Origins & Early Life

David Vaughan Icke ( vawn EYEK; born 29 April 1952) is an English conspiracy theorist, author and a former semi-professional footballer, sports journalist and broadcaster. He has written over 20 books, self-published since the mid-1990s, and spoken in more than 25 countries. An aspiring professional football goalkeeper in his early years, he retired aged 21 from playing due to rheumatoid arthritis. He subsequently became a sports journalist.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

In 1981, he became a sports broadcaster for the BBC, but his contract was terminated in 1990 over his vocal opposition to the Community Charge. In an effort to relieve his arthritis, he began to engage with alternative medicine and New Age philosophies in the 1980s, and this encouraged his interest in Green politics. He joined the Green Party and became a national spokesperson within six months, but left the party soon after. In 1990, Icke started visiting Betty Shine, a psychic who told him he was on Earth for a purpose and would receive messages from the spirit world. This led him to claim in 1991 to be a "Son of the Godhead" and that the world would soon be devastated by tidal waves and earthquakes.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He repeated this on the BBC show Wogan. His...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Albert Bassermann — Contemporary (Died in 1952) (1952): Esteemed German stage and screen actor, celebrated for his dramatic versatility.
• Amy Tan — Contemporary (Born in 1952) (1952): Acclaimed American novelist celebrated for exploring Chinese-American family dynamics.
• Angela Strank — Contemporary (Born in 1952) (1952): British engineer and Chief Scientist at BP, specializing in downstream technology.
• Al-Qurtubi — Shared historical date (04-29 · Died) (1273): Polymath jurist and scholar renowned for Tafsir al-Qurtubi in Al-Andalus.
• Albert Hofmann — Shared historical date (04-29 · Died) (2008): Swiss chemist renowned for synthesizing LSD and pioneering psychedelic research.
• Bedřich Hrozný — Historical peer (Died in 1952) (1952): Pioneering Czech orientalist who deciphered the ancient Hittite language.
• Benedetto Croce — Historical peer (Died in 1952) (1952): Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and political liberal.
• Abigail Spencer — Historical peer (Born in 1981) (1981): American actress, producer, and writer known for roles in soap operas and dramas.
• Alicia Keys — Historical peer (Born in 1981) (1981): Award-winning pianist and vocalist known for her soulful R&B sound.
• A. J. P. Taylor — Historical peer (Died in 1990) (1990): Influential English historian specializing in 19th and 20th-century European diplomacy.
• 1952 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1952
• April 29 (04-29) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on April 29