Arthur Edward Powell (September 27, 1882 – March 20, 1969) was a Welsh

Theosophist Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

whose books were published beginning in the early 1900s. He studied the major esoteric works of

Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born Mysticism, mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an internat ...

Charles Webster Leadbeater Charles Webster Leadbeater (; 16 February 1854 – 1 March 1934) was a member of the Theosophical Society, Co-Freemasonry, an author on occult subjects, and the co-initiator, with J. I. Wedgwood, of the Liberal Catholic Church. Orig ...

and

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

Biography

Arthur E. Powell was born at 'Plas-y-Bryn', a house located in Llanllwchiairn (near Newtown),

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

, Wales. He later emigrated to the United States, where he died in Los Angeles, California in 1969. Arthur's parents were Edward Powell (1850-1918) and Mary Eleanor Pughe Pryce-Jones (1859-1944), who married on June 3, 1880. Arthur's father Edward Powell was a solicitor, and Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of the Humber-Hillman Company (an automobile manufacturer). Arthur married twice, his first wife being Hilda (surname not known), and his second wife being Winifred May Fenwick. Powell joined the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. He served in India as a lieutenant.

Vegetarianism

Powell was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

. He authored ''Food And Health'' in 1909. Powell promoted abstinence from

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

.''Review: Amateur Dietetics''
(1910). ''

The British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world' ...

'' 1 (2560): 208. His book ''Food And Health'' was negatively reviewed in the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' as biased and supporting

food faddism A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; as ...

. The review noted that Powell 'uses quotations from standard medical authors when they can be made to serve his purpose, although they repudiate the conclusions he arrives'. A review in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

'' journal suggested that 'Lieutenant Powell spoils his own cause, a cause with which we have no quarrel, by attempting to support it by disquisitions on the ethics of killing animals'.''Food and Health by Arthur E. Powell, Lieutenant, Royal Engineers, London: Methuen and Co''. (1909). ''

'' 4: 1677.

Selected publications

''Food and Health''
(1909) * ''The Etheric Double'' (1925)
''The Astral Body and Other Astral Phenomena''
(1927) * ''The Mental Body'' (1927) * ''The Causal Body And The Ego'' (1928) * ''The Solar System'' (1930) * ''Human Astral Entities'' * ''The Mastery of Emotion'' * ''Astral Death'' * ''Clairvoyance in Space and Time'' * ''Kundalini'' * ''The Fourth Dimension'' * ''Rebirth'' * ''Discipleship'' * ''Chakras'' * ''The Development of Astral Powers'' * ''Sleep-life'' * ''Dreams'' * ''Invisible Helpers'' * ''The Astral Plane'' * ''Non-human Astral Entities'' * ''Thought Forms'' * ''The Magic of Freemasonry'' * ''Spiritualism'' * ''The Work of a Lodge of the Theosophical Society''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Arthur E. 1882 births 1969 deaths English vegetarianism activists Welsh Theosophists