Annie Besant

Annie Besant (1 October 1847, London – 20 September 1933, India) was a British woman who became one of the leaders of the Indian freedom struggle. In 1885, Annie Besant joined the Fabian Society and later became a member of 'Marxist Social Democratic Federation'. She joined the Theosophical Society, a religious movement founded in 1875, based on ideas of karma and reincarnation. As a leader of the Society, Besant helped to spread Theosophical beliefs around the world. She established the 'Olkot Panjama School' in 1894. She was the founder of Central Hindu College. Later this college developed as the Hindu University of Benarus. Annie Besant started the India Home Rule movement in 1916 and became its president. In 1917 she became a leading member of the Indian National Congress.

Annie Besant Media

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  St. Margaret's church in Sibsey, Lincolnshire, where Frank Besant was vicar from 1872 to 1917

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  Annie Besant's house, 39 Colby Road, Upper Norwood, now bearing a blue plaque

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  Studio portrait of Annie Besant, c. 1910, by Falk Studio

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  Annie Besant, half-length portrait, seated, facing slightly right, clad in the style of the Aesthetic Dress movement.

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  Rudolf Steiner and Annie Besant in Munich 1907.

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  Annie Besant with Henry Olcott (left) and Charles Leadbeater (right) in Adyar, Madras in December 1905

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  Thought-form of the music of Charles Gounod, according to Besant and C. W. Leadbeater in Thought-Forms (1905)

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  Annie Besant in Sydney, 1922