David-Neel, Alexandra (1868-1969)

French traveler, author, and Tibetan scholar. Born in the Paris suburb of Saint-Mandé on October 24, 1868, Alexandra David-Neel had a lonely childhood and spent much of her time reading about Eastern religions and philosophy. David-Neel was a practicing Buddhist and the first European woman to enter the forbidden city of Lhasa in Tibet. She spent 14 years in Tibet, living simply and studying Tibetan religion and occultism. Her two major books, translated into English as Magic and Mystery in Tibet and Initiations and Initiates in Tibet, are accounts of her first-hand observation of Tibetan occult and religious feats and have been frequently reprinted.

David-Neel received many honors for her books, including the gold medal of the Geographical Society of Paris, the French Legion of Honor, the Insigne of the Chinese Order of the Brilliant Star, and the silver medal of the Royal Belgian Geographical Society. She has also been the subject of several biographies since her death on September 8, 1969, in Pigne, France.