Cheiro
Few people other than palmologists have today heard of Cheiro but in his day he was a famous society medium and palm reader. He wrote several books on palmistry – which is commonly referred to by adepts as chiromancy (or cheiromancy which is closer to the original Greek).
Cheiro’s birth name was William John Warner . He claimed to be a clairvoyant and astrologer and like many practitioners of his day adopted a more mystic name. He studied in India and returning to Europe (he was Irish by birth) he attracted a number of society patrons and moved finally to Hollywood where he was immensely popular among the movie set. He died on October 8th, 1936 aged 69 and the Times reported his death eleven days later:
Died. Count Louis Hamori (“Cheiro”), 69, celebrated oldtime palmist; after long illness; in Hollywood. Author of a book on palmistry at 13, he amassed $250,000 from rich female clients, owned an English-language newspaper in Paris, The American Register. On the night he died, said his nurse, the clock outside his room struck the hour of one thrice.
I only came across him when I was writing up an article about Lord Carnarvon whose death he allegedly predicted.
By Kate Phizackerley