CHARLES LEADBEATER FABSED HIS BIRTH DATE

Throughout his time within the Theosophical Society, Charles Webster Leadbeater claimed that he was born on February 17, 1847.

The Theosophical Society of Adyar continued to decree this date until researcher Gregory Tillett discovered that Leadbeater was in reality born on February 16, 1854.

This caused an uproar among the Adyardians because it showed that Leadbeater had intentionally lied (which I find grotesque, given that Leadbeater proved to be a chronic liar and his false birthdate is just one of his many lies).

Why did Leadbeater change his birthdate?

Simply to captivate theosophists, since Leadbeater for his false birth date took the same birth day as Colonel Olcott, the 17th (who was the First President of the Theosophical Society), and the same birth year as Annie Besant, 1847 (who was the Second President of the Theosophical Society).

And in this way Leadbeater could insinuate that he was astrologically related to the International Presidents of the Theosophical Society.

But Leadbeater also invented more lies about this false date, for example he declared that he had met Master Morya in London, on the same day that Blavatsky had claimed that she met that master in person (in 1851).

With his false birth date, that was feasible since Leadbeater would have been four years old this year, but with his real birth date that is impossible because Leadbeater had not yet been born.

Thus, when the Adyardians received this proof of Leadbeater's charlatanism, they had to open their eyes a little and confront the harsh reality that this individual was a great liar; although Leadbeater's most fanatical defenders continue to act as if nothing had happened.

And below I add some interesting information on this subject.

TILLETT DETAILS HIS RESEARCH ON THIS TOPIC

From around the time he joined the Theosophical Society in 1883, Leadbeater consistently claimed that he had been born on February 17, 1847, at Lea Green Hall in Stockport, Cheshire, the son of the chairman of a railway company, and the descendant of an eminent family.

Much was later made of him sharing a common birth year (1847) with Annie Besant and a birth date (February 17) with Colonel H.S. Olcott.

[Annie Besant “Charles Webster Leadbeater” in “Adyar Day 17th February” (TPH), Adyar, nd:11-12; “Theosophy in Australasia” February 1, 1920:451].

The “revised” birth date may have first been propagated in 1890 when he first met Mrs Besant.

The “Lea Green Hall” claim will be dealt with separately, as will the question of the “eminent family”.

Charles Webster Leadbeater was born on February 16, 1854, the son of Charles Leadbeater and Emma Leadbeater (nee Morgan), in Thomson Street, Stockport.

(Cid's note:  Leadbeater also lied when he claimed his family was prominent, as his father was not the president of a railway company but a simple railway worker, and his mother was a simple housewife.)

Evidence of Leadbeater’s birth date is found in his birth certificate, obtainable from the General Register Office, London, and in the records maintained by the Register Offices in the County of Cheshire (Subdistrict Stockport First, District Stockport, Reference ST1/32/67), where the information was provided by his father.

Leadbeater was baptized by the Reverend Joseph Taylor in the Chapel of St Thomas on March 19, 1854 [St Thomas, Stockport, Parish Register of Baptisms 1852-1866 (P 246/3470/1/2), entry number 429, page 54]. His parents were described in the Baptismal Register as Charles Leadbeater, book-keeper, and Emma Leadbeater, of Thomson Street, off Greek Street, Stockport.

Confirmation of his birth year as 1854 is provided in census returns:

1861 – Stockport: information provided by his father as a lodger in the house.

.

1871 – Tottenham (London): information provided by his mother as head of the house.

1881 – Bramshott: information provided by Leadbeater himself as head of the house.

However, the return for the 1891 census, submitted by A.P. Sinnett, in whose house Leadbeater was living, gives his birth year as 1847, presumably because the date given to Sinnett by Leadbeater.

(https://cwledbeater.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/leadbeaters-birth-date/)

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS DISCOVERY

The English theosophist Leslie Price commented:

The web site of the Theosophical Society whose international headquarters are at Adyar India has just changed the date of birth of Theosophical clairvoyant C.W. Leadbeater from 1847 to 1854.

Leadbeater probably began to use the false date after meeting the Theosophical convert Annie Besant in 1890 – she really was born in 1847. Leadbeater’s fraud was not discovered until his biographer Gregory Tillett, when writing “The Elder Brother” (1982) obtained his birth certificate.

Although Adyar was informed of the find  in 1979, Mrs Radha Burner, who had been the leader of the Indian Section, and in 1980 became international president of the Theosophical Society. ensured that the book would not be mentioned in the journal “ The Theosophist”, and Theosophical Publishing House books from Adyar continued to use the false date.

 Why so much fuss about finding a birth certificate?

Because it was followed by the unravelling of Leadbeater’s fictitious “Walter Mitty” account of his early life. Hence it cast doubt on his many clairvoyant revelations about Jesus, the Martians, and masonry etc.

Dr Tillett also threw disturbing light on the occult background to Leadbeater’s involvement with boys.

 At the time of his death, Leadbeater was head of the esoteric school which recruits from the Theosophical Society, in succession to Mrs Besant. To admit anything about him would be difficult for the Esoteric Section, and would also raise the question why Mrs Besant was taken in by him.

Mrs Burnier, who became head of the Esoteric Section in 1978, and the Theosophical Society president until her death in 2013, was able to substantiality keep the lid on the problem for over 30 years.  In those years, many other institutions, from the Vatican to the BBC were also avoiding similar abuses. But the motto of the Theosophical Society is “There is no religion higher than truth”.

Mrs Burnier ensured that the Indian, American and Australian Sections largely adhered to the party line on Leadbeater, but the English Section reviewed his book, sold it in their bookshop, put it in their library, and welcomed Dr Tillett to speak at their 1988 history conference.

At an earlier history conference, their librarian Lilian Storey, who had assisted Dr Tillett, actually lectured on “The Search for Leadbeater.” (The previous international TS president John Coats, of British origin, had facilitated Dr Tillett’s research, but he died in 1979)  

Will the various groups centred at Adyar now join in that search, and open their archives?

(Cid's response: No, they haven't done so because they don't want to confront the sad reality that Charles Leadbeater was a complete charlatan and that Annie Besant was completely duped by him.)

(https://cwledbeater.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/correcing-the-birth-date/)

INTERVIEW WITH TILLETT

Leslie Price interviewed Gregory Tillett, and on this matter they mentioned the following:

Price: Given the trouble that it caused, have you ever wished that you had never found Leadbeater’s birth certificate?

Tillett: The discovery certainly didn’t cause me any trouble. And I found observing how various Theosophical groups dealt with it fascinating, particularly as an example of “cognitive dissonance” which had always been an academic interest of mine.

Cognitive dissonance is a concept in psychology referring to how individuals, or groups, deal with mutually contradictory beliefs: in this case, for example, “Leadbeater said he was born in 1847 but he was born in 1854”, or “Leadbeater would not tell a lie but he lied about his birth date”.

The concept was originally developed by Leon Festinger (1919-1989), an American Sociologist, in his book When Prophecy Fails (1956). It also obviously has relevance to the failed “Coming” centred on Krishnamurti.

(https://cwleadbeater.wordpress.com/2018/06/24/fota-interview/)