2010 Reprint of 1946 Edition. Walter Russell (1871-1963) was an American polymath, known for his achievements in painting, sculpture, architecture, and for his unified theory in physics and cosmogony. 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 differences between himself and scientists in their assumptions about the existence of mind or matter. Russell was also proficient in philosophy, music, ice skating, and was a professor at the institution he founded, the University of Science and Philosophy. He believed mediocrity is self-inflicted and genius is self-bestowed. In 1963, Walter Cronkite in the national television evening news, commenting on Dr. Walter Russell's death, referred to him as "... the Leonardo da Vinci of our time."