Fortean Society

The Fortean Society emerged from the circle of writers and intellectuals around Charles Fort, whose books challenged confidence in accepted scientific explanations by assembling reports of anomalies from newspapers, scientific publications, and historical records. It was founded in New York City in 1931 at a meeting held in Fort's apartment. The organization sought to advance Fort's approach and encourage attention to phenomena that mainstream institutions often ignored or dismissed. Theodore Dreiser became its first president. Dreiser had known Fort and had helped support the publication of Fort's work. The founding and early membership also included Tiffany Thayer, Booth Tarkington, Ben Hecht, Alexander Woollcott, and other figures from New York's literary and cultural circles, including Dorothy Parker. Its broader network later included writers and thinkers such as Vincent Gaddis, Ivan T. Sanderson, A. Merritt, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Buckminster Fuller. The society was consequently both a discussion group and a public-facing cultural project built around the study of unusual claims. Its central publication was Doubt, also called the Fortean Society Magazine. The first six issues were edited successively by different members, with Dreiser beginning the sequence. Tiffany Thayer then took over and gradually made the publication and the society more closely reflect his own views. Thayer exercised extensive editorial and organizational authority, contributed a large share of the magazine's material, and became involved in disputes over the society's direction. One major conflict concerned the San Francisco chapter, which was expelled and reportedly barred from using the Fortean name. Thayer's editorship also gave Doubt a pronounced political character during the Second World War. He opposed civil-defense practices and reportedly urged readers to ignore blackout or air-raid-siren procedures. He additionally rejected flying-saucer reports and claimed that the atomic bomb was a hoax. These positions were controversial and illustrated the distance between Thayer's personal agenda and the more open-ended spirit commonly associated with Fort's work. The society remained active, and Doubt continued to appear, until Thayer died in Nantucket in 1959. The organization then entered a hiatus and the magazine ended. In 1961, Paul and Ron Willis acquired much of its surviving material through their publishing operation, Anubis, and revived the tradition through the International Fortean Organization. INFO incorporated in 1965, later issued The INFO Journal: Science and the Unknown for more than 35 years, and established FortFest, an annual conference focused on Charles Fort and Fortean subjects. The original society's legacy is distinct from that of Fortean Times, a later British magazine created by Bob Rickard. Although Rickard's correspondence with Paul Willis helped encourage later publishing activity, the magazine was not the original society's publication. Original Fortean Society materials were divided between INFO and other repositories; many notes by Charles Fort were donated to the New York Public Library. The Fortean Society therefore represents an early organized expression of Forteanism and an important predecessor to later groups, publications, and conferences devoted to anomalous phenomena.

• 1965

  INFO incorporates

  [1]Fortean Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The International Fortean Organization incorporated and subsequently developed its own journal and annual conference program.

• 1961

  International Fortean Organization established

  [1]Fortean Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Paul and Ron Willis acquired much of the original society's material and revived its intellectual tradition through INFO.

• 1959

  Society enters hiatus

  [1]Fortean Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Following Tiffany Thayer's death, the society became inactive and Doubt ceased publication.

• 1931

  Fortean Society founded

  [1]Fortean Societyen.wikipedia.org

  A meeting at Charles Fort's New York City apartment established the society to promote his ideas about anomalous phenomena. Theodore Dreiser became its first president.

• 1931

  Doubt begins publication

  [1]Fortean Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The society launched its newsletter and magazine, later known as the Fortean Society Magazine, with its first six issues edited by different members.

• 1930

  Tiffany Thayer assumes editorial leadership

  [1]Fortean Societyen.wikipedia.org

  After the initial sequence of editors, Tiffany Thayer took control of Doubt and became the society's dominant editorial and organizational figure. The exact year of the transition is not specified in the reference material.

A literary and cultural society devoted to anomalous phenomena, skepticism toward accepted explanations, and the preservation of Charles Fort's intellectual legacy.

• Newsletter and magazine · 1931

  Doubt

  The Fortean Society's principal publication, also called the Fortean Society Magazine. It circulated articles and commentary related to Charles Fort, anomalous reports, and the society's activities. After Tiffany Thayer became editor, it increasingly reflected his personal views and political positions. Publication continued until Thayer's death in 1959.

• Dispute over control and direction of the society

  Tiffany Thayer's increasingly centralized control of Doubt and the organization led to internal conflict. He reportedly expelled the San Francisco chapter, described as one of the society's most active branches, after disagreements over the society's direction and prohibited it from using the Fortean name.

  Source

Read more

• 1959

  Suspend the original society after Thayer's deathStrategy

  Background

  Tiffany Thayer had become the central editor and organizational force behind the society and Doubt.

  Action taken

  After Thayer died, the society went into hiatus and the magazine ended.

  Aftermath

  The Fortean tradition was later revived through the International Fortean Organization, established by Paul and Ron Willis in 1961.

  Source

• 1931

  Create an organization dedicated to ForteanaStrategy

  Background

  Charles Fort's work had attracted a network of literary and cultural figures interested in reports that challenged conventional explanations.

  Action taken

  Members established the Fortean Society in New York City to promote Fort's ideas and provide an organized setting for discussion and publication.

  Aftermath

  The society became an early institutional center for Fortean thought and developed the publication Doubt.

  Source

• 1931

  Launch DoubtProduct launch

  Background

  The new society needed a publication through which members could circulate Fortean material and express views about unexplained phenomena.

  Action taken

  The organization began publishing its newsletter and magazine, Doubt.

  Aftermath

  Doubt became the society's principal public output and continued until 1959.

  Source

1. 1Fortean Societyen.wikipedia.org