Jeane Dixon
Jeane Dixon (January 5, 1904 – January 26, 1997) was one of the best-known American astrologers and psychics of the 20th century, due to her syndicated newspaper astrology column, some well-publicized predictions and a best-selling biography.
Early life
Born Lydia Emma Pinckert in Medford, Wisconsin, but raised in Missouri and California, Dixon was very reluctant to release personal details. She was married to James Dixon from 1939 until his death, but they apparently had no children. She worked with him in his successful real estate business.
Career as a purported psychic
She is best known for allegedly predicting the 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 go on to "[B]e assassinated or die in office though not necessarily in his first term." She later admitted, “During the 1960 election, I saw Richard Nixon as the winner.” (see [1])
Dixon gained public awareness 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 3 million copies. A devout Roman Catholic, she attributed her prophetic ability to God.
President Richard Nixon referred to Dixon as "the soothsayer" and ordered preparations for a terrorist attack she had predicted (see [2]). She was also one of several astrologers who gave advice to Nancy Reagan during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
The Jeane Dixon effect
Dixon was so well-known that John Allen Paulos, a mathematician at Temple University, coined what he called the "Jeane Dixon effect", in which people loudly tout a few correct predictions and overlook false predictions. Many of Dixon's forecasts proved false, such as her prediction that World War III would begin in 1958 over the offshore Chinese islands of Quemoy and Matsu, that labor leader Walter Reuther would run for president in 1964 and that the Soviets would land the first man on the moon.
Oprah Winfrey said on her show in 2007 that she met Jeane Dixon in 1977 before she was famous after Oprah gave a talk to 782 people and Jeane told her that she would become very famous and have an audience of millions of people.
Final days
She died of cardiac arrest in Washington, D.C. at the age of 93.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- American National Biography. Supplement 1, pp. 163-164. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
External links
- Jeane Dixon at the Internet Movie Database
- Nixon's Secret Psychic Advisor by James Donahue
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Dixon, Jeane |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lydia Emma Pinckert |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American astrologer, psychic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 5, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Medford, Wisconsin |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 26, 1997 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Washington, D.C. |
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