C. W. Leadbeater

Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) was a prominent early member of the Theosophical Society, author on the occult and co-founder with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church. Originally a clergyman in the Church of England, his interest in spiritualism led him to give up the Church in favour of the Theosophical Society, where he became a protege of Annie Besant. He quickly rose to the upper echelons of that society, but resigned abruptly in 1906 in the midst of accusations that he had been engaging in mutual masturbation with teenage boys left in his care. With Besant's support he was readmitted a few years later, and although similar rumours were to follow him throughout his career, Leadbeater's talents as a prolific author on occult subjects kept him at the forefront of the Theosophical Movement until his death in 1934.