Neville Whymant

Although not a psychical researcher, per se, Dr. Neville J. Whymant (1894-?) was involved in what is perhaps the most intriguing case in the annals of mediumship. Over a period of about two months, during the latter part of 1926, Whymant attended 12 sittings with medium George Valiantine at the New York City Park Avenue home of Judge and Mrs. William Cannon and was witness to phenomena that far exceeds the boggle threshold of most people. He reported on his experience in a 1931 book, Psychic Adventures in New York.

Born in Rothwell, England, Whymant earned his Ph.D. and Litt.D. at Oxford University. During the early 1920s, he was professor of Oriental literature and philosophy at the Universities of Tokyo and Peking and then a professor of linguistics at Oxford and London Universities. He served as Far East editor (1926-27) of the New International Encyclopaedia and was on the editorial staff of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1927-29). He was also a foreign correspondent for the London Times (1929-31) and from 1947 to 1950 was an adviser to the embassy of the Republic of China in London. Among his other books were Chinese and Greek Philosophical Parallels (1917), The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie (1920), and Psychical Research in China (1925). It is said that Whymant could converse in at least 30 languages, including several dialects of Chinese.
©Michael Tymn