Henry Steel Olcott

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (August 2, 1832 – February 17, 1907) is an American military officer, journalist, lawyer and the co-founder and first President of the Theosophical Society.

Olcott is the first well-known American of European ancestry to make a formal conversion to Buddhism.

His subsequent actions as president of the Theosophical Society helpe create a renaissance in the study of Buddhism.

Olcott is considered a Buddhist modernist for his efforts in interpreting Buddhism through a Westernized lens.

Olcott is a major revivalist of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and he is still honored in Sri Lanka for these efforts.

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