BLAVATSKY, HELENA PETROVNA was born at Ekaterinoslay. She was the daughter of Col. Peter Hahn de Rottenstein-Hahn (of a noble family of Mecklenburg, settled in Russia), and, on her mother's side, was granddaughter of the Princess Helena Dolgorouki. She married, in her 7th year, a man much her senior, Councillor of State Nicephore Blavat sky, but separated from him after a few months, and for many years travelled in various parts of the world, visiting Canada, the U.S.A., Texas, Mexico, and India. In 1852 she made an unsuccess ful attempt to enter Tibet, but succeeded in doing so in 1856. She afterwards returned to Russia, but in 1864 she again travelled in Europe, and was associated with the forces of Garibaldi at the battle of Mentana. In 1873 she went to New York, where she be came associated with many prominent persons who were then in vestigating the phenomena of spiritualism. She showed them that she could herself produce many of the phenomena without the aid of the "spirits," or "spooks" as she called them. Among those who were interested in these phenomena was Col. H. S. Olcott, a U.S.A. Government official; and with his aid, and that of Wm. Q. Judge and others, Madame Blavatsky founded in New York, on Nov. 17, 1875, the Theosophical Society. In 1877 she published Isis Unveiled, containing startling theories concerning the evolu tion of humanity and of religion. This immediately attracted an enormous amount of attention and criticism.
In 187g she and Col. Olcott went to India, and there reorganized the Theosophical Society on the basis of the three objects for which it has nominally existed : ( ) to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, (2) to promote study of com parative religion, philosophy and science, (3) to investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man. The headquarters of the society were established at Adyar, a suburb of Madras, and whilst in India Madame Blavatsky exhibited many phenomena which were accepted by many, and often discredited by those who had not witnessed them; every effort was made in certain quarters to bring her work and teaching into disrepute. Notwithstanding this opposition, and a very adverse report on her phenomena by a member of the Society for Psychical Research; who went out to India to investigate, but never saw any phe nomena himself, Madame Blavatsky had in 1891 nearly f oo,000 acknowledged followers in all parts of the world. She died on May 8, 1891; and this day is commemorated by her followers as "White Lotus Day." BIBLIOGRAPHY.-In addition to Isis Unveiled, Madame Blavatsky Bibliography.-In addition to Isis Unveiled, Madame Blavatsky published in exposition of her teachings The Secret Doctrine (1888), The Key to Theosophy 0889), The Voice of the Silence (1889), and a Glossary of Theosophical Terms (1899-91), besides several less im portant works. See A. P. Sinnett, Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky 0913) ; A. L. Cleather, H. P. Blavatsky, her Life and Work for Humanity (Calcutta, 1922) ; Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett, ed. A. T. Barker, (1925).