Michael H. Hart
Michael H. Hart (born April 27, 1932) is an American author, astrophysicist and white nationalist. Since 1978, he has published five books, most notably the best-selling work, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History.
Michael H. Hart
- Name
- Michael H.
- Born
- 27 April 1932
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Education
- * Cornell University (AB)
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- physicist · astronomer · astrophysicist · writer · historian · political activist · lecturer · lawyer
- Fields
- astrophysics · astronomy · physics · astrobiology
- Movements
- white nationalism · White separatism
- Languages
- English
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Michael H. Hart (born April 27, 1932) is an American author, astrophysicist and white nationalist. Since 1978, he has published five books, most notably the best-selling work, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History.
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Michael H. Hart (born 1932) is an astronomer, astrophysicist and historian, among other activities, of American nationality. The astronomer was born in New York City.
Michael H. Hart was educated at Adelphi University, Cornell University and New York University, among others. The astronomer worked for Anne Arundel Community College, California Institute of Technology and Trinity University, among others and is a member of American Astronomical Society and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Activity centred on astrobiology, astronomy and astrophysics. The astronomer is associated with white nationalism and White separatism. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q937063 · wikipedia · Michael H. Hart
In this article
Biography
Biography
Hart studied at Cornell University, New York University and Adelphi University. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is astrophysics, astronomy and physics. Employment is recorded with University of Maryland, California Institute of Technology and Trinity University.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Michael H. Hart • Born — 27 April 1932 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Education — * Cornell University (AB) • New York Law School (LLB) • Adelphi University (MS) • Princeton University (PhD) Michael H. Hart (born April 27, 1932) is an American author, astrophysicist and white nationalist. Since 1978, he has published five books, most notably the best-selling work, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History.
Fermi paradox
Fermi paradox
Hart published in 1975 a detailed examination of the Fermi paradox: the contrast between the extreme likelihood of extraterrestrial life somewhere in the universe and the total absence of any evidence for this. Hart's work has prompted several papers as answers. Geoffrey A. Landis writes: "A more proper name for [the paradox] would be the Fermi-Hart paradox, since while Fermi is credited with first asking the question, Hart was the first to do a rigorous analysis showing that the problem is not trivial, and also the first to publish his results". Robert H. Gray views Hart as the proper originator of this argument, in Hart's 1975 paper. Gray argues that the term Fermi paradox is a misnomer; that it is not the work of Fermi, nor is it an actual paradox (rather an argument). He therefore proposes that, instead of the (standard, but in his view incorrect) name Fermi paradox, it should be known as the Hart-Tipler argument – acknowledging Hart's priority as the argument's originator, but also acknowledging Frank J. Tipler's substantial extension of Hart's arguments in his 1980 paper "Extraterrestrial intelligent beings do not exist". Hart is an advocate of the Rare Earth hypothesis; he proposed a very narrow habitable zone based on climate studies. He advocated for this hypothesis in the book which he co-edited, "Extraterrestrials: Where are They", in particular in the chapter he contributed to it "Atmospheric Evolution, the Drake Equation and DNA: Sparse Life in an Infinite Universe".
The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History
The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History
Hart's first book was The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (1978), which has sold more than 500,000 copies and been translated into many languages. The first person on Hart's list was Muhammad, chosen over Jesus or Moses. Hart attributes this to the fact that Muhammad was "supremely successful" in both the religious and secular realms. He also accredits Muhammad for his role in the development of Islam, far more influential than Jesus' contribution to the development of Christianity. Hart claims that Paul the Apostle was more pivotal than Jesus to the growth of Christianity.
White nationalism
White nationalism
Hart has described himself as a white separatist and is active in white separatist causes. In 1996, he addressed a conference organized by Jared Taylor's white separatist organization, New Century Foundation, publisher of American Renaissance. He proposed partitioning the United States into four states: a white state, a black state, a Hispanic state, and an integrated mixed-race state. At the 2006 American Renaissance conference, Hart, who is Jewish, had a public confrontation with David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and former Louisiana state representative, over Duke's antisemitic remarks. Hart then stood up, called Duke a Nazi and stormed out. Some participants jeered at Hart. After this incident, Hart left American Renaissance. In 2009, Hart organized a racist conference in Baltimore with the title Preserving Western Civilization. It was billed as addressing the need to defend "America's Judeo-Christian heritage and European identity." Invited speakers included: Lawrence Auster, Peter Brimelow, Steven Farron, Julia Gorin, Lino A. Graglia, Henry C. Harpending, Roger D. McGrath, Pat Richardson, J. Philippe Rushton, Srdja Trifković, and Brenda Walker. In this conference, Hart compared the Qur'an to Mein Kampf and Islam to Nazism.
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Books
• The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, 1978 (Revised Edition, 1992) • Extra-Terrestrials, Where Are They? (co-edited with Ben Zuckerman), 1982 (Second Edition, 1995) • A View from the Year 3000 (Poseidon Press, 1999) • Understanding Human History (Washington Summit Publishers, 2007) • Restoring America (VDare, 2015) • Puzzles and Paradoxes (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2024)
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q937063: Michael H. Hart
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Michael H. Hart”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Hart, Michael H. An Explanation for the Absence of Extraterrestrials on Earth. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 16. 128–135. 1975.
- 2.Wesson, Paul. Cosmology, extraterrestrial intelligence, and a resolution of the Fermi-Hart paradox. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 31. 161–170. 1990.
- 3.Landis, Geoffrey A. The Fermi Paradox: An Approach Based on Percolation Theory. Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 51. 5. 163–166. 1998.
- 4.Gray, Robert H. The Fermi paradox is neither Fermi's nor a paradox. Astrobiology. 15. 3. 195–199. 2015. 1531-1074.
- 5.Tipler, F.J. Extraterrestrial intelligent beings do not exist. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 21. 267–281. September 1980.
- 6.Extraterrestrials: Where are They? 2nd ed., Eds. Ben Zuckerman and Michael H. Hart (Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 1995)
- 7.Alphonse Dougan, "Understanding Prophet Muhammad Beyond the Stereotypes", The Fountain, Issue 46 (April–June 2004).
- 8.Swain, Carol M. Contemporary Voices of White Nationalism in America. Cambridge University Press. 201. 24 March 2003. 978-0-521-81673-1.
- 9.Beirich, Heidi. Irreconcilable Differences. Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. 2006.
- 10.Tilove, Jonathan. White Nationalist Conference Ponders Whether Jews and Nazis Can Get Along. The Forward. 2006-03-03.
- 11.Statement of Purpose. Preserving Western Civilization.
- 12.Conference 2009. Preserving Western Civilization.
- 13.Californians for Population Stabilization Board Chair Ben Zuckerman Co-Edited Book with White Nationalist. Southern Poverty Law Center. 2017-04-19.
References
Citations
References
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Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q937063: Michael H. HartWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
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This entry is compiled from 14 catalogued sources across 9 independent registers. The registers consulted are Crossref registry, Internet Archive, Wikimedia Foundation, The Art Institute of Chicago, DOAJ, Wellcome Collection, DataCite, National Library of Medicine and Wikipedia. Every statement above is held against the register that stated it; where the registers are silent, the entry is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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