Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, engineer, and later mystical theologian who underwent a profound spiritual crisis in his mid-fifties that he interpreted as a direct opening to the spiritual world. He spent the remainder of his life writing detailed accounts of his alleged conversations with angels and explorations of heaven and hell, while also developing a theological system that influenced William Blake, Goethe, and the Transcendentalists. His earlier scientific work included genuinely original contributions to astronomy and neuroscience.