Biographical/Historical Note
Manley Hall was born in 1901,in Peterborough, Canada, to William S. and Louise Palmer Hall.
The Hall family moved to the United States in 1904 and lived for a time in Sioux Falls,
South Dakota. Manly Hall settled in Los Angeles in 1919.
As a young man he became interested in occult matters. He subsequently joined a number of
societies, among them the Theosophical Society, the Freemasons, the Societas Rosecruciana in
Civitatibus Foederatis, and the American Federation of Astrologers.
In 1922 Manly Hall wrote his first book on philosophy/religion, Initiates of the Flame. According to Hall, he began collecting works on mysticism
and the esoteric sciences: "late in the fall of 1922, the plan for a comprehensive work on
the symbolism of western mystical societies began to take shape in my mind. It soon became
apparent that research facilities for such a project were not available in Southern
California... The only answer was to contact antiquarian book dealers and elict their
cooperation in the search for the items desired." The collection of books and manuscripts
which Hall purchased, primarily in the 1920s and 1930s, became the basis for his own
research and the cornerstone of the Philosophical Research Society's holdings.
Ordained to the ministry in 1923, Hall became minister to an occult/metaphysical
congregation. As the leader of the Church of the People, Hall started a magazine titled the
All Seeing Eye. In 1928 Hall published his extensive work
An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic, and
Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy.
In 1934 Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society, a research institute modeled on
the ancient school of Phythagoras. 1935 marked the ground breaking for the first building of
the complex. Major additions to the Philosophical Research Society came in 1950 and 1959.
Hall delivered weekly lectures and continued writing on mystical topics. By 1940, Hall is
said to have delivered over 7,000 lectures.
1944 was the year of the first printing of Hall's book, Secret Destiny
of America, apparently an expansion of a lecture he gave in 1942. The
Philosophical Library edition of Secret Destiny of America was
published in 1958. And in 1986 Hall completed his book the Rosicrucians
and Magister Christoph Schlegel: Hermetic Roots of America.
Manly Hall died in California. During his life he wrote over 50 books and hundreds of
shorter works.
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