Hornell Norris Hart (August 2, 1888 – February 27, 1967) was an American professor of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and parapsychologist. He was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

and raised as a Quaker. In 1921, he obtained a Ph.D. from the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

. Hart was professor of ethics at

Hartford Theological Seminary The Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary) is a private theological university in Hartford, Connecticut. History Hartford Seminary's origins date back to 1833 when the Pastoral Union of Connectic ...

from 1933 until 1938 when he accepted an appointment as professor of sociology at Duke University, he took interest in

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

. He co-wrote a paper with his wife on

apparitions Apparition may refer to: Supernatural *Apparitional experience, an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience * A vision, something seen in a dream, trance, or religious ecstasy *Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear ...

in the Proceedings of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to co ...

in 1933. The early death of his son and his religious convictions are said to have influenced his psychical writings and his belief in

life after death The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

. In 1955 Hart delivered a paper on the "group characteristics of ghosts" at the International Conference on Psychic Research at Cambridge University. The six-day conference had been convened by Eileen Garrett, who a few years earlier had founded the Parapsychology Foundation in New York. Hart's paper was based on a review of 165 cases of alleged sightings from around the world.Samuel, Lawrence R. (2011). ''Supernatural America: A Cultural History'', Praeger. p. 66

Publications

*''The Science of Social Relations'' (1927) *''The Technique of Social Progress'' (1931) *''Living Religion: A Manual for Putting Religion Into Action in Personal Life and in Social Reconstruction'' (1937) *''New Gateways To Creative Living'' (1941) *''Personality and the Family'' (1941) *''Autoconditioning: The New Way to a Successful Life'' (1956) *''Your Share of God: Spiritual Power for Life Fulfillment'' (1958) *''The Enigma of Survival: The Case For and Against an After-Life'' (1959) *''Toward a New Philosophical Basis for Parapsychological Phenomena'' (1965)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Hornell 1888 births 1967 deaths American sociologists Parapsychologists Iowa State University alumni Duke University faculty