Gottfried de Purucker was born in 1874 at Suffern, New York, son of a prominent Anglican minister who for some years served as chaplain of the American Church in Geneva, Switzerland. He studied and mastered 13 languages, and specialized in Greek, Latin and later on in Sanskrit. 
In 1903 he moved to California and settled in the International Headquarters of The Theosophical Society (Point Loma). Dr. de Purucker was head of The Theosophical Society from 1929 until his passing in 1942. Perhaps his greatest contribution to spiritual thought has been his elucidation of the writings of Helena P. Blavatsky. 

G. de Purucker distinguishes himself by the clarity with which he explains theosophical teachings and the accuracy with which he preserves their purity. We find in him the rare combination of a scholar with a comprehensive knowledge and a deep sense of compassion with humanity.

His works on Esoteric Philosophy are imbued with the universal message of the unity of all living beings, which, to this day, makes a strong appeal to everyone who has humanity's fate at heart. His books can be rightfully considered as theosophical standard works, since in a well-founded way he disproves the misconceptions and fantasies that, unfortunately, are always accompanying any attempt to free humanity from the veils of illusion.

Anyone who to this day, more than seventy years after his passing, searches in his voluminous oeuvre in order to find answers to actual questions of life, will rarely be disappointed.