Cora L. V. Richmond (1840-1923) was born in Cuba, New York, and died in Chicago, Illinois. She was a spiritualist medium, lecturer, and pastor. In 1852, she began touring the United States as a child trance lecturer, speaking through the agency of spirits on various subjects. In 1856, she married her first husband, Benjamin Franklin Hatch, a professional mesmerist and showman. Hatch exploited Cora to maximize profits, while she achieved significant fame during their marriage. After a protracted suit, they were divorced in 1865. In 1875, Cora founded the First Spiritualist Society of Chicago, and she served as its pastor for fifty years until her passing. In 1893, she delivered an address on Spiritualism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, and later that year, she helped found the National Spiritualist Association. There is no record of her studying with Mary Baker Eddy or joining the Church of Christ (Scientist).

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