– September 4, 1984 in Hallein in the state of Salzburg),[1][2] is a writer of travel books who claimed to have visited Tibet in the 1930s and discovered an underground city there.
[5] According to Professor Herbert Novak, a longtime friend of Theodore Illion, the latter was born in Canada in a wealthy family descended from a branch of the British royalty, the Plantagenets.
[6] In the 1930s Theodore Illion published two travelogues : The Hulton Archive at Gettyimages contains photos of the writer, taken in London in April 1934, before his planned departure for Tibet: After World War II, the author wrote various articles and books on Tibetan medicine under the pseudonym of Theodor Burang or Theodor Nolling, notably : The first book was criticized for containing vague and superficial assertions that were not supported by genuine references or quotations.
[15] In his book Lost Cities of China, Central Asia, and India (1998), David Hatcher Childress raises the possibility that Darkness Over Tibet is an alarmist novel under the guise of a travelogue.
He finds it incredible that Illion’s publications should still be read and cited in so many scientific articles and books on Tibetan medicine, although the author never mentioned a single line of published reference or renowned Tibetan doctor in support of his more than vague assertions.