John Algeo is one of the most esteemed lecturers and writers in the Theosophical world. Since 1947 he has served the Theosophical Society in numerous capacities, most recently as Vice President of the international Theosophical Society headquartered in Adyar, Chennai, India. From 1993-2002 he was National President of the Theosophical Society in America. In addition writing more than 500 articles for Theosophical journal and editing The Questmagazine, he is the author of Reincarnation Exploredand several other books. In 2014 Dr. Algeo was awarded the Subba Row Medal for his contributions to Theosophical literature, and especially for his work in editing Letters of H. P. Blavatsky Volume I 1861-1889. An engaging speaker, he has presented Theosophical courses and lectures around the world. Algeo was Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia and was Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor of English until his retirement. He has been a Fulbright Research Fellow and a Guggenheim Fellow at the University of London. He is a past President of the American Dialect Society, the American Name Society, and the Dictionary Society of North America. He was editor of American Speech, the journal of the American Dialect Society, and is the author of numerous academic books and articles dealing with the history of the English language, British-American differences, and current usage. With his wife, Adele, for ten years he co-edited “Among the New Words,” a quarterly article concerning additions to the English vocabulary. His most recent academic work was as editor and contributing author of volume 6 of the Cambridge History of the English Language(Cambridge University Press) on the history of English in North America. He has also coauthored several editions of the Thomas Pyles textbook, Origins and Development of the English Language.
