Otto Edler von Graeve

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Otto Edler von Graeve (1872–1948) was a German advocate of dowsing, the practice of using a divining rod to locate water, minerals, or other hidden things. He was born in Gotteswalde and later served as a Major in the Prussian army before settling in Gernrode, Anhalt. In 1913 he published a book about his dowsing methods. He travelled to the United States in 1914 to search for radium and also dowsed in the Sinai and Palestine. Reports from 1915 mention him dowsing for water at several sites around Jerusalem. He is linked to the discovery of springs near Gernrode and to a bath named Ottobad. In 1920 he attempted to help with water drilling in Reutlingen, but the drilling failed. He married Elsbeth Schrey in 1902 and they had seven children. In a 1914 interview he described a theory that underground radioactive waves are disturbed by water or minerals, and he demonstrated finding a coin with his rod. Scientists generally regard dowsing as unproven and attribute successes to chance or the ideomotor effect. He died in Heidelberg in 1948 at age 75.