James Malcolm Bird (September 2, 1886 – October 30, 1964) was an American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and parapsychologist.

Career

Bird was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

to James Gedney Bird and Eliza (Baltz) Bird on September 2, 1886. He trained in mathematics and taught as a Professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, he later became an associate editor for the ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'', upon quitting in 1925 he became the research officer of the

American Society for Psychical Research The American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) is the oldest psychical research organization in the United States dedicated to parapsychology. Until recently, it maintained offices and a library in New York City that were open to members and ...

(ASPR) from 1925–1931. Bird investigated spiritualist mediums such as

Mina Crandon Mina 'Margery' Crandon (1888–November 1, 1941) was an American psychic medium who performed under the stage name 'Margery' and claimed to channel her dead brother, Walter Stinson. Investigators who studied Crandon concluded that she had no suc ...

, John C. Sloan,

Gladys Osborne Leonard Gladys Osborne Leonard (28 May 1882 – 19 March 1968) was a British trance medium, renowned for her work with the Society for Psychical Research. Although psychical researchers such as Oliver Lodge were convinced she had communicated with spi ...

William Hope William Hope may refer to: * William Johnstone Hope (1766–1831), prominent and controversial British Royal Navy officer and politician * Sir William Hope, 14th Baronet (1819–1898), British Army officer * William Hope (VC) (1834–1909), Scottis ...

and Maria Vollhardt. His experiences are mentioned in his book ''My Psychic Adventures'' (1924). Bird has drawn criticism from magician

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

and the psychical researcher

Walter Franklin Prince Walter Franklin Prince (22 April 1863 – 7 August 1934) was an American parapsychologist and founder of the Boston Society for Psychical Research in Boston.Berger, Arthur S. (1988). ''Walter Franklin Prince: A Portrait''. In ''Lives and Letter ...

for his conduct in the investigation of Mina Crandon. Houdini and Prince strongly suspected that Crandon was fraudulent, but Bird had endorsed some of her phenomena as genuine. In December, 1930 Bird was compelled to resign from the ASPR after he admitted he had known of fraudulent activity regarding Crandon from the start. Walter Franklin Prince considered Bird "totally unreliable". The

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

's Honorary Research Officer V. J. Woolley noted that Bird was an inaccurate reporter, he had made factual errors about a séance sitting in 1923. Historian Ruth Brandon has described Bird as a biased and unreliable witness. More recently, authors William Kalush and

Larry Sloman Larry "Ratso" Sloman (born July 9, 1950) is a New York (state), New York–based author. Career Sloman was born into a middle-class American Jews, Jewish family from Queens. His nickname Ratso came from Joan Baez who said Sloman looked like Dust ...

have suggested that Bird had conspired with Crandon in "stage managing the séances and achieving a positive vote from the majority of the committee." Bird died October 30, 1964.United States Social Security Death Index
" database, FamilySearch (accessed 15 May 2016), Malcolm Bird, Oct 1964; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

Gallery

Image:Malcolm Bird photograph.png, Fraudulent " spirit" photograph featuring Malcolm Bird, taken by

Image:Houdini with Malcolm Bird and Mina Crandon.jpg,

(left), Malcolm Bird (back),

(middle), O. D. Munn (right)

Publications

''Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation''
(1922) New York: Scientific American Pub. Co.
''My Psychic Adventures''
(1924) New York: Scientific American Pub. Co.
''Margery the Medium''
(1925) Boston: Small, Maynard & Company

Career

Gallery

Publications

References

Further reading