. Bulletin de l'Institut Métapsychique International. Biography: Bodier, Paul & Régnault, Henri. ''Un grand disciple d'Allan Kardec: Gabriel Delanne, sa vie, son apostolat, son œuvre'' (Paris: J. Meyer, B.P.S., 1937).

External links

Short biography
(Answers.com)
Biography
(Spiritist Group of New York).

(Centre Spirite Lyonnais Allan Kardec) in French {{DEFAULTSORT:Delanne, Gabriel 1857 births 1926 deaths French spiritual writers French writers on paranormal topics Parapsychologists Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Writers from Paris Spiritism French male writers