Annie Besant, born Annie Wood on 1 October 1847 in London, England, was a British social reformer, writer, orator, theosophist, and leader in the Indian independence movement.
She grew up in modest circumstances after her father died when she was five. Her mother arranged for her education with a family friend. In 1867, she married Frank Besant, an Anglican clergyman. They had two children but separated in 1873 over religious differences.
Besant rejected Christianity and became an atheist. She joined the National Secular Society and worked closely with Charles Bradlaugh. Together they edited the National Reformer and advocated for free thought, women’s rights, trade unions, and birth control. In 1877 they faced trial for publishing a pamphlet on birth control but were acquitted.
In the 1880s she joined the Fabian Society and supported socialism. She helped organize trade unions and served on the London School Board.
Theosophy
In 1889 she converted to Theosophy after meeting Helena Blavatsky. She became one of the most active promoters of Theosophical ideas. Her books and lectures explained spiritual evolution, reincarnation, and ancient wisdom. She served as international president of the Theosophical Society from 1907 until her death.
Besant first visited India in 1893 and settled there permanently. She founded the Central Hindu College in Varanasi in 1898 to combine Western education with Hindu values. She also supported girls’ education and broader social reforms.
She became deeply involved in Indian politics. In 1916 she founded the Indian Home Rule League to demand self-government. In 1917 she was elected the first woman president of the Indian National Congress. Her newspaper New India campaigned for Indian rights.
Besant promoted Jiddu Krishnamurti as a potential world teacher in the 1920s, though he later rejected this role.
She died on 20 September 1933 in Adyar, Madras (now Chennai), India, at the age of 85.
Her work advanced Theosophical teachings on spiritual history and lost civilizations, continuing ideas from Blavatsky about ancient root races and esoteric knowledge. She authored hundreds of books and pamphlets on religion, philosophy, education, and politics.
Annie Besant wrote many books. She was a prolific author who produced hundreds of books, pamphlets, and articles on topics including socialism, free thought, women’s rights, education, politics, and Theosophy.
Atlantis
In her Theosophical writings she described Atlantis as the home of the fourth root race in human evolution. This follows the framework established by Helena Blavatsky in The Secret Doctrine.
- In The Ancient Wisdom (1897) she outlined the root races and placed the Atlantean period as a major stage of human development, marked by advanced psychic powers that were later misused.
- In the collaborative book Man: Whence, How and Whither (1913) with C.W. Leadbeater she provided detailed clairvoyant accounts of Atlantean civilizations. The book contains specific chapters on “Black Magic in Atlantis”, “Two Atlantean Civilisations”, and the rise and fall of Atlantean society.
