# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/cleve-backster
# Generated: 2026-08-13T02:27:36.809Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/cleve-backster"
name: "Cleve Backster"
slug: "cleve-backster"
description: "Grover Cleveland \"Cleve\" Backster Jr. was an interrogation specialist for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), best known for his experiments with plants using a polygraph instrument in the 1960s which led to his theory of primary perception where he claimed that plants feel pain and have extrasensory perception (ESP), which was widely reported in the media."
tagline: "Introduced polygraph or \"lie-detector\" tests, worked in the CIA. Later performed experiments and theorized \"plant perception\". (1924-2013)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Cleve_Backster_1969.png?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "United States"
  isoCode: "US"
category:
  name: "Scientists"
  slug: "scientists"
profileType:
  name: "Scientist"
  slug: "scientist"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631"
birthDate: "1924-02-27"
deathDate: "2013-06-24"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           47.78
  momentum:             0
  historical:           7.501376
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     55
  profileCompleteness:  80
  trendDirection:       "FALLING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
platforms:
  - platform:  "IMDB"
    url:       "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5731418/"
    handle:    "nm5731418"
  - platform:  "WEBSITE"
    url:       "http://www.primaryperception.info/"
sources:
  - url: "https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%8B%E9%87%8C%E5%A4%AB%C2%B7%E5%B7%B4%E5%85%8B%E6%96%AF%E7%89%B9"
    title: "克里夫·巴克斯特"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleve_Backster"
    title: "Cleve Backster"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%A9%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%88_%D8%A8%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1"
    title: "کلیو بکستر"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleve_Backster"
    title: "Cleve Backster"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%94%D5%AC%D5%AB%D5%BE_%D4%B2%D5%A5%D6%84%D5%BD%D5%A9%D5%A5%D6%80"
    title: "Քլիվ Բեքսթեր"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleve_Backster"
    title: "Cleve Backster"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B4%E3%83%BB%E3%83%90%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC"
    title: "クリーヴ・バクスター"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%2C_%D0%9A%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B2"
    title: "Бакстер, Клив"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5131998"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump