Cheiro

William John Warner (also self-identified as Count Louis le Warner de Hamon^[1]), popularly known as Cheiro (1 November 1866 – 8 October 1936), was an Irish astrologer and colourful occult figure of the early 20th century. The word cheiromancy, which means palmistry, is the source of his nickname, Cheiro. He claimed to be clairvoyant and claimed to have studied Chaldean numerology, astrology, and palm reading in India. He was praised for employing these divination techniques to foretell world events and make personal forecasts for well-known clientele. W.T. Stead, a prominent journalist at the time, was informed by this professional palmist and fortune teller, Cheiro that April 1912 would be dangerous for him, with the words, "So don't travel by water then if you can help it." Stead ignored this warning and drowned when the Titanic sank.^[2] A thorough description of one of Cheiro's palm readings with William Pirrie, chairman of Harland and Wolf, the ship's builders, may be found in the book "Titanic's Last Secrets." Speaking about the fight for survival when the "Titanic" sank, Cheiro said he would soon be in a struggle for his life. Cheiro claimed that palmistry becomes a study not contrary to the dictates of reason, but in accordance with those natural laws that we observe in the shaping of even non-living objects, which, by demonstrating the effect of an earlier cause, are in themselves the cause of a later effect.^[3]

William John Warner
Born	(1866-11-01)1 November 1866 Dublin, Ireland
Died	8 October 1936(1936-10-08) (aged 69) Hollywood, California
Pen name	Cheiro
Occupation	Astrologer numerologist palmist author
Spouse	Katherine Florence Mena Bilsborough ​ ​ (m. 1929; died 1936)​

Personal life

Cheiro married Mrs. Katie Hartland in 1920.^[4]

Death

After a lengthy period of illness, Cheiro passed away in Hollywood on October 19, 1936. Among other achievements, Time magazine said that he had amassed a quarter of a million dollars from his clientele of rich women.^[5]