When and where was Alan Watts born?
Alan Wilson Watts was born on the 6th of January 1915 in Chislehurst, Kent. He lived at Rowan Tree Cottage on Holbrook Lane with his middle-class parents.
Questions about Alan Watts
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What religious organizations did Alan Watts serve before moving to the United States?
Alan Watts served as secretary for the London Buddhist Lodge run by Christmas Humphreys at age sixteen. He later entered Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, to study Christian scriptures.
Which book did Alan Watts publish in 1957 that became a modern classic?
Alan Watts published one of his best-known books titled The Way of Zen in 1957. This publication drew on ideas from general semantics and Norbert Wiener's early work on cybernetics and helped widen his lecture circuit significantly.
How did Alan Watts die and what was his health condition?
Alan Watts died while under treatment for a heart condition after planning his death meticulously. His father Laurence Wilson Watts died just one year after him in 1974.
What songs or media projects reference Alan Watts in the decades following his death?
Van Morrison wrote a song titled Alan Watts Blues from his 1987 album Poetic Champions Compose. The 2013 Spike Jonze movie Her included an AI based on Watts and the 2017 video game Everything contains quotes from his lectures.