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Ansel Bourne

1826 – 1910

American preacher and psychological case study

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About Ansel Bourne

Lived 1826 – 1910 (aged 83–84).

Ansel Bourne (1826–1910) was a famous 19th-century psychology case due to his experience of a probable dissociative fugue. The case, among the first ever documented, remains of interest as an example of multiple personality and amnesia. Among the doctors who treated Bourne was William James.

Bourne was an evangelical preacher living in Rhode Island. He had become known slightly for his 1857 partial amnesia in which he was seized with the idea of visiting a chapel. Up to that point, he had been a carpenter.

After he was returned home with the assistance of his nephew, psychologist William James of Harvard University and Richard Hodgson of the Society for Psychical Research traveled to study him. Under hypnosis, they found, he could be induced to assume the personality of either Bourne or Brown, and neither personality had any knowledge of the other.

Published works Wonderful works of God: a narrative of the wonderful facts in the case of Ansel Bourne, of Westerly, Rhode Island, who was suddenly struck blind, dumb and deaf and after eighteen days was suddenly and completely restored., 1858, M Cummings

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Important facts

Born
1826
Birth century
Died
1910

People in Ansel Bourne's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Ansel Bourne's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ansel Bourne?

American preacher and psychological case study (1826–1910)

When was Ansel Bourne born?

Ansel Bourne was born in 1826.

When did Ansel Bourne die?

Ansel Bourne died in 1910.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Ansel Bourne

· Wikidata: Q4770573

· DBpedia: Ansel Bourne

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ansel Bourne. https://biography.guide/ansel-bourne/

MLA: "Ansel Bourne." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ansel-bourne/.

Chicago: "Ansel Bourne." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ansel-bourne/.

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