Archives West Finding Aid

Eugene Nicholas Kovalenko (b. 1934) studied at the University of California and received his Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Utah. Kovalenko's papers and writings in this collection are primarily comprised of correspondence with John R. Howard from 1972-1992. John R. Howard, served as Lewis & Clark College president from 1960 to 1981. He employed Kovalenko to work on the Immanuel Velikovsky Symposium held at Lewis & Clark College, August 16-18, 1972. Russian-born American scientist Immanuel Velikovsky is best known as the author of a number of controversial books, primarily arguing that ancient myths, legends, and accounts of catastrophic events related in the Bible and other texts have a basis in fact. Based on his findings, he proposed a revised chronology of Ancient Egypt, synchronizing it with the history of Israel. His ideas were widely criticized and rejected by scientists, physicists, Egyptologists, and others in the academic field. The collection also includes a small folder relating to the Northwest Soviet Liaison Corporation, a company formed by Kovalenko.