Archibald Keightley (19 April 1859 – 18 November 1930) was an English physician and Theosophist.

Biography

Keightley was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge. In 1886, he obtained a degree from the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

in London. He was a Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

and Master of Arts and Doctor of Medicine from Cambridge."Dr. Archibald Keightley"
fundacionblavatsky.org. Retrieved 28 January 2023. He joined the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

in 1884.Tillett, 1986, p. 982. Retrieved 1 November 2016. In the London Lodge of the TS at the time were: A.P. Sinnett, Dr.

Anna Kingsford Anna Kingsford (; 16 September 1846 – 22 February 1888), was an English anti-vivisectionist, vegetarian and women's rights campaigner. She was one of the first English women to obtain a degree in medicine, after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, an ...

, William Kingsland, Prof.

William Crookes Sir William Crookes (; 17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, now part of Imperial College London, and worked on spectroscopy. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing t ...

Frank Podmore Frank Podmore (5 February 1856 – 14 August 1910) was an English author, and founding member of the Fabian Society. He is best known as an influential member of the Society for Psychical Research and for his sceptical writings on spiritualism. ...

, F.W.H. Myers,

Edmund Gurney Edmund Gurney (23 March 184723 June 1888) was an English psychologist and parapsychologist. At the time the term for research of paranormal activities was "psychical research". Early life Gurney was born at Hersham, near Walton-on-Thames. He ...

, Charles Massey. Keightley was a prominent member of the TS who helped in the editing of Helena P. Blavatsky's magnum opus, ''

The Secret Doctrine ''The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy'', is a pseudo-scientific esoteric book originally published as two volumes in 1888 written by Helena Blavatsky. The first volume is named ''Cosmogenesis'', the second ''An ...

''. He served as the General Secretary of the English Theosophical Society from 1888 to 1890. He was married to Julia van der Planck a.k.a. "Jasper Niemand", the author of a number of Theosophical tracts. Bertram Keightley, his uncle (although younger by one year), was also a Theosophist. He later sided with

William Quan Judge William Quan Judge (April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896) was an Irish-American mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, his famil ...

and his American branch over that led by Annie Besant, and then the faction associated with Ernest Temple Hargrove over that led by

Katherine Tingley Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley (July 6, 1847 - July 11, 1929) was a social worker and prominent Theosophist. She led the American Section of the Theosophical Society after W. Q. Judge. She founded and led the Theosophical community Lomala ...

. After the death of his wife, he relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he participated in the activities of the "Hargrove" branch until his death in 1930.

Selected publications

''The Recovery of Health: With a Chapter on the Salisbury Treatment''
(1890)

(1891)

(1891)

(1893) * ttp://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/theos/v11n11p347_brotherhood_a-fact-in-nature.htm ''Brotherhood – a Fact in Nature''(1897)
''Health and Disease''
(1897)

References

External links

* PhD Thesis,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, Department of Religious Studies. 19th-century English medical doctors 20th-century English medical doctors 1859 births 1930 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge English Theosophists {{UK-theologian-stub