James Mac Kaye - The Dynamic Universe

The Dynamic Universe

In 1930 MacKaye startled the world after announcing an alternative to Albert Einstein's General theory of relativity. His theory of "radiation" was first presented at the twenty-ninth annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association held at Columbia University. Contrary to Einstein, MacKaye proposed a dynamic universe, assuming that all space was filled with radiation of super-frequency and super-penetration moving in all directions with the speed of light. As he claimed in the concluding paragraph of his paper, subsequently published in The Journal of Philosophy, "If the radiation theory is sound, it is plain that Einstein has discovered nothing about time, space, motion or acceleration unknown to the Newtonians, or shown that what they have hitherto assumed about those magnitudes is contrary to any fact in nature." The theory was described as "magnificent" by William Pepperell Montague and appears to have been generally well received by the audience. He later expanded his views in the book, The Dynamic Universe, published in 1931.

MacKaye entered the academic profession only in 1931, when he became a lecturer at Rollins College. The following year he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at Dartmouth College. At the end of 1934 MacKaye was hospitalized at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he had a gall bladder surgery. Although the doctors predicted recovery, he died a week later. A service was held on January 24 at the Memorial Church of Harvard University, where his remains were cremated.