Lewis, Ralph M. (1904-1987)
Lewis, Ralph M. (1904-1987)
Ralph M. Lewis, for 48 years the imperator of the Ancient and Mystical Order of the Rosae Crucis (AMORC ), was born in February 14, 1904, in New York City, the son of H. Spencer Lewis, the founder of the order. He formally joined the order in 1921 during his teen years and quickly progressed through the degrees. In 1924 he was appointed supreme secretary and in the 1930s emerged as a public lecturer for the order. He was credited with spreading the membership through North America and Europe.
In 1939 H. Spencer Lewis died and Ralph became the new imperator and took administrative control of the order. He also became a teacher in his own right and beginning in 1944 wrote a number of books, including Behold the Sign (1944), The Sanctuary of the Self (1948), The Conscious Interlude (1957), and Yesterday Has Much to Tell (1973). Lewis led the order until his death January 12, 1987, in San Jose, California.
Sources:
Lewis, Ralph M. Behold the Sign. San Jose, Calif.: Supreme Grand Lodge of the AMORC, 1944.
——. The Conscious Interlude. San Jose, Calif.: Supreme Grand Lodge of the AMORC, 1957.
——. The Sanctuary of the Self. San Jose, Calif.: Supreme Grand Lodge of the AMORC, 1948.
——. Yesterday Has Much to Tell. San Jose, Calif.: Supreme Grand Lodge of the AMORC, 1973.