Jeane Dixon (January 5, 1904 – January 26, 1997) was one of the best-known American psychics of the twentieth century. She gained wide fame for apparently predicting the assassination of John F. Kennedy after she had written that a Democrat would be elected US president in 1960 but would die in office, possibly by assassination.
Earlier, Dixon had made a series of successful predictions concerning Hollywood personalities and international figures. She is credited with predicting the Russian launch of the Sputnik satellite and the plane crash of UN Secretary General Dag Hammerskjöld. She also predicted that Robert Kennedy would fail in his presidential bid because of a tragedy that would occur in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where he was later assassinated. One of her most dramatic prophecies was a 1962 vision of a messianic child who would "unite all warring creeds and sects into one all-embracing faith."
She reached millions through her syndicated newspaper astrology column and a best-selling biography by Ruth Montgomery. She also wrote eight books and appeared in the 1976 TV documentary The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena.
A devout Roman Catholic, Dixon attributed her prophetic ability to God. She also had numerous critics, who pointed out that many of her most dramatic predictions never came to pass.
Early life
Jeane Dixon was born Lydia Emma Pinckert in Medford, Wisconsin and raised in Missouri and California. A Roman Catholic, she was married to James Dixon from 1939 until his death. They had no children.
When she was still a child, Dixon was given a crystal ball by a gypsy fortune-teller who recognized in her a fellow psychic. She reportedly began receiving prophetic visions by the time she was nine, and by the age of 14 was predicting the futures of famous Hollywood celebrities. Dixon later expressed a belief in reincarnation and felt that she may have been a Tibetan lama in an earlier life.
During her early years as a psychic, she did not work professionally, but assisted her husband in his successful real estate business.
Career as a psychic
In January 1942 Dixon told the film actress Carole Lombard that it would be dangerous for her to travel by plane within the next six weeks. When Dixon pushed Lombard to believe her prediction, the actress flipped a coin and decided not to cancel her trip but did travel by train, not plane. The first leg of her trip went as scheduled. However, anxious to get home to her husband Clark Gable, she changed plans and made a plane reservation to take her home, instead the train. The plane crashed in flames into the mountains near Las Vegas in a violent storm, killing her.
Dixon soon began to be recognized for the accuracy of several of her major predictions. In 1945 she told US President Franklin D. Roosevelt that he did not have long to live. He died a few months later. In the same year, she told Winston Churchill that he would lose the next election in England but would return to power later. He did indeed lose and was later re-elected prime minister. She also predicted the 1947 partition of India, said that the Korean War would end in a stalemate, and forecast Joseph Stalin's death in 1953. On May 14, 1953, Dixon famously said on NBC television,
"A silver ball will emerge from Russia, to travel in space!"
Four years later Russia shocked the world when it launched the Sputnik satellite. Dixon also warned UN Secretary General Dag Hammerskjöld not to fly in the plane in which he crashed and died in 1961.
The Kennedy prediction
Dixon is best known, however, for predicting the election and assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the May 13, 1956 issue of Parade Magazine she wrote that the 1960 presidential election would be "dominated by labor and won by a Democrat" who would then be "assassinated or die in office though not necessarily in his first term."
Critics point out that like many psychics who claim credit for predicting the future, Dixon actually hedged her bet in the case of Kennedy. Although the 1956 prediction of a Democratic winning the election and then being assassinated was widely reported, Dixon also is said to have later predicted (1960) that Kennedy would in fact lose the election.[1]
Arguing in her favor, however, is the fact that friends reported that in the weeks before Kennedy's death she had been increasingly anxious about his safety. On the morning of November 22, 1963, the day that Kennedy was killed, she told them: "This is the day it will happen."[2]
A messianic vision
Often considered Dixon's most dramatic vision is one that came at dawn on February 5, 1962, when she saw a brilliant orb with radiating beams which seemed to pull the earth magnetically toward it. A pharaoh and Queen Nefertiti stepped out of the orb, with a child held in Nefertiti's arm, clothed in rags. "The eyes of this child were all-knowing, they were full of wisdom and knowledge," Dixon wrote. Nefertiti then offered the child to the world and returned to the distant past, where she was stabbed in the back, signifying the end of her reign.[2] Dixon understood the vision as relating to the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, in which a messianic figure would emerge and bring an end to war; and bring peace to humankind. This child, she said, "will unite all warring creeds and sects into one all-embracing faith."
This vision left a deep impression on Dixon, as it did not leave her easily like the others. She said of it: "Before the close of the century he will bring together all mankind in one all-embracing faith. This will be the foundation of a new Christianity, with every sect and creed united through this man who will walk among the people to spread the wisdom of the Almighty Power." She expressed her feeling after her experience as: "My cup runneth over. I loved all mankind. I felt that I would never again need food or sleep, because I had experienced perfect peace."[2]
Another Kennedy tragedy foretold
In 1965, Dixon addressed a group at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. In response to a question about Robert Kennedy becoming the next President, she answered prophetically: "No, he will never become President of the United States because of a tragedy right here in this hotel."[2]
Dixon gained additional fame through the biographical volume, A Gift of Prophecy: the Phenomenal Jeane Dixon, written by syndicated columnist Ruth Montgomery. Published in 1965, the book sold more than three million copies.
An imperfect record
Despite her impressive record, critics point out that a large number of Dixon's important predictions did not come to pass. She predicted that the Soviets would beat the U.S. to the moon and that World War III would begin in 1958. She also predicted that there would be a cure for cancer in 1967. She said that Richard Nixon would serve his country well and that Barry Goldwater would be vindicated. She foresaw a holocaust for the 1980s and that Rome would then rise again and become the world's foremost center of culture, learning and religion. She predicted peace on earth by the year 2000.
Considered the White House psychic for a time, Dixon predicted a terrorist attack on the White House, causing Richard Nixon to order special precautions. The attack did not materialize. She was also one of several astrologers who gave advice to the Nixons, and also to First Lady Nancy Reagan during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
Dixon did prove prophetic with regard to Oprah Winfrey, however. The talk show star said on her show in 2007 that she met Jeane Dixon in 1977, before she was well known. Dixon told her that she would become very famous and have an audience of millions of people.
Death and Legacy
Dixon died of cardiac arrest in Washington, D.C. on January 25, 1997, at the age of 93. Her personal possessions, furnishings, and personal and professional papers, were put on exhibit at the Jeane Dixon Museum and Library in Strasburg, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley.[3] The Wayside Foundation of American History and Arts developed the museum and library, which chronicles her life as a psychic, devout Catholic, humanitarian, real estate executive, presidential adviser, animal lover, and devoted wife.
Major Works
- Jeane Dixon. My Life and Prophecies, with Rene Noorbergen, 1969. (translated into numerous languages) ASIN B0006P5Y82
- Reincarnation and prayers to live by. 1969. ISBN 0688150039
- The Call to glory; Jeane Dixon speaks of Jesus. 1971. ISBN 0553075128.
- Jeane Dixon's Astrological Cookbook. 1976. ISBN 978-0688030919
- Jeane Dixon's Yesterday, Today and Forever: How Astrology can help you find your place in God's plan. 1975. ASIN B000QPNOYI
- Horoscopes for Dogs. 1979. ISBN 978-0395274538
- A Gift of Prayer: words of comfort and inspiration from the beloved prophet and seer. Audio Cassette. 1995. ASIN B000K07YJK
- Do Cats have ESP? 2000. ISBN 978-0762407682
Notes
- ↑ Did psychic Jeane Dixon predict JFK's assassination? The Straight Dope. February 12, 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ruth Montgomery, A Gift of Prophecy: The Phenomenal Jeane Dixon (New York: Wm. Morrow, 1965, ISBN 0688016898).
- ↑ Located at 130 North Massanutten Street Strasburg, VA 22657, Jeane Dixon Museum and Library February 12, 2009.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Betz, Paul R., and Mark C Carnes (eds.). American National Biography. American Council of Learned Societies. Supplement 1, 163-164. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 9780195150636.
- Brian, Denis. Jeane Dixon: the witnesses. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976. ISBN 9780385112437.
- Dixon, Jeane, and Rene Noorbergen. Jeane Dixon: My Life and Prophecies. New York: W. Morrow, 1969. OCLC 24711
- Hines, Terence. Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 2003. ISBN 9780879754198
- Jensen, Leland, and Arthur Danks. Jeane Dixon was right. 1979. OCLC 83626155
- Milbourne, Christopher. ESP, Seers & Psychics, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1970. ISBN 9780690268157
- Montgomery, Ruth Shick. A gift of prophecy: the phenomenal Jeane Dixon. New York: Morrow, 1965. OCLC 350453
- Savage, Minot J. Psychics: Facts and Theories. Gardners Books, 2007. ISBN 9780548081969
- Stein, Gordon (ed.) The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1996. ISBN 9781573920216
- Tyler, J. "The Unsinkable Jeane Dixon." in Humanist 38(3):6-9, 1977.
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
