Charles Webster Leadbeater (16 February 1854 - 1 March 1934), born in Stockport, Cheshire, was an influential member of the Theosophical Society, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church. His interest in Theosophy was stimulated by A.P. Sinnett's Occult World, and he joined the Theosophical Society in 1883. The next year he met Helena Blavatsky when she came to London; she accepted him as a pupil and he became a vegetarian. After H. P. Blavatsky's death in 1891, Annie Besant, an English social activist, took over leadership of the Theosophical Society along with Colonel Olcott. Besant met Leadbeater in 1894. The next year she invited him to live at the London Theosophical Headquarters.He became a high-ranking officer of the society, but resigned in 1906 amid a scandal. Accusations of his detractors were never proven and, with Besant's assistance, he was readmitted a few years later. He went on to write over 69 books and pamphlets. His efforts on behalf of the society assured his status as one of its leading members until his death in 1934.
