James Archibald Douglas (7 March 1866 – 11 October 1930) was a British academic. He was the first professor of English and History at Government College,

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

. Douglas is mainly remembered for having investigated, and debunked, the claims of

Nicolas Notovitch Shulim or Nikolai Aleksandrovich Notovich (; August 13, 1858 – after 1934), known in the West as Nicolas Notovitch, was a Crimean Jewish adventurer who claimed to be a Russian aristocrat, spy and journalist. Notovitch is known for his 1894 boo ...

regarding a secret record of Jesus' visit to India being found at the

Hemis Monastery Hemis Monastery is a Himalayan Buddhist monastery ('' gompa'') of the Drukpa Lineage, in Hemis on the bank of the Indus River, Ladakh, India. Situated 45 km from Leh, it was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal. T ...

. Douglas made his own visit to the monastery in 1895, and published his findings in the journal ''Nineteenth Century''. These findings were then publicized in the ''New York Times'' on 19 April. Douglas was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, the second son of Rev. Robert Douglas (1836-1912), Rector at

Odell, Bedfordshire Odell is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, north Bedfordshire, England, approximately north-west of Bedford town centre, near the villages of Harrold, Felmersham, Sharnbrook and Carlton. History Roman and Saxon p ...

, and Annie Johnson (d. 1922). Art scholar

Robert Langton Douglas Robert Langton Douglas (1 March 1864, Lavenham – 14 August 1951, Fiesole) was a British art critic, lecturer, author, and director of the National Gallery of Ireland. He was nominated, thrice, for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1903 Nobel Pri ...

was his elder brother. He was educated at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. In 1891, he was the tutor and friend of the young

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

, introducing him to the "joys of drinking, smoking, card games, and girls".Tobias Churton (2011). ''Aleister Crowley: The Biography''. p. 26. He died in London in 1930.''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995''

References

1866 births 1930 deaths Academics from Sheffield Alumni of Merton College, Oxford {{UK-academic-stub