Harvey Spencer Lewis
Harvey Spencer Lewis was an American Rosicrucian writer, mystic and the founder of AMORC. He led AMORC as its first leader from its creation in 1915 until his death.
Early life
Lewis was born November 25 1883 in Frenchtown, New Jersey. His parents were of Welsh and German ancestry. Lewis was an advertising agent.Esotericism
He had founded a group called the New York Institution for Psychical Research. The Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosy Cross was founded in 1915. He founded the organization after a trip to France with his father, claiming that he had been initiated into Rosicrucianism and was given a mission to spread it there in what he called an "old tower" in Toulouse. He presented this as a revival of the original, partially mythical and ancient Rosicrucian Order.Lewis affiliated with many occult groups, especially Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis. Following a 1916 split in the O.T.O., the schismatic German branch recognized AMORC, giving him a document to prove this. He was proud of receiving this document, despite differences in belief between the two organizations. While predominantly Rosicrucian, the works of Lewis also incorporate neo-Templar elements, having a particular interest in the 18th century revivalist order of Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat and the Knights Templar. Lewis had had some contact with neo-Templar figures and related European occultists, including Émile Dantinne.
Lewis was interested in Egyptology, and founded the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose. It is located in Rosicrucian Park.