William Roll, Leader in Parapsychology Research

Abstract

January 9, 2012, saw the loss of one of Parapsychology’s luminaries, William G. Roll. He passed away at age 85 at a nursing home in Normal, Illinois. Born of an American father and Danish mother in Germany in 1926, William George Roll became a major player in Parapsychology, though probably best remembered for his work with poltergeist phenomena. While in his teens in Denmark, Roll began having out-of-body experiences which led to his more academic interests. After gaining his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1949, he moved to Oxford, England, to study under H. H. Price and to begin making his mark on the field. He remained at Oxford for eight years, in part due to grants from the Society for Psychical Research and the Parapsychology Foundation. He received the M. Litt. Degree from Oxford.