Abner Doubleday

From Theosophy Wiki
Revision as of 17:30, 18 February 2012 by Janet Kerschner (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search


Abner Doubleday was an American general who was an important of the Theosophical Society in its earliest years.

Military career

Theosophical work

General Doubleday was a significant leader in the early history of the Theosophical Society. After joining on June 30, 1878, he became Vice President of the TS from 1880-1888. For a brief period beginning January 17, 1879, he served as interim President, after Henry Steel Olcott, the President-Founder, moved to India. He received very little direction in how to carry out his responsibilities, as documented by historian Michael Gomes.[1]

Doubleday joined the Board of Control for America on May 13, 1884. When the American Section was formed in 1886, he was a charter members.[2]

Connection to baseball

In the United States, General Doubleday is widely called the "father of baseball," and in 1939 he was celebrated in a centenary at Cooperstown, New York, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cooperstown is supposedly the location where Doubleday introduced the game at Doubleday Field. In fact, Doubleday never claimed to have any particular association with the game. Linking the well-known General to the foundation of the American national past-time seems to have been a publicity stunt by sporting goods manufacturer Albert Spalding. For more complete coverage of this topic, see the "Origins of baseball" in Wikipedia, where a section is devoted to the "Abner Doubleday myth."[3]

Honors and memorials

In World War II, a liberty ship was named after him.[4]

Notes

  1. Michael Gomes, "Abner Doubleday and Theosophy in America: 1879-1884," Sunrise (April/May 1991), available at [1]
  2. The International Theosophical Year Book 1938 (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1938): 178.
  3. "Origins of baseball," Wikipedia, accessed February 17, 2012.[2]
  4. "SS Abner Doubleday," Wikipedia, accessed February 17, 2012. [3]