James T. Mangan

James T. Mangan (1896–1970) was an eccentric, public relations man and writer on self-help topics who publicly claimed ownership of outer space in 1948.

Mangan founded what he called the Nation of Celestial Space and registered it with the Recorder of Deeds and Titles of Cook County, Illinois, on January 1, 1949. Eventually, the Nation claimed 100,000 members and in 1958, Mangan applied for membership in the United Nations and erected a flag outside the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City before millions of television viewers. He consistently and stubbornly insisted that Celestia - his nickname for the Nation of Celestial Space - was a legal and valid micronation, going so far as to issue passports to astronauts and protest the incursions of satellites on his domain.

In his book The Secret of Perfect Living, Mangan created a psychological system slightly resembling transcendental meditation, in which readers were encouraged to engage their subconscious minds and obtain specific mental states by focusing their attention on mantra-like one-word affirmations called switchwords; for example, focusing on "GIGGLE" would be useful "to get in mood for writing."

Birth and Death Data: Born 1896, Died 1970

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1940

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-054688 10-in. 8/6/1940 We're all Americans, all true blue Dick Todd Male vocal solo, with vocal quartet and jazz/dance band lyricist, composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Mangan, James T.," accessed November 24, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/355279.

Mangan, James T.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/355279.

"Mangan, James T.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/355279

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