Charles Pichel
From Kook Science
| Charles Pichel | |
|---|---|
| Alias(es) | Pichel promoted himself as the Baron de Thourot and Lord of Estagel |
| Born | 26 June 1890 Scranton, Lackawanna Co., Pennsylvania |
| Died | 3 May 1982 (91) Shickshinny, Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania |
| Spouse(s) | Mae G. Moran (m. 1912); Mary Katherine Hart (m. 1941) |
Charles Louis Thourot Pichel (June 26, 1890 - May 3, 1982) was an American pseudo-heraldist and founder of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Inc. From the late 1920s through the 1930s, Pichel operated the American Heraldry Society, an outfit promising genealogically legitimated proofs of nobility and coats-of-arms to paying clientele, and through these activities cultivated ties with the White Russian exile community, became involved with the Ancient and Noble Order of the Blue Lamoo, and sought a position as a public liaison for Adolf Hitler to the United States but was dismissed as a crank by the Germans.[1] Following the war, Pichel was an elected Pennsylvania State Constable in Fairmount Township from 1947 into the 1950s, and, after his tenure in local policing ended, incorporated the Sovereign Order of Saint John at Shickshinny in 1956, devoting several years to that venture. In the 1960s, Pichel founded the "International Authority for Terrestrial Operation of Galactic Powers Task Force"[2] and the Maltese Cross Legionnaires, the latter intended "to combat a secret alliance between the Holy See and the government of Malta to hand the Island over to the Soviet Union," and toward the end of his life was peddling natural cures via "Cosmic Energy" manipulation.[3]
Selected Bibliography
- Pichel, Charles Louis Thourot (1928), Heraldry in America: Organization and Program of the American Heraldry Society, New York: The Society
- Pichel, Colonel Thourot (1957), History of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, Shickshinny, Pa.: Crux News Service
- Pichel, Chas. L. Thourot (1975), Samogitia: The Unknown in History, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: Maltese Cross Press
Press Coverage
Narcotics Case (1914)
- "TWO HELD IN DRUG CASE. Man Accused of Selling Heroin and Having Revolver.", New York Tribune (New York City, NY): 3, 1 Oct. 1914, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/79061418/
Baldwin Medical Institute (1919)
- "NO EVIDENCE TO HOLD SCRANTON MAN SUSPECT IN NEW YORK BOMB PLOT. CHARLES L. PICHEL, HOWEVER, MUST ANSWER FOR DOPE PEDDLING - EXPLOSIVES FOUND IN LABORATORY.", Times Tribune (Scranton, PA): 1, 3 May 1919, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/533782499/
- "Charles L. Pichel (Baldwin) and Explosives in His Office", Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY): 1, 5 May 1919, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/135390978/
- "Pichel Given Four-Year Term", New York Tribune (New York City, NY): 3, 3 July 1919, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/79056132/
American Heraldry Society (1928-194?)
1920s
- Chapman, John (7 Dec. 1928), "MOTHER STONER OUSTS PROTEGE AS EX-CONVICT", Daily News (New York City, NY): 20, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/412150800/
- Chapple, Joe Mitchell (26 Dec. 1928), "Today's Heart Throb: CHARLES L. PICHEL", Fort Worth Record-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX): 6, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/636072891/
- ES (23 Oct. 1929), "HERALDRY SOCIETY ACTIVITIES PROBED. 'University' Incorporated here Five Years Ago Object of Complaint.", Evening Star (Washington, D.C.): 42, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/619051318/
- HC (13 Nov. 1929), "Grafting Family Trees.", Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT): 14, https://www.newspapers.com/image/369256782/, "'Dr.' Charles T. L. Pichel, who has been described as a 'chemist' and 'one-time dean of the American College of Chiropractors,' thought of the scheme, and seems to have done pretty well with it up to the time he was taken, for the purpose of an interview, to the office of the assistant district attorney in New York City."
1930s-1940s
- "Society News and Features", Wilkes-Barre Record (Wilkes-Barre, PA): 8, 13 Feb. 1934, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/103893244/, "While [in New York, Paul M. Winter] was entertained by Dr. Charles L. T. Pichel, president of the American Heraldry Society and founder of the Sovereign Order of Noblesse."
- "Brief Mention", Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA): 25, 22 Feb. 1937, https://www.newspapers.com/image/141049579/, "Dr. Charles L. T. Pichel of Shavertown will arrive home tonight, after a week's business trip to New York, Washington and Baltimore. While in Baltimore, Dr. Pichel had an hour's audience with Archbishop Curley in regards to the organizing of Catholics in the United States against Communism."
- "BROTHERHOOD TO MEET", Wilkes-Barre Record (Wilkes-Barre, PA): 19, 20 Feb. 1947, https://www.newspapers.com/image/106094698/, "Dr. Charles L. J. Pichel, president of the American Heraldry Society, and an authority on geneology, will talk on 'Family Histories And Origin of Family Coats of Arms.'"
Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Inc. (1956-1977)
- "LEGAL NOTICE", Mountain Echo (Shickshinny, PA): 8, 23 Nov. 1956, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/167298662/
- "Shickshinny Headquarter For Knights of Malta", Mountain Echo (Shickshinny, PA): 1, 7 Jan. 1965, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/167161347/
References
- ↑ Diamond, Sander A. (1974), "The End of the Long Wait", The Nazi Movement in the United States, 1924-1941, Cornell University Press, p. 117-118
- ↑ Sainty, Guy Stair (2000), The Self-Styled Orders, chivalricorders.org, https://web.archive.org/web/20000511180613/http://www.chivalricorders.org/orders/self-styled/selfstyl.htm
- ↑ Sainty, Guy Stair (2000), The Self-Styled Orders of Saint John, chivalricorders.org, https://web.archive.org/web/20000822174930/http://www.chivalricorders.org/orders/self-styled/selfsty1.htm