Material by and about A. L. Conger and James A. Long
Arthur L Conger --humanitarian, scholar, musician, and military officer -- was Leader of The Theosophical Society from 1945-1951. Those who worked with him remember particularly his kindness, perception, and strength of character; for many, he was truly a spiritual mentor and friend. Joining the Theosophical Society under William Q. Judge in 1892, Colonel Conger actively participated in the administrations of Katherine Tingley and G. de Purucker. Three years after Dr. de Purucker's death, he was elected Leader of the TS. Although confined to a wheelchair by Parkinson's disease, he revitalized the Society's public activities and supervised a vigorous publishing program, stressing that the TS "must be turned from the receiving end of theosophy to the giving end." (Portrait)
James A. Longwas Leader of The Theosophical Society from 1951-1971. He was born August 27, 1898, at York, Pennsylvania. Following a career in private business, he worked during WWII as a management consultant in the office of the Quartermaster General in Washington, DC, and was later transferred to the Department of State where he assisted in the change over to peacetime responsibilities. While there he was sent as an Advisor to the US Delegation to the United Nations at the opening of the Second Session in 1946. Mr. Long joined the Theosophical Society in 1935 and was appointed business manager of its American Section in 1939. Upon retirement from government service in 1947, he moved to the Society's headquarters in California where he continued to work closely with Colonel Arthur L. Conger, whom he succeeded as international head in 1951. That same year he founded Sunrise magazine as a vehicle for better understanding among all peoples. (Photograph)
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