Pascal, Theophile
(1860-1909). First General Secretary (1900-1908) of the French Section and major contributor to the establishment of the Section there. Pascal was born on May 11, 1860, at Villecroze, Var in the South of France. When he was sixteen years old, a Roman Catholic priest, recognizing his keen intelligence, directed his education and he gained his B. A. Pascal next attended the Naval Medical School of Toulon and the University at Lyons, qualifying as Physician. After a period as Naval Doctor, Pascal resigned from the Navy and commenced a homeopathic practice in Toulon.
In 1887 Pascal renewed his acquaintance with a Naval associate D. A. Courmes, who introduced him to theosophy. In 1891 he joined the Theosophical Society (TS) and very soon began his voluminous literary output. In 1898 he became joint editor, with Courmes, of the Revue Théosophique Française (Le Lotus Bleu). In 1900 the French Section of the TS was founded and Pascal became its first General Secretary, a post he held until 1908 when he resigned due to ill-health. In 1906, the President, Henry S. Olcott, awarded him the Subba Row Medal for his contribution to Theosophical Literature. Pascal died April 18, 1909 at Paris.
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