Walter Bowman Russell (May 19, 1871 – May 19, 1963) was an American artist and mystic known for his achievements as a painter, sculptor, author and builder and less well known as a natural philosopher and for his unified theory in
physicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and
cosmogonyCosmogony, or cosmogeny, is any scientific theory concerning the coming into existence or origin of the universe, or about how reality came to be. The word comes from the Greek κοσμογονία , from κόσμος "cosmos, the world", and the root of γίνομαι / γέγονα "to be born, come about"...
. He posited that the universe was founded on a unifying principle of rhythmic balanced interchange. This physical theory, laid out primarily in his books
The Secret of Light (1947) and
The Message of the Divine Iliad (1948–49), has not been accepted by mainstream scientists. Russell asserted that this was mainly due to a difference in the assumptions made about the existence of mind and matter; Russell assumes the existence of mind as cause while he believes that scientists in general assume the existence of mind as effect. Russell was also proficient in
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
,
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
,
ice skatingIce skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
, and was a
professorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the institution he founded, the University of Science and Philosophy. He believed mediocrity is self-inflicted and genius is self-bestowed. The content of his public lectures and his writing about living philosophy place him firmly in the New Thought Movement,
In 1963,
Walter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
in the national television evening news, commenting on Dr. Walter Russell's death, referred to him as "... the
Leonardo da VinciLeonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
of our time." After Walter Russell died (which the Russells referred to as being "refolded"), his wife Lao Russell kept USP going successfully until she herself died in 1988.
Biography
Born in
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, MA on May 19, 1871, Russell left formal schooling at the age of nine (ten in some accounts) in order to help support his family. At age thirteen he became a church
organistAn organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
. He paid his own way through Massachusetts Normal School of Art. His jobs included: art editor at
Collier's Magazine,
portraitthumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
painter, author and lecturer, architect (Hotel des Artists (rumored involvement), West 67th St., New York;
Alwyn CourtThe Alwyn Court is a 12-story apartment building located at 182 West 58th Street on the corner of Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, one block south of Central Park. It was built between 1907 and 1909, and was designed by Harde & Short in French Renaissance style, with elaborate...
at 58th and Seventh Avenue; a Gothic studio opposite the Museum of Natural History on 79th St.), sculptor (including busts of
Mark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Thomas Alva Edison, etc.).
In 1894 Russell married his first wife Helen Andrews, with whom he had two daughters.
Russell also studied physics, and in his latter scientific period he advocated the transmission or acquisition of energy from what he referred to as the 'fabric of space'.
His
SwannanoaSwannanoa is an Italianate villa built in 1912 by millionaire and philanthropist James H. Dooley above Rockfish Gap in northern Nelson County, Virginia, USA...
estate was the setting for his University of Science and Philosophy from the late 1940s to the early 1990s. He lived there with his second wife Lao Russell till May 19, 1963 and she continued his work at the University until May 5, 1988. The Russells welcomed visitors to Swannanoa. Today, the place is closed down.
Born Daisy Cook in England, and later known as Daisy Stebbing, Lao Russell (November 1904 – May 5, 1988) emigrated to the United States in the 1930s, where she marketed her own beauty products, such as
Beautipon, a breast enhancement cream, and
Slimcream, a breast reduction cream. She advertised these in publications such as
Popular Songs magazine, buying small classified ads. She was an admirer of
Mary Baker EddyMary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science , a Protestant American system of religious thought and practice religion adopted by the Church of Christ, Scientist, and others...
, the founder of
Christian ScienceChristian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
. Her relationship with Walter Russell began in 1946, when she read
The Man Who Tapped The Secrets Of The Universe and looked him up, eventually leading to Russell's re-marriage "...and who shall deny that her simple philosophy tapped the secret of the universe." Students at the University are not restricted to a study of Walter Russell scientific theories but they can also seek enlightenment in the works of Lao Russell on such topics among others as love, sex and reincarnation.
Legacy
Walter Russell presented theories on the "fundamental principles of energy dynamics," the nature of matter and the progression of the evolution of matter, and the depiction of the universe as a continuously changing, creating effort sustained by the systematic work effort of the energy of light. His depictions laws was a nonstandard cosmology. Students of his work today call it "Russelian science."
Russell portrayed the principles of the unity of universal law in a way which he believed brought many mainstream theories into direct conflict, or incompleteness, such as some of the principles of
Isaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
e. g.
weightIn science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity. Its magnitude , often denoted by an italic letter W, is the product of the mass m of the object and the magnitude of the local gravitational acceleration g; thus:...
as Dr. Russell explains: "... Weight should be measured dually as
temperatureTemperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
is. It should have an above and below zero... " He presented a view of the periodic table of elements that led him to the prediction of the existence of
plutoniumPlutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
and the two isotopes of
hydrogenHydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
,
deuteriumDeuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ...
and
tritiumTritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
which were known in theory but as yet undiscovered in nature, (as well as elements which are still undiscovered in nature) e. g. the inert gases 'alphanon', 'betanon' and 'gammanon' as well as the creation of
heavy waterHeavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
. Russell’s
periodic tableThe periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the 118 known chemical elements organized by selected properties of their atomic structures. Elements are presented by increasing atomic number, the number of protons in an atom's atomic nucleus...
has not been adopted by mainstream chemistry. However in 1923, Charles Steinmetz of
General ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
was able to corroborate the existence of some of the predicted transuranium elements by direct experimentation in the laboratory which helped to usher in the
Atomic AgeThe Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is a phrase typically used to delineate the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb Trinity on July 16, 1945...
, in 1945.
Such conflicts have left the work of Russell in obscurity. Robert Mayer claims this is because his cosmology, while complete in itself, would require upon its academic and scientific acceptance not only the upheaval of many scientific theories, but also matters such as the nature of God. Once, when asked how he acquired his scientific knowledge, he answered: "...I always looked for the Cause behind things and didn't fritter away my time analyzing Effect. All knowledge exists as Cause. It is simple. It is limited to Light of Mind and the electric wave of motion which records God's thinking in matter." At one point, an impressed
Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
advised Dr. Russell to lock all the new knowledge in the Smithsonian for one thousand years or so, or until man is ready for it.
In 1974, in the preface to
The Universal One, Lao Russell asserted that "...Dr. Russell's thought and awareness matured in expression and he clarified and rectified errors he felt that he had committed in his earlier writings."
Besides his scientific work, Russell also worked in an array of other fields, including the arts, architecture, business and writing. He was friend and advisor to Theodore Roosevelt and gave lectures about the connection between his universal principles and the applications of these principles to human life. The University of Science and Philosophy publishes his books and perpetuates his teachings.
Astronomical thermodynamics
Walter Russell asserted that neither light nor heat flows from one point of space to another. He stated the same of electricity and magnetism; that neither is a flow varying as the inverse of the square of the distance according to
Coulomb's LawCoulomb's law or Coulomb's inverse-square law, is a law of physics describing the electrostatic interaction between electrically charged particles. It was first published in 1785 by French physicist Charles Augustin de Coulomb and was essential to the development of the theory of electromagnetism...
, but a reproduction as the inverse of the cube of space. "Light does not travel. The light and heat which appear to come from the star or the sun has never left the star or the sun. That which man sees as light and feels as heat is the reproduced counterpart of the light and of the heat which is its cause."
Nuclear reactors
Lao and Walter Russell wrote the book
Atomic Suicide? as a warning against the misuse of
nuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
through the proliferation of nuclear power plants. According to Walter Russell, the increasing heat and pressure generated on the planet by the increasing use of nuclear energy would eventually cause major global changes of a catastrophic nature.
Russell and the New Age
The term
New Age in its contemporary sense can be traced back at least to 1888. Walter Russell spoke of "... this New Age philosophy of the spiritual re-awakening of man ... Man's purpose in this New Age is to acquire more and more knowledge ..." in his essay "Power Through Knowledge," which was published in 1944.
Russell accepted Richard Maurice Bucke's premise that not only the human body, but also human consciousness, had evolved in stages, that human consciousness periodically made progressive leaps, such as that from animal awareness to rational
self-awarenessSelf-awareness is the capacity for introspection and the ability to reconcile oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals...
, many millennia ago. Russell believed that humankind was on the brink of making another key, evolutionary leap in consciousness. The next cycle of human evolution, said Bucke, would be from rational self-consciousness to spiritual super-consciousness on the order of that experienced by sages, religious figures, and mystics of the past 2,500 years.
In 1947–48, Russell wrote: “This New Age is marking the dawn of a new world-thought. That new thought is a new cosmic concept of the value of man to man. The whole world is discovering that all mankind is one and that the unity of man is real – not just an abstract idea. Mankind is beginning to discover that the hurt of any man hurts every man, and, conversely, the uplift of any man uplifts every man” (Message of the Divine Iliad, vol. 2, p. 69). Russell’s predictions about what the New Age would bring included “a marriage between religion and science” (MDI p 257). Russell appeared to believe that this "New Age" would begin in 1946, based on a vision he had in 1921.
The most extensive treatment of Russell's ideas are found in his book, “A Course in Cosmic Consciousness.” Russell's ideas have also been digested by others.
University of Science and Philosophy
The University of Science and Philosophy was a home-study educational institution founded in 1949 by Russell and his wife Lao Russell, originally located at the
Swannanoa estateSwannanoa is an Italianate villa built in 1912 by millionaire and philanthropist James H. Dooley above Rockfish Gap in northern Nelson County, Virginia, USA...
in
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The original idea was based on the
Twilight ClubThe Twilight Club is an organization which was founded by Charles Wingate in the late 19th century with the intention of countering the moral decline of society by bolstering spiritual and ethical awareness. The Twilight Club was inspired by the British philosopher Herbert Spencer...
, originating in 1870 with
Herbert SpencerHerbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
and
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
and dedicated to the "upliftment of mankind." In 1921, it was reorganized and renamed "Society of Arts and Sciences" by Walter Russell,
Edwin MarkhamCharles Edwin Anson Markham was an American poet. From 1923 to 1931 he was Poet Laureate of Oregon.-Life:Edwin Markham was born in Oregon City, Oregon and was the youngest of 10 children; his parents divorced shortly after his birth...
and Thomas J. Watson Sr., Founder and Chairman of
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Walter Russell and Thomas J. Watson Sr. delivered a series of lectures on
business ethicsBusiness ethics is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.Business...
.
Books
- The Sea Children, 1901
- The Bending of the Twig, 1903
- The Age of Innocence, 1904
- The Universal One, 1926
- The Russell Genero-Radiative Concept or The Cyclic Theory of Continuous Motion, L. Middleditch Co., 1930
- The Secret of Light, 1st ed., 1947, 3rd ed., Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1994, ISBN 1-879605-44-9
- The Message of the Divine Iliad, vol. 1, 1948, vol 2. , 1949
- The Book of Early Whisperings, 1949
- The Home Study Course, (in cooperation with Lao Russell), 1st ed., 1950–52
- Scientific Answer to Human Relations, (in cooperation with Lao Russell), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1951
- A New Concept of the Universe, Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1953
- Atomic Suicide?, (in cooperation with Lao Russell), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1957
- The World Crisis: Its Explanation and Solution, (in cooperation with Lao Russell), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1958
- The One-World Purpose, (in cooperation with Lao Russell), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1960
Books published after his death:
- Think: The First Principle of Business Ethics, Univ of Science & Philosophy, 2nd ed., 2003, ISBN 1-879605-73-2
- Your Day and Night, (excerpt from The Message of the Divine Iliad), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1993, ISBN 1-879605-09-0
- The Sculptor Searches for Mark Twain's Immortality, (talk given 1934), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1991, ISBN 1-879605-31-7
- The Electric Nature of the Universe, (talk given 1936), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1991, ISBN 1-879605-00-7
- Space and the Hydrogen Age, (talk given 1939), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1989
- The Immortality of Man, (talk given 1944), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1991, ISBN 1-879605-33-3
- The Fifth Kingdom Man, (talk given 1946), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1991 ,ISBN 1-879605-01-5
- Genius Inherent In Everyone, (talk given 1946), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1994, ISBN 1-879605-36-8
- The Secret of Working Knowingly with God, (talk given 1946), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1993, ISBN 1-879605-38-4
- The Self Multiplication Principle, (talk given 1946), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1993, ISBN 1-879605-39-2
- The Meaning and Acquisition of Wealth, (talk given 1946), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1993, ISBN 1-879605-41-4
- The Dawn of a New Day in Human Relations, (talk given 1951), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1991, ISBN 1-879605-32-5
- Caring for Your Physical & Spiritual Health, (talk given 1951), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1994, ISBN 1-879605-40-6
- The Quest of the Grail, (unfinished manuscript), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1991, ISBN 1-879605-02-3
- Where Do I Go When I Die, (in cooperation with Lao Russell), (excerpts from other books), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1992, ISBN 1-879605-37-6
- The Electrifying Power of Man-Woman Balance, (in cooperation with Lao Russell), (is the same asThe One-World Purpose except 2 projects at the end of the book are missing), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1988
Further reading
- Clark, Glenn, The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe, Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1989 ISBN 1-879605-07-4
- Binder, Timothy A., In the Wave Lies the Secret of Creation, (contains a lot of unpublished drawings of Walter Russell), Univ of Science & Philosophy, 1995, ISBN 1-879605-45-7
- Hardy, Charles W., "A Worthy Messenger: The Life's Work of Walter Russell," 2011. ISBN 978-0-692-01400-4
External links