Cheiro

Born William John Warner in Ireland in 1866, he became famous under the name Cheiro and also used aristocratic-sounding versions of Louis Hamon. He built a public persona as a clairvoyant and reader of palms, and his stage name came from the word cheiromancy, meaning palmistry.

Cheiro became a well-known occult figure in London and beyond, attracting attention through personal readings, society connections, and a flair for publicity. Accounts of his life often mention his claimed study of palmistry, astrology, and numerology in India, though the best-documented parts of his career are the books and public reputation he established in Britain and later in the United States.

He wrote influential works including Cheiro's Language of the Hand, Palmistry for All, and books on numerology and astrology. Whatever readers make of his predictions, his writing had a lasting effect on how popular audiences encountered palmistry in the 20th century.