VELIKOVSKY, Immanuel

Immanuel Velikovsky was a Russian-American physician and psychoanalyst whose controversial theories about ancient history and planetary catastrophes sparked one of the most heated scientific controversies of the mid-20th century. Born in Vitebsk in the Russian Empire to a Jewish family, Velikovsky studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and later practiced psychoanalysis before developing his interest in comparative mythology and ancient history.

Velikovsky’s most famous work, “Worlds in Collision” (1950), proposed that Venus was originally a comet ejected from Jupiter around 1500 BCE, which subsequently passed close to Earth multiple times, causing catastrophic events recorded in ancient texts and mythologies worldwide. He argued that these planetary encounters explained biblical events like the parting of the Red Sea, the plagues of Egypt, and Joshua’s long day, as well as similar catastrophic narratives from other cultures.

His theories suggested that electromagnetic forces, rather than gravitational forces alone, governed planetary motion, and that Earth’s rotation had been disrupted by these encounters, causing worldwide disasters including the destruction of Atlantis. Velikovsky claimed that Venus only settled into its current orbit around 687 BCE, after a final encounter with Mars that also affected Earth.

The scientific establishment overwhelmingly rejected Velikovsky’s theories as pseudoscience, noting that his proposed planetary mechanics violated well-established laws of physics and astronomy. Critics pointed out that the gravitational forces required for such encounters would have destroyed Earth entirely, and that no geological or archaeological evidence supported his catastrophic timeline. However, Velikovsky’s ideas gained significant popular support, leading to academic boycotts and public debates that highlighted tensions between mainstream science and alternative theories.