Immanuel Velikovsky

Immanuel Velikovsky (1895–1979) was a Russian-born American writer who argued that recent planetary encounters caused catastrophes recorded in ancient myths and histories. His claims, especially in Worlds in Collision, were rejected by mainstream scientists.

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Worlds in Collision: A 1950 book by Immanuel Velikovsky proposing that Venus and Mars caused catastrophes witnessed by ancient peoples. This bestseller presented the planetary-collision thesis that made Velikovsky widely known.
Venus: The second planet from the Sun, with a dense carbon-dioxide atmosphere and a surface hotter than Mercury’s. Velikovsky claimed Venus emerged from Jupiter and passed close to Earth.
Harlow Shapley: An American astronomer who directed the Harvard College Observatory from 1921 to 1952. He opposed publication of Velikovsky’s claims through his influence in academic science.
Worlds in Collision controversy: A public and scientific dispute over the publication and scientific claims of Velikovsky’s 1950 book. The book provoked a highly visible conflict between academic scientists and its publisher.
Oedipus and Akhnaton: A 1960 book by Velikovsky arguing that the Greek Oedipus myth preserved memories of Egyptian history. It extended his effort to synchronize ancient histories through comparative myth.
Jupiter: The largest planet in the Solar System, a gas giant with a massive atmosphere and many moons. His account made Jupiter the source of the matter that became Venus.
Lloyd K. Garrison: An American lawyer and editor who worked with Macmillan during the controversy over Worlds in Collision. His role in the book’s publication became a flashpoint in the dispute.
Immanuel Velikovsky Reconsidered: A 1976 volume of essays examining Velikovsky’s theories and their reception, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The collection documented the controversy and arguments presented at the 1974 meeting.
Ages in Chaos: A book series by Velikovsky proposing a major revision of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern chronology. The series applied his revisionist approach to the dating of ancient civilizations.
Orbital resonance: A gravitational relationship in which orbiting bodies exert regular, repeated influence because their orbital periods are commensurable. Stable orbital dynamics became central to scientists’ rebuttals of his close-encounter scenario.