Keyhoe, Donald E. (1897–1988)
Retired Marine Corps major and pilot, turned freelance writer, who became
interested in the phenomenon of unidentified flying
objects in 1949 following a meeting with Ken Purdy, the editor of True
magazine, and a proponent of the extraterrestrial
hypothesis. Keyhoe became convinced that UFOs were alien spacecraft
and that the government was hiding this fact from the public to avoid mass
panic. He set forth his conspiracy theory in an article, "The Flying Saucers
are Real," in True's January 1950 issue, then in a book of the same
name published later that year.1 His claims, although unsupported
by scientific evidence or named sources, attracted much popular interest
and were given a boost by the wave of UFO sightings in the early 1950s (see
"Washington Invasion") and the instigation
of Project Blue Book. In 1957, Keyhoe became
director of a UFO club known as the National Investigations
Committee on Aerial Phenomena.
Reference
- Keyhoe, Donald. The Flying Saucers Are Real. New York: Fawcett
(1950).
Related category
• UFOs
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