author
Henry Steel Olcott
1832–1907
A Civil War veteran, lawyer, journalist, and spiritual seeker, this American reformer helped found the Theosophical Society and became one of the best-known Western converts to Buddhism in the 19th century. His life moved from New Jersey and New York to India and Sri Lanka, where his work left a lasting mark on modern religious history.
2 Audiobooks
The Life of Buddha and Its Lessons
by Henry Steel Olcott
The Buddhist Catechism
by Henry Steel Olcott
About the author
Born in Orange, New Jersey, in 1832, Henry Steel Olcott built an unusually varied career before he became famous in spiritual circles. He worked as a farmer and agricultural writer, then as a journalist and lawyer, and served during the American Civil War. That mix of practical experience, public service, and restless curiosity shaped the energetic style that would define his later life.
In 1875, he co-founded the Theosophical Society with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and became its first president. The society aimed to explore religion, philosophy, and the hidden traditions of the world, and Olcott helped turn it into an international movement. He later moved to India, where he spent much of the rest of his life working on behalf of the society and writing about its ideas and history.
Olcott is also remembered for his close connection to Buddhism, especially in Sri Lanka, where he supported Buddhist education and revival efforts. He is often described as the first widely known American of European background to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. He died in Adyar, Madras, in 1907, leaving behind a career that crossed law, religion, reform, and international cultural exchange.