DANIEL DUNGLAS

See also:

• HOME
• DANIEL DUNGLAS HOME (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

HOME (1833-1886)  , Scottish spiritualist, was born near Edinburgh on the loth of March 1833, his father being said to be a natural son of the loth earl of Home, and his mother a member of a family credited with second sight . He went with his mother to America, and on her death was adopted by an aunt . In the United States he came out as a spiritualistic medium, though, it should be noted, he never sought to make money out of his exhibitions . In 1855 be came to England aiid gave numerous seances, which were attended by many well-known people . Robert Browning, the poet, went to one of these, but without altering his contempt for spiritualism, and he subsequently gave his impression of Home in the unflattering poem of " Sludge the Medium " (1864); Home, nevertheless, had many disciples, and gave seances at several European courts . He became a Roman Catholic, but was expelled from Rome as a sorcerer. in 1866 Mrs Lyon, a wealthy widow, adopted him as her son, and settled £6o,000 upon him . Repenting, however, of her action, she brought a suit for the return of her money, on the ground that it had been obtained by " spiritual " influence . It was held that the burden of establishing the validity of the ;ift lay on Home, and as he failed to do so the case was decided against him . He continued, however, to give seances, mostly on the Continent, and in 1871 appeared before the tsar of Russia and two Russian scientists, who attested the phenomena evoked . Returning to England he submitted to a series of experiments designed to test his pretensions before Professor (subsequently Sir William) Crookes, which the latter declared to be thoroughly genuine; and Professor von Boutlerow, of the Russian Academy of Science, after witnessing a similar series of experiments, expressed the same opinion . Home published two volumes of Incidents of my Life and Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism . I-Ie married successively two well-connected Russian ladies .

He died at Auteuil,

France, on the 21st of June 1886 .