The alleged manifestation of Katie King

William Crookes* was a remarkable man by any standards. The list of his achievements is a long one (see below). In an appendix to his work Researches into the Phenomena of Modern Spiritualism, an unknown author describes the furore that followed his investigations into the “materialization” of Katie King in the presence of the medium, Florence Cook.

The reader may have gotten the impression from the earlier experiments entered in this journal that Victorian Britain took these reports from its leading physicist in stride. It is a tribute to Crookes that he makes small reference to the religious and scientific storm that swirled around him because of his investigations. He was regarded by many as a sort of Jekyll and Hyde, contributing monumental scientific discoveries on the one hand, and on the other, plunging into the depths of irrationalism. But nothing was comparable to the furious response that followed the first reports of his investigations with Florence Cook and the Katie King materialization. He and Florence Cook were bitterly attacked.

A photograph of the materialization appears above, so readers can make up their own minds. The full text of Crookes’s journal can be read online : Researches into the Phenomena of Modern Spiritualism.

*Highly distinguished physicist and chemist. Discovered the element thallium. Elected fellow of the Royal Society in 1863, Royal Gold Medal 1875, Davy Medal 1888, Sir Joseph Copley Medal 1904, knighted in 1897 and the Order of Merit in 1910. Invented the radiometer, developed the Crookes tube, invented the cathode-ray tube, pioneered research into radiation effects, contributed to photography, wireless telegraphy, electricity and spectroscopy. President at different times of the Royal Society, the Chemical Society, the Institution of Electrical Engineers, the Society of Chemical Industry, the Society for Psychical Research (from 1896-1899) and the British Association. Founder of the Chemical News, editor of Quarterly Journal of Science.