Ivan Terence Sanderson (30th January, 1911 – 19th February, 1973) was a British biologist and writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland, who became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Sanderson, along with Belgian-French biologist Bernard Heuvelmans, was considered a founding figure in cryptozoology (which Wikipedia simply refers to as "a pseudoscience and subculture" and ignores the fact that there are some reputable scientists involved -admittedly, a good few avoid the "C word"!). Sanderson authored material on paranormal subjects and wrote fiction under the pen name Terence Roberts.
Sanderson's father, who manufactured whisky professionally, was killed by a rhinoceros while assisting a documentary film crew in Kenya in 1925 -not as uncommon a fate as you might think. Sanderson attended Eton College and at 17 years of age began a year long trip around the world spending most of the time in Asia. Sanderson graduated with a BA Hons in zoology from Cambridge University faculty of Biology, a degree traditionally upgraded to MA (Cantab) in botany and ethnology after six years without further study.
Sanderson became somewhat famous (or infamous) for claiming to have seen an "olitiau" (a large cryptid bat) after being attacked by a creature he described as "the Granddaddy of all bats". Sanderson, while still a young man, conducted a number of expeditions into tropical areas in the 1920s and 1930s, gaining fame for his animal collecting as well as his popular writings on nature and travel. His Book of Great Jungles is a well researched and fascinating work.
During World War II, Sanderson worked for British Naval Intelligence, in charge of counter-espionage against the Germans in the Caribbean, then for British Security Coordination. There are some fascinating accounts from his work in the Carribean -a Dutch Army charge on a peacock blue orb of light as well as his own observations which he had to investigate in case the lights were some German activity. He finally finishing out the war as a press agent in New York City and there was a persistent rumour that, occasionally after the war Sanderson still carried out some secret work.
Sanderson made New York his home and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. In the 1960s Sanderson lived in Knowlton Township in northwestern New Jersey before moving to Manhattan. He often travelled from his New Jersey home to his New York apartment to visit friends and to appear on radio and television programs.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Sanderson was widely published in such journals of popular adventure as True, Sports Afield, and Argosy. He had also written in the 1940s in general-interest publications such as the Saturday Evening Post. In the 1950s, Sanderson was a frequent guest on John Nebel's paranormal-themed radio program as well as being a frequent guest on The Garry Moore Show where he brought live specimens on talk shows. His friend and fellow cryptozoologist Loren Coleman says that Sanderson could be skeptical. In Mysterious America, Coleman writes that Sanderson discovered the 1909 "Jersey Devil" incident was an elaborate real estate hoax. Sadly, the Jersey Devil is still promoted as a genuine creature -even by those professing to have read Sanderson's work.
Sanderson was an early follower of Charles Fort and he noted how his collection of papers had been lost in Scotland due to bombing during WW2. He became known for writings on topics such as cryptozoology and that is a word Sanderson created and used in the early 1940s it was not a word created by Heuvelmans. He paid special attention to the search for lake monsters, sea serpents, Mokèlé-mbèmbé, giant penguins, Yeti, and Sasquatch.
Sanderson founded the Ivan T. Sanderson Foundation in August 1965 on his New Jersey property, which became the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU) in 1967. SITU was a non-profit organization that investigated claims of strange phenomena ignored by mainstream science. I was a proud SITU member up until its becoming defunct.
It might be asked why Sanderson is included in the list of founding members of the study of CE3K/AE reports? Not only did Sanderson write about them but he was one of the first investigators to investigate the famous "Flatwoods Monster" incident.
As a naturalist who became unwillingly embroiled in odd affairs I was interested in what Sanderson, as a biologist, had to write and say about "cryptids" and he did, of course, write the masterwork from which almost every Cryptozoologist has borrowed since: Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life: The Story Of Sub-Humans On Five Continents From The Early Ice Age Until Today.
Two other books of Sanderson's were also early influences and I have fond memories of purchasing these second hand from the tiny (but packed beyond capacity) Bristol Book Centre. These were Things and More Things.
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We, of course, need at least one photo of Sanderson in his office this one circa 1965 and taken from the excellent Richard Grigonis page.
Sanderson was married twice. His wife Alma accompanied him on the travels discussed in Caribbean Treasure and Living Treasure.
In 1973 Sanderson died of brain cancer in New Jersey, which had become his adopted home.
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