Legendary scyers: Jeane Dixon

Before Sylvia Browne and James Van Praagh were camping out on late-night cable, there was Jeane Dixon (1904-1997), one of the first celebrity psychics of the modern era.  Dixon, now best known for her alleged prediction of the Kennedy assassination, reached millions of Americans through her syndicated newspaper column and popular autobiographies.   A professed Catholic who often wore a prominent crucifix, Dixon maintained that her prophetic abilities were a gift from God, and not in conflict with her Christian beliefs.  She rode a wave of increased interest in psi phenomena in the 1960s to a position of considerable influence.  Richard Nixon followed her predictions and met with her in person at least once, and she also advised Nancy Reagan during Reagan's White House years.

 Dixon made her predictions by gazing into a large, clear crystal ball in which she claimed to see scenes of future events.  The psychic, who had a penchant for self-mythologizing, claimed that a gypsy gave her the crystal when she was young and told her she would become a famous seer.  She made some correct public predictions which captivated believers, and some notable belly flops which caught the notice of the skeptics.  (The year 2000 came and went without a World War with China, a female U.S. president, or a cure for cancer.)  In the skeptical lexicon, her name is attached to the "Jeane Dixon effect"--the fallacy by which a psychic's "hits" are publicized and "misses" are downplayed or ignored, creating the illusion of accuracy.

Whether her talents were genuine or not, Dixon's legacy is that of a unique historic personage (and something of a kitsch icon).  Her prop of choice, that large crystal ball, fetched almost $12,000 in a 2009 auction of her personal effects.

Further reading:

Montgomery, Ruth.  A Gift of Prophecy: The Phenomenal Jeane Dixon (1965).
Dixon, Jeane.  My Life and Prophecies (1969).