UFO Timeline

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1877.0900 Martian Canals

Martian Canals SETI : Following observations during a particularly favourable opposition of Mars in September 1877 , Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli drew maps of Mars with lines wh...

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1878.0124 John Martin sighting

Image needed On 24 January 1878, John Martin reports a dark “object” high up in the northern sky. The “object” was reported as being about “ the size of a large saucer” and “evide...

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1883.0812 Bonilla photos

Bonilla photos "Impact" Rating = 11 "Credibility" Rating = 12 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 6 On 12 August 1883, photographs were taken by astronomer Jose A y Bonilla...

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1889.1225 Oliver Lerch disappearance

Image needed 25 December 1889 is one of several dates (depending upon the source) ascribed to the alleged disappearance of one Oliver Lerch (or, again depending upon the source, O...

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1896.0000 Tsiolkovskii article

Image needed Astronautics : In 1896 , Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovskii writes “Exploration of Space by Means of Reactive Apparatus”.

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1896.1100 Airship Wave

Image needed There was a wave of Airship reports between mid-November 1896 to the end of April 1897 , with sporadic earlier sightings of airships.

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1897.0417 Crash at Aurora

Image needed "Impact" Rating = 13 "Credibility" Rating = 4 "Expert" Rating = 5 "Strangeness" Rating = 13 Alleged airship crash in Aurora, Texas on 17th April 1897 involving report...

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1897.0419 Hamilton calf napping

Hamilton calf napping "Impact" Rating = 14 "Credibility" Rating = 4 "Expert" Rating = 5 "Strangeness" Rating = 12 Alleged airship encounter on 19 April 1897 involving attempted ca...

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1900.1217 Guzman Prize

Guzman Prize SETI : The Pierre Guzman prize (commonly referred to as “the Guzman Prize”) of one hundred thousand francs is announced in Paris by Clara Gouguet in memory of her son...

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1901.0209 Tesla and mars

Tesla and mars An article by Nikola Tesla entitled “Talking with the Planets” is published in Collier’s Weekly in which he stated that “at the present stage of progress, there wou...

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1902.0102 Goddard and other worlds

Goddard and other worlds SETI : On 2 January 1902, Robert H Goddard publishes an essay entitled “The Habitability of Other Worlds” in which he deduced the existence of extrasolar...

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1905.0000 Welsh lights

Welsh lights Britain : “Welsh lights” (commonly referred to as “the Egryn lights”) reported during 1905. Commonly linked to the Welsh Methodist revival of that year and the preach...

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1908.0630 Tunguska Event

Tunguska Event "Impact" Rating = 14 "Credibility" Rating = 14 "Expert" Rating = 6 "Strangeness" Rating = 5 On 30 June 1908, an explosion occurs over the Tunguska region of Russia....

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1909.0000 airship waves

Image needed Worldwide waves of airship sightings during 1909 -1910 and 1913, with sporadic later reports.

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1915.0821 Vanished Battalion

Vanished Battalion Britain : Alleged abduction/disappearance at Gallipoli of the 1/5 Norfolks battalion of the British 163 rd Brigade on 21 August 1915. (Commonly referred to as “...

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1917.1013 Fatima apparition

Fatima apparition "Impact" Rating = 13 "Credibility" Rating = 6 "Expert" Rating = 8 "Strangeness" Rating = 8 Alleged apparition atFatima on 13 October 1917. Sometimes referred to...

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1918.0000 Goddard on suspended animation

Image needed Astronautics : In 1918, Robert H Goddard writes about the use of suspended animation for interstellar travel in his unpublished manuscript entitled “The Ultimate Migr...

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1919.0120 Marconi and other worlds

Marconi and other worlds SETI : On 20 January 1919 , the New York Times prints an article entitled “Radio to Stars, Marconi’s Hope” in which Guglielmo Marconi is reported to have...

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1924.0822 Todd and Mars

Todd and Mars SETI : On 22 August 1924 , during an approach of Mars, David Todd attempts to detect radio signals from that planet.

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1929.0000 Generation ships

Image needed Astronautics : In 1929, the “Generation ship” idea was proposed by John D Bernal in his book “ The World, the Flesh, and the Devil ”.

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1931.0126 Fortean Society founded

Image needed On 26 January 1931 , the Fortean Society was founded.

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1933.0000 Ghost Fliers

Image needed Sightings of “ghost airplanes” and “ghost fliers” reported over Scandinavia between 1933 and 1937 , with sporadic reports in other countries.

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1938.1030 Orson Welles broadcast

Image needed Radio broadcast: Dramatization of H G Wells’ 1898 novel “The War of the Worlds” broadcast by CBS on 30 October 1938 . Performed by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theate...

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1942.0225 "Battle of Los Angeles"

"Battle of Los Angeles" "Impact" Rating = 14 "Credibility" Rating = 14 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 6 On 25th February 1942,Los Angeles was blacked out whilst U.S. A...

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1943.0000 Foo Fighters

Image needed Foo fighters reported by Allied pilots during 1943 - 1945 in the European and Far Eastern theaters, with sporadic earlier reports.

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1943.1014 Schweinfurt incident

Image needed On 14 October 1943, the Schweinfurt, Germany incident occurred.

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1945.0214 Georg Klein's disc

Image needed Georg Klein claims to have seens a test flight of a flying disc near Prague on 14 February 1945. The claims were made in an interview given to Zurich newspaper Tages-...

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1945.0300 Shaver Mystery

Image needed “I Remember Lemuria!”, based on material by Richard S Shaver , published in the March 1945 issue of Amazing Stories. This was the first part of the Shaver Mystery.

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1945.0500 Leinster's "First Contact"

Image needed The short story “First Contact”, by Murray Leinster, was published in the May 1945 edition of Astounding magazine.

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1945.1205 Flight 19 incident

Flight 19 incident "Impact" Rating = 13 "Credibility" Rating = 12 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 5 On 5 December 1945 , the Flight 19 incident (involving 5 Avenger tor...

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1946.0000 "Ghost Rockets"

Image needed “Ghost Rockets” (or “ghost bombs” or “spook bombs”) were reported in Sweden and neighboring Scandinavian countries from 1946 - 1948 , with sporadic earlier sightings.

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1946.0500 Operation Paperclip

Image needed During May 1946, Operation Overcast was renamed Operation Paperclip, continuing US attempts to obtain German technology and scientists.

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1947.0317 Plane with circular body

Image needed On 17 March 1947 , the US Navy contract for development of a plane with a flat circular body is terminated. The plane had the military designation XF-5U-1 and was bas...

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1947.0621 Maury Island incident

"Battle of Los Angeles" "Impact" Rating = 14 "Credibility" Rating = 14 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 6 On 21 June 1947 , near Maury Island, Washington there was an al...

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1947.0624 Fred Johnson sighting

Image needed On 24 June 1947 , Portland prospector Fred M Johnson reports several UFOs in the sky, in Cascade Mountains of Orgeon. Fred Johnson claimed the compass hand on his wat...

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1947.0624 Kenneth Arnold sighting

Image needed On 24 June 1947 , businessman/pilot Kenneth Arnold of Boise, Idaho claims to see 9 objects flying “like a saucer would if you skipped it across the water” near Mount...

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1947.0704 Portland sightings

Image needed On 4 July 1947 , there was a series of sightings in Portland, Oregon involving various police officers and civilians.

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1947.0704 Press reports

Image needed On 4 July 1947 , press reports included coverage of statement by the US Air Force on UFOs. That statement suggested causes of sightings may include “large hailstones...

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1947.0704 United Airlines sighting

United Airlines sighting "Impact" Rating = 12 "Credibility" Rating = 11 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 6 On 4 July 1947 , the United Airlines Flight 105 sighting occur...

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1947.0707 William Rhodes photos

Image needed On 7 July 1947 , William H Rhodes of Phoenix, Arizona claims to have taken 2 photographs of a flying disk over Phoenix.

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1947.0708 Muroc Field sightings

Image needed On 8 July 1947 , there were a series of sightings at, and near, Muroc Field. This incident is Case 71 in Isaac Koi's "Top 100" article , since it was referred to in 3...

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1947.0708 Roswell story

Roswell "Impact" Rating = 14 "Credibility" Rating = 14 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 6 On 8 July 1947 , the Roswell Daily Record prints a story with the headline “RAA...

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1947.0709 Roswell weather balloon

Image needed On 9 July 1947 , various newspapers report that the USAAF had corrected its press release of the previous day, stating that the debris recovered near Roswell was a we...

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1947.0710 FBI "access to discs"

FBI "access to discs" J Edgar Hoover handwrites an annotations on memo dated 10 July 1947 . His annotation states the FBI should “insist upon full access to discs recovered”, with...

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1947.0714 Newsweek article

Image needed The 14 July 1947 issue of Newsweek contained an article entitled “Flying Saucer Spots Before Their Eyes”.

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1947.0721 "Life" article

Image needed The 21 July 1947 issue of “Life” magazine contains an article entitled “Flying Saucers Break Out over the U. S.”.

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1947.0729 Arnold's second sighting

Image needed On 24 January 1878, Kenneth Arnold ’s second sighting, of several, during a flight near LaGrande, Oregon.

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1947.0730 "Topside Inquiries"

"Topside Inquiries" An undated page possibly attached to an Air Force document dated 30 July 1947 includes a comment that “lack of topside inquiries, when compared to the prompt a...

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1947.0814 Gallup poll

Gallup poll On 14 August 1947 , results of first Gallup Poll including questions on UFOs are released, indicating that 9 out of 10 Americans had heard of the phenomenon. One quest...

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1947.0903 "Toilet seats" memo

"Toilet seats" memo On 3 September 1947 , a memo from Colonel R H Smith (Assistant Chief of Staff Intelligence) to several Commanding Generals in the Army Air Forces stated that t...

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1947.0923 Twining memo

Twining memo On 23 September 1947 , a memo from Lt-General Nathan F Twining (chief of Air Materiel Command) to Brig-General George Schulgen (Commanding General, Army Air Forces) r...

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1947.0924 "Toilet seats" memo forwarded

"Toilet seats" memo forwarded On 24 September 1947 , a memo from FBI Assistant Director D M Ladd to FBI Director J Edgar Hoover summarises, and attaches, the 3 September 1947 memo...

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1947.0927 Hoover on "toilet seats" memo

Hoover on "toilet seats" memo On 24 September 1947 , FBI Director J Edgar Hoover wrote to Major General McDonald informing him that the FBI would be discontinuing all investigativ...

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1947.1001 FBI Bulletin

FBI Bulletin On 1 October 1947, FBI Bulletin Number 57 informs FBI offices that in future all flying disc reports should be referred to the Air Force

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1947.1027 Flying saucer song

Image needed On 27 October 1947 , the song “When You See Those Flying Saucers”, written by Charles Grean an Cy Coben, is filed for copyright.

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1947.1216 Horten brothers memo

Horten brothers memo On 16 December 1947 , Reimar Horten and Walter Horten (commonly referred to as “the Horten brothers ”) are discussed in a US Army memo entitled “Horton Brothe...

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1947.1230 Project Sign established

Project Sign established On 30 December 1947 , a letter from Major General L C Craigie (Chief of Staff) to the Commanding General of the Air Materiel Command directed the setting...

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1948.0000 Fate magazine starts

Image needed During 1948 , “Fate” magazine was started by Raymond Palmer and Curtis Fuller.

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1948.0107 Captain Mantell incident

Captain Mantell incident "Impact" Rating = 14 "Credibility" Rating = 13 "Expert" Rating = 8 "Strangeness" Rating = 4 On 7 January 1948 , Captain Thomas F Mantell Jr (Air National...

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1948.0122 Project Sign begins

Image needed On 22 January 1948 , Project Sign (publicly known as “Project Saucer”) officially began operations.

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1948.0211 Project Sign instructions

Project Sign instructions On 11 February 1948 , Project Sign personnel receive instructions, referring to their task as the “Evaluation of Unidentified Flying Objects”. (Reference...

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1948.0317 Advisory Board meeting

Image needed On 17 March 1948 , an Air Force Scientific Advisory Board meeting includes a briefing by Colonel McCoy which mentions Project Sign.

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1948.0724 Chiles Whitted sighting

Chiles Whitted sighting "Impact" Rating = 14 "Credibility" Rating = 14 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 6 On 24 July 1948 , Eastern Airlines DC-3 pilot Captain Clarence...

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1948.0727 Cabell memo

Cabell memo On 27 July 1948 , Major General Cabell directed the Air Estimates Branch of Air Force Intelligence to prepare a study to determine the probability of the existence of...

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1948.0800 Estimate of the Situation

Estimate of the Situation In or around August 1948 , Project Sign staff allegedly prepared an “Estimate of the Situation” that allegedly reached the conclusion that flying saucers...

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1948.1001 Gorman Dogfight Incident

Gorman dogfight incident "Impact" Rating = 13 "Credibility" Rating = 11 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 5 On 1 October 1948 , Lieutenant George F Gorman of the North Da...

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1948.1011 Colonel Allen memo

Colonel Allen memo On 11 October 1948 , a memo to Major General Cabell from Colonel Brooke Allen, Chief of the Air Estimates Branch of Air Force Inteligence, attaches a copy of a...

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1948.1100 Estimate of Situation rejected

Estimate of Situation rejected In or around November 1948 , Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S Vandenburg allegedly rejects the “Estimate of the Situation” a few days after t...

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1948.1103 Origins "not discernible"

Origins "not discernible" On 3 November 1948 , Major General C P Cabell, USAF HQ wrote to the Commanding General, AMC at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base stating that the origin of...

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1948.1104 Top Secret document

Top Secret document On 4 November 1948 , a formerly Top Secret Telecon (telephone conversation) Transcript (TT) was sent from U S Air Force, Europe (USAFE) intelligence (A-2) to H...

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1948.1108 Colonel McCoy Memo

Colonel McCoy Memo On 8 November 1948 , a letter from Colonel McCoy to General Cabell in response to further questions raised by General Cabell in the light of the memo from Colon...

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1948.1210 Ghost of the Estimate

Ghost of the Estimate On 24 January 1878, the “Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States”, Study #203, is prepared by the USAF Directorate of Intelligence (“DI”) an...

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1948.1213 Lipp report

Lipp report On 13 December 1948 , Dr James E Lipp of the Rand Corporation provides a report addressed to Brigadier General Putt (US Air Force Director of Research and Development)...

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1948.1216 Project Grudge name change

Project Grudge name change On 16 December 1948 , an order was given by the Air Force director of research to change name of Project Sign to Project Grudge.

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1949.0200 Project Sign report

Project Sign report During February 1949, the final report of Project Sign (“The Findings of Project Sign”) was completed. Officially cited as Technical Report-TR-2274-IA of the T...

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1949.0216 Green fireballs conference

Image needed On 16 February 1949 , A conference involving Dr Lincoln La Paz (an astronomer from the University of New Mexico) was held on the subject of reports of “green fireball...

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1949.0403 Walter Winchell missiles

Image needed On 3 April 1949 , radio commentator Walter Winchell claims that flying saucers were actually guided missiles from Russia

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1949.0424 White Sands sighting

Image needed On 24 April 1949 , there was a sighting at White Sands, New Mexico whilst tracking a weather balloon, involving Charles B Moore . This incident is Case 66 in Isaac Ko...

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1949.0427 JIC Top Secret report

JIC Top Secret report On 27 April 1949 , the U.S. Joint Committee on Intelligence (“JIC”) was provided with a Top Secret report on “Unidentified Aerial Objects” by the Air Force D...

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1949.0427 Project Saucer press release

Project Saucer press release On 27 April 1949 , the US Air Force released a “Memorandum for the Press” entitled “Project Saucer”. Memorandum for the Press NO. M 26 – 49, entitled...

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1949.0427 USAF briefing

Image needed On 27 April 1949 , there was a briefing for the USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and his staff on UFOs by Directorate of Intelligence personnel. Directorate...

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1949.0430 Sidney Shallett article

Image needed The first part of Sidney Shallett’s two-part article on UFOs appeared in the 30 April 1949 issue of The Saturday Evening Post , entitled “ What You Can Believe About...

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1949.0800 Project Grudge final report

Project Grudge final report During August 1949, Project Grudge's final report was completed. The report contained analysis of 244 cases. It concluded that Unidentified Flying Obje...

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1949.0820 Clyde Tombaugh sighting

Clyde Tombaugh sighting On 20 August 1949 , astronomer Clyde Tombaugh had a sightingat Las Cruces, New Mexico. This incident is Case 43 in Isaac Koi's "Top 100" article , since it...

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1949.1106 Green fireball conference report

Green fireball conference report On 6 November 1949 , a report was sent to the Commanding General, Air Materiel Command relating to the green fireball conference that had been hel...

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1949.1226 True article published

Image needed On 26 December 1949 , the January 1950 edition of True magazine (containing the article entitled, The Flying Saucers are Real ” by Donald Keyhoe ) hit the newsstands.

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1949.1227 Project Grudge press release

Project Grudge press release On 24 January 1878, the Air Force issued press release (Numbered 629-49) announcing that Project Grudge had been close down. The press release stated...

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1949.1230 USAF press release

USAF press release On 30 December 1949 , the US Air Force reportedly issued a statement on UFOs.

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1950.0000 Electromagnetic launch article

Image needed In an article published in 1950 , Arthur C Clarke proposed the direct electromagnetic launch (using a mass driver) of a space vehicle. Clarke, Arthur C ( 1950 ), Jour...

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1950.0000 Fermi Paradox

Fermi Paradox During a lunch at Los Alamos in the summer of 1950 , Enrico Fermi reputedly asked colleagues “If there are extraterrestrials, where are they?”. (The precise quotatio...

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1950.0000 Movie "Destination Moon"

"Destination Moon" The movie “ Destination Moon ” ( 1950 ) was based on a novel by Robert Heinlein . It was directed by Irving Pichel.

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1950.0000 movie "The Flying Saucer"

"The Flying Saucer" The movie “ The Flying Saucer ” ( 1950 ) was produced by Michael Conrad.

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1950.0100 Keyhoe's "True" article

Image needed The January 1950 issue of True magazine included the article entitled “ The Flying Saucers are Real ” written by Donald Keyhoe .

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1950.0300 Commander McLaughlin's article

Image needed The March 1950 edition of True magazine contains the article entitled “How Scientists Tracked Flying Saucers” by Commander R B McLaughlin.

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1950.0300 Keyhoe's first book published

Image needed During March 1950 , Donald Keyhoe ’s first UFO book, “ The Flying Saucers are Real ” is published For references and further information, see separate entry in relati...

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1950.0317 Farmington "armada" incident

"Battle of Los Angeles" "Impact" Rating = 11 "Credibility" Rating = 14 "Expert" Rating = 7 "Strangeness" Rating = 5 On 17 March 1950 , the Farmington, New Mexico incident involved...

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1950.0322 FBI occupants memo

FBI occupants memo An FBI memo dated 22 March 1950 refers to flying saucers recovered in New Mexico, with occupants 3 feet tall.

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1950.0330 Rudolph Schriever article

Image needed On 30 March 1950 , the West German magazine “Der Spiegel” reports Flugkapitan Rudolph Schriever as claiming to have begun work on a flying disc. Later reports stated...

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1950.0401 Wiesbadener Tagblatt alien hoax

Image needed On 1 April 1950 , as an April Fools joke, the German newspaper Wiesbadener Tagblatt publishes a purported photograph of an alien standing between two men in uniforms...

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1950.0404 President Truman on UFOs

Image needed On 4 April 1950 , President Truman reportedly made remarks about UFOs

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1950.0511 McMinnville photographs

McMinnville photographs "Impact" Rating = 14 "Credibility" Rating = 10 "Expert" Rating = 13 "Strangeness" Rating = 12 On 11 May 1950 , Paul Trent allegedly took two photographs of...

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1950.0520 Gallup Poll

Gallup Poll On 20 May 1950 , Gallup issues news release about a second Gallup Poll to include questions on UFOs. 5% of respondents indicated they thought “these flying saucers” we...

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1950.0529 Captain Sperry sighting

Image needed On 29 May 1950 , Captain Willis Sperry reports a sighting on a flight from Washington DC to Tulsa, Oklahoma..

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1950.0815 Great Falls film

Great Falls film "Impact" Rating = 13 "Credibility" Rating = 12 "Expert" Rating = 9 "Strangeness" Rating = 6 During August 1950 , the Great Falls, Montana movie was taken by Nicho...

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1950.0925 JANAP 146(A)

JANAP 146(A) On 25 September 1950 , JANAP(Joint Army Navy Air Publication) 146(A) was officially issued, referring to UFOs. JANAP 146 was first issued on 1 October 1948 without an...

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1950.1008 English newspapers

English newspapers On 8 October 1950 , several Sunday newspapers in England began to publish extracts of various UFO books. The Sunday Express began its serialisation of Gerald He...

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1950.1100 "To Serve Man"

Image needed In November 1950 , Damon Knight's short story “To Serve Man" was published in Galaxy Science Fiction .

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1950.1121 Wilbert B Smith memo

Wilbert B Smith memo On 21 November 1950 , a memo written by Wilbert B(rockhouse) Smith refers to “discreet enquiries through the Canadian Embassy staff in Washington” which alleg...

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1950.1200 Project Magnet

Image needed During December 1950 , Project Magnet was established in Canada, under the direction of Wilbert B Smith

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1951.0000 Air Ministry study

Air Ministry study During 1951 , a study of UFO reports was performed in Britain on behalf of the United Kingdom’s Air Ministry, involving Squadron Leader R G Woodman liaising wit...

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1951.0000 Clarke's "The Sentinel"

Image needed Arthur C Clarke's short story "The Sentinel" was published in 1951 . It has also been published under the title “Sentinel of Eternity”. It was the inspiration for the...

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1951.0000 Movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still”

“The Day the Earth Stood Still” The movie “ The Day the Earth Stood Still ”( 1951 ) was directed by Robert Wise. It was based on a story by Harry Bates (“Farewell to the Master”)...

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1951.0000 movie “The Man From Planet X”

“The Man From Planet X” The movie “ The Man From Planet X ” ( 1951 ) was directed by Edgar G Ulmer.

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1951.0000 Movie “The Thing from Another World”

“The Thing from Another World” The movie “ The Thing from Another World ” was directed by Christian Nyby and Howard Hawkes. It was based on John W Campbell Jr.’s “Who Goes There?”...

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1951.0000 “Civilian Saucer Investigation”

Image needed During 1951 , “Civilian Saucer Investigation” (“CSI”) was formed by Ed J Sullivan, Werner Eichler and Victor Black.

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1951.0100 Cosmopolitan article

Image needed The January 1951 edition of Cosmopolitanmagazine published an article by Bob Considine entitled “The Disgraceful Flying Saucer Hoax”, resulting in an unsuccessful lib...

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1951.0200 Skyhook article

Image needed During February 1951 , an article by Richard Wilson was published in Look magazine, quoting Dr. Urner Liddel as suggesting that Skyhook balloons could explain UFO sig...

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1951.0432 Air Force Regulation 190-6

Air Force Regulation 190-6 On 24 January 1878, Air Force Regulation 190-6 (“AFR 190-6”) detailed USAF policy on dissemination of information.

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1951.0600 Flying Saucer Working Party

Flying Saucer Working Party During June 1951 , the British Ministry of Defence’s “Working Party on Flying Saucers” produces its final report. The cover sheet for the report read a...

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1951.0825 Lubbock Lights sightings

Lubbock Lights sightings "Impact" Rating = 13 "Credibility" Rating = 13 "Expert" Rating = 8 "Strangeness" Rating = 6 On 25 August 1951 , several college professors from Texas Tech...

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