Klass, Philip J. (1920–2005)

American aviation journalist who, in the 1970s, became the foremost critic of ufology, taking over that mantle from Donald Menzel.¹ Klass was born in Des Moines and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After graduating from Iowa State University, he worked for a decade at General Electric as an electrical engineer. He joined Aviation Week in 1952 and later wrote extensively about surveillance satellites for that publication. He was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a founder of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).

Klass's first UFO investigation, in 1966, was of the Socorro Incident, a sighting reported two years earlier in New Mexico. He concluded that it had been a hoax perpetrated in an attempt to bring tourism to the economically depressed town. Klass went on to write seven books, including the well-regarded UFOs Explained (1975). He was interviewed on news broadcasts that included the "CBS Evening News" and for TV programs devoted to space phenomena. Klass was reviled as a "disinformer" by ufologists, particularly those who insisted they had been abducted for scientific testing.

Reference

Klass, Philip. UFOs Explained. New York: Vintage (1974).

Related category

• UFOs

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