Cleve Backster | |
|---|---|
 Backster in 1969 | |
| Born | Grover Cleveland Backster Jr. February 27, 1924 |
| Died | June 24, 2013 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Interrogation specialist |
| Known for | Theory of "Primary Perception" |
Grover Cleveland "Cleve" Backster Jr. (February 27, 1924 – June 24, 2013) 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. These claims have been rejected by the scientific community.