W. J. (William Juvenal) Colville (1862-1917) was born in St. Leonards, Sussex, England, and died in San Francisco, California. He was one of the most prominent Theosophists of his time and was associated with the Spiritualism and New Thought movements. Colville also claimed to be a medium and a mental healer. Between 1877 and 1917 he traveled frequently throughout England, Australia, and the United States lecturing on theosophy, spiritualism, occultism, and parapsychology, and between 1884 and 1914 he authored and published over forty articles and books on those subjects, many of which are considered to be of continuing cultural significance. He became a member of the Theosophical Society in 1890. In mid-1886 Colville visited California for the first time and spent five months delivering near-daily lectures to large audiences. He later referred to this period of time as one of the "most astounding" of his career. He passed away in San Francisco while on a lecture tour there.

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