Brown, William Tournay

(1857- ?). An early member of the Theosophical Society (TS) who claimed to have met the Master KOOT HOOMI in person. Brown was born in Glasgow, Scotland, May 16, 1857. He graduated from the University of Glasgow in April 1882. He met Alfred P. SINNETT in London and joined the TS there. Brown went to India in 1883 and stayed at Adyar where he met Henry S. Olcott and Helena P. Blavatsky.

It appears that Brown did not make a good impression on Blavatsky who wrote to Sinnett “. . . I know him (Brown) better now and — respect him less.” He left with Olcott and Dāmodar MAVALANKAR for a tour of India and it was during this journey that he claimed to have twice met Master Koot Hoomi. Brown’s version of this encounter may be found in his pamphlet My Life (D. Lauber, Freiberg, Baden, Germany, 1885). He eventually left the TS and became a Catholic, settling in India where he presumably died.

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