Sunday, December 17, 2006

The UFO Phenomenon: The 50 Most Influential People of All Time

I picked up a copy of The Atlantic this month because the cover story is about the 100 most influential Americans of all time, as selected by a group of eminent historians (Abraham Lincoln tops the list).

As I read it, I began to think to myself - who are the most influential people ever in terms of the UFO phenomenon.

Voila - my list, which limits it to the top 50.

There are people, as with The Atlantic's list, who are omitted that others will think deserve a place, and people will no doubt quibble about the order as well. They will also question the definition of influence, which is a subjective judgment.

Good. I hope this list generates discussion, debate and thought about where the UFO phenomenon has been, and where it might be going.

So, without further ado...

Paul Kimball

P.S. The list is limited to humans!

The UFO Phenomenon - The 50 Most Influential People of All Time

1. Dr. Edward Condon - Head of the USAF-funded University of Colorado Project, and author of the Condon Report; his conclusions still shape the way mainstream science views the UFO phenomenon.

2. Major Donald E. Keyhoe - Driving force behind the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), and original proponent of the Extra-terrestrial hypothesis.

3. Dr. J. Allen Hynek - Project Blue Book scientific advisor, and later founder of the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS).

4. Dr. Carl Sagan - The great popularizer of science, and the concept of ET life in particular, in the second half of the 20th century, and a leading UFO opponent.

5. Captain Edward Ruppelt - The first head of the United States Air Force's Project Blue Book, and the author of The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects.

6. George Adamski - The founder of the Contactee Movement.

7. Dr. H. Marshall Chadwell - CIA Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence in 1952, he was a proponent of the need to take the UFO phenomenon seriously.

8. Betty Hill - The first abductee story to gain widespread public attention.

9. Dr. James McDonald - The best case investigator ever, and a passionate advocate for both the serious scientific study of UFOs, and the ETH.

10. Stanton T. Friedman - Researcher / author / lecturer, a leading advocate for the ETH, and the man who, with William Moore, made UFO virtually synonymous with Roswell.

11. Major Jesse Marcel - Army intelligence officer who was a key player in the Roswell case, and whose story breathed new life into the crashed flying saucer mythos.

12. Art Bell - Maverick late-night radio talk-show host, and founder of Coast to Coast AM, he gave ufologists a regular public platform in the 1990s that continues today under George Noory.

13. Kenneth Arnold - The original flying saucer witness - even if he didn't exactly coin the term, it is forever linked with his name.

14. Whitley Strieber - Author / alleged abductee, he popularized the concept of the gray alien and secret government agencies dealing with UFOs.

15. Chris Carter - Creator of The X-Files television series, which made conspiracy theories about aliens popular.

16. Dr. Jacques Vallee - Leading UFO theoretician and investigator, and proponent of the Extra-dimensional hypothesis.

17. Dr. Donald Menzel - Harvard astronomer, author, and the original UFO debunker.

18. Dr. H. P. Robertson - Head of the CIA's Robertson Panel in 1953, which called for the official debunking of UFO reports.

19. Colonel William Blanchard - His decision to issue a press release about the recovery of debris near Roswell would change ufology thirty years later.

20. George Van Tassel - Contactee, founder of the Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention at Giant Rock, California, which ran from 1954 to 1974.

21. Coral Lorenzen - Co-founder and driving force behind the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO).

22. Maj. Gen. John Samford - Director of Intelligence for the USAF in the early 1950s (and later head of the NSA), most famous for his 1952 press conference to explain the Washington sightings.

23. Nick Pope - British researcher / author, and former head of the Ministry of Defence's UFO desk.

24. Ken Purdy - Editor of True Magazine in the early 1950s, his decision to publish articles about UFOs brought widespread attention to the subject.

25. Erich von Daniken - Author of Chariots of the Gods, and leading proponent of the "ancient astronauts" theory.

26. Dr. John Mack - Harvard professor who beame a leading, and controversial, researcher into the abduction phenomenon.

27. Richard Hall - Longtime NICAP staffer / investigator, and author of The UFO Evidence, Volumes 1 and 2

28. Walt Andrus - Founder of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON).

29. Lieut. Colonel Philip Corso - Former army officer who claimed in his memoirs The Day After Roswell to have been responsible for seeding alien technology into industry.

30. Dr. Steven Greer - Controversial CSETI founder, exopolitics guru, and head of the Disclosure Project.

31. Frank Edwards - Author / journalist, his book Flying Saucers - Serious Business was a best-seller.

32. Major Hector Quintanilla - The last head of Project Blue Book.

33. Frank Scully - Author of Behind the Flying Saucers, which first popularized the idea of crashed flying saucers (the Aztec hoax).

34. Jerome Clark - Researcher, author, historian and CUFOS member, as well as Editor of International UFO Reporter.

35. Philip J. Klass - CSICOP's UFO "expert", and longtime debunker / bete noir of ufologists.

36. William Moore - Co-author of The Roswell Incident, and perhaps the MJ-12 papers. One of ufology's most controversial figures.

37. Dr. Seth Shostak - SETI spokesperson / scientist, and leading UFO skeptic.

38. Kevin Randle - Leading Roswell investigator, author of numerous books on a variety of UFO subjects, from abductions to 1952 Washington case.

39. Leonard Stringfield - Collector of crash retrieval stories.

40. Brad Sparks - Co-founder of Citizens Against UFO Secrecy, and one of the best researchers of all time.

41. Steven Bassett - Political activist, ran for Congress on UFO platform, speaker, and conference organizer.

42. Linda Moulton Howe - Media entrepreneur, popularizer of stories of crashed UFOs and government cover-ups; best known for her cattle mutilation investigations and theories.

43. Cmdr. Robert McLaughlin - His 1950 article for True Magazine had a tremendous impact on the public, and lent credibility to the ETH.

44. Errol Bruce-Knapp - Radio host and founder of UFO Updates, the premiere on-line discussion forum for ufologists and others interested in the phenomenon.

45. John Greenewald, Jr. - Founder of www.blackvault.com, and master of FOIA applications.

46. J. P. Cahn - Journalist who exposed the Aztec crash hoax in True Magazine.

47. Wilbert Smith - Canadian civil servant who was considered by some to have been involved in super secret UFO research.

48. Wendelle Stevens - UFO researcher / author, and a leading proponent of the Billy Meier story.

49. Paul Hellyer - Former Canadian Minister of Defence who has become a leading advocate of exopolitics.

50. Ray Santilli - Perpetrator of the alien autopsy hoax.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

What about Richard Dolan??? Have you read UFO's and the National Security State??? He spent many years researching this and the material included in the book shows not only his attention to detail, but his astounding research!!! Not to mention he is interviewed as an expert on almost every UFO show out there.
Best Regards,
Cynthia Hall

Greg Bishop said...

Great list Paul! People love lists.

I would remove Samford, Chadwell, Bassett, J.P. Cahn, Hellyer and maybe Shostak, and replace them with:

Gray Barker - Popularized UFOs serious and comical. Singlehandedly started the MIB mythos.

James Moseley - Ditto.

John Keel - At least as important as Vallee in promoting the ultraterrestrial hypothesis.

Ray Palmer - Founder of FATE and Flying Saucers Magazine.

Long John Nebel - The Art Bell of the 1960s.

Budd Hopkins - Re-introduced the world (english-speaking anyway) to abductions.

Paul Kimball said...

Greg:

You wrote:

I would remove Samford, Chadwell, Bassett, J.P. Cahn, Hellyer and maybe Shostak, and replace them with

To me, Samford and Chadwell are must haves, because of the influence they exercised within government at a critical time, and in Samford's case because of that press conference, which was a pivotal event. Cahn deserves to be there because he set the mold for solid investigation and proper debunking of spurious stories. Hellyer has elevated exopolitics (alas, to my chagrin), and Bassett has made significant contributions as well (again, much to my chagrin). As for Seth, he's the face of SETI, which has a higher profile than ufology, even as it competes in the same general arena. However, if I was to bump two, it would be Bassett and Hellyer.

Gray Barker - Popularized UFOs serious and comical. Singlehandedly started the MIB mythos.

James Moseley - Ditto.


I'm a big Moseley fan, but his influence is minimal beyond ufology. Barker, perhaps, could have been on the list.

John Keel - At least as important as Vallee in promoting the ultraterrestrial hypothesis.

Yup, I thought long and hard about including Keel. He could easily be on the list.

Ray Palmer - Founder of FATE and Flying Saucers Magazine.

Indeed, a glaring ommission. No argument from me there.

Long John Nebel - The Art Bell of the 1960s.

Thought about him too - he would have been a good choice.

Budd Hopkins - Re-introduced the world (english-speaking anyway) to abductions.

I honestly think Hopkins' actual influence is minimal, as opposed to Mack, who had the academic credentials, or Streiber, who had the best-selling book and movie.

Paul

Paul Kimball said...

Cynthia:

Dolan's work and methodology have huge flaws, and - at least in private - is heavily criticised by most ufologists I know.

However, you could certainly make a case for him being influential - compared to UFO books in general, his is well-read, and his role on Sci-Fi Investigates and appearances at seemingly every UFO conference under the sun, has given him a high-profile platform.

In short, he could have made someone's list, just not mine.

Thanks for popping by,

Paul

Anonymous said...

Paul

I would add Bob Lazar - for one reason only: without Lazar, I have no doubt that the whole fascination with (and commentary on) Area 51 that has dominated ufology for years would never have surfaced.

Also, arguably, Bill Cooper and John Lear could be a combined entry; only because without them, the "horror story" angle of ufology that really did dominate much of ufology in the late 80s and early 90s would never have existed.

I know Greg remembers that era very well too and - agree with the data or not - it was a pivotal era in ufology and influenced many.

I suppose much depends on how we interpret the term "influential."

Used in the way you use it, I would agree with many of the names on your list.

But "influential" could be used in other ways too. But this one's your list, so hats off to you for putting this one together.

Oh one final thing: what, no Silas Newton?

Paul Kimball said...

Nick:

I figure that Newton is covered by Scully - they probably could go in together.

As for Lazar, yes indeed, a good case could me made, but I think Area 51 stands without him, and he doesn't have the reach of someone like Corso.

Paul

Paul Kimball said...

Nick:

I should add that the list does not cover just influence within ufology, but also within society at large, and within government and science. A person like Condon hit all of those, as did Keyhoe. Others might not fit all four, which is why they would fall lower on the list. Also, it could be argued that someone like Betty Hill, who might not have had much of an impact on science or government, still deserves to be rated higher than someone like Dick Hall, who qualifies to some extent in all four categories, simply because her influence in one area - public perception - was so pervasive. Ditto Chadwell, in reverse - no real public impact, and largely unknown even within ufology, but had a very significant impact on government.

Paul

Paul

Anonymous said...

I agree re Betty Hill, totally. Without the Hill case abduction research - and the abduction subject in general - would look very different today.

Mac said...

I tend to agree with Greg re. omissions, but this is a *great* list and covers all the bases. Nice work.

Greg Bishop said...

I WAS taking into account the influence on the society at large, but I won't argue with you about Samford and Chadwell. Hellyer and Bassett are at about the same level, but in influence and noteriety and could be swallowed up by Greer. I have a feeling you included Hellyer because he's Canadian. My American tunnel-vision rears it's ugly head.

Shostak does not have as much of an influence on Ufology, at least not anywhere near what Klass and Menzel did.

And I also think he's smug, which of course is hardly any criteria for exclusion from the list, but dammit anyway.

Yes, I do remember the Lazar/ Lear/ Cooper era well, but that's too many people, along with their enablers like George Knapp and Billy Goodman (remember him?) to have any singlehanded influence. If I had to pick the one person who started all that it would have been Richard Doty or the mysterious Falcon, who injected the wacky stories into the mainline of the Ufological thrill-addicts.

Greg Bishop said...

Oh, and Travis Walton perhaps.

Anonymous said...

John Keel absolutely deserves to be high on any such list, due to 'Operation Trojan Horse' as well as 'The Mothman Prophecies.' In my opinion, Vallee deserves to be higher on this list; I also believe Jerome Clark should be higher.

Don Maor said...

I would put Keyhoe before Condon. Without Keyhoe, it is almost sure that the history of ufology would be very different, it could have been even a Condonless history.

Anonymous said...

I'd put Ray Santilli nearer the top. He polerized the community with his hoax and he still has many believers.

Certainly, Ray is the best promotor Ufology has ever seen; he's made the most money from ufology and he's turned this whole ufology "thing" into a laughing stock to the majority of the world.

Good job Ray, now take your money and go away.

Thx,

Mark Center

Anonymous said...

Um... where is Peter Davenport, NUFORC Director? He kinda put reporting UFOs by the masses on the map.

Anonymous said...

Paul:

How about Steven Spielberg for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and, to a lesser extent, "E.T."?

Ray

Paul Kimball said...

Ray:

How about Steven Spielberg for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and, to a lesser extent, "E.T."?

Actually, Spielberg, who I think is the best filmmaker of the past 30 years, was on my list originally, and only got bumped at the end. I probably should have left him on, given the cultural impact of CEOTTK and ET.

Paul

Paul Kimball said...

J.E.

John Keel absolutely deserves to be high on any such list, due to 'Operation Trojan Horse' as well as 'The Mothman Prophecies.' In my opinion, Vallee deserves to be higher on this list; I also believe Jerome Clark should be higher.

Keel could certainly have been on the list, and perhaps should have been, somewhere in the 40s. I think Clark is overrated, at least in terms of his overall influence outside ufology (and perhaps even within it), so the 30s are a good spot for him in my opinion. Vallee could have been bumped up a bit, but who ahead of him would you replace? Remember, it's about influence, and not just within ufology.

Best regards,
Paul

Paul Kimball said...

Mark:

I'd put Ray Santilli nearer the top. He polerized the community with his hoax and he still has many believers.

Actually, he didn't really polarize the community - the majority saw through him from the get-go (people like Stan Friedman), while a minority was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Much of that minority has since abandoned the AA story, leaving only a very small group of adherents.

Certainly, Ray is the best promotor Ufology has ever seen;

Compared to George Adamski, or Silas Newton, he was second rate.

he's made the most money from ufology and he's turned this whole ufology "thing" into a laughing stock to the majority of the world.

Hardly. You vastly overrate him. Mention his name to most people outside ufology, and they'll just shrug. These days, most would probably shrug when you mention the AA. In the long-term, his influence will probably be negligible... but for now, he hangs on at #50! :-)

Paul

Paul Kimball said...

Dino Kraspedon

That is indeed a pretty cool name!

Paul

Anonymous said...

I humbly Submit Dr. Michael S. Heiser. His fictional book, The Facade is the only intelligent investigation into UFOlogy from a distinctly religious POV that I have found to date.

Here's the premise in a nutshell. The gods spoken of in the Bible are not mere idols, they are real beings. Not only did they affect acient history, but also current events. There are ties to secret societies. ET is actually the Nephilim.

Whether you buy into this viewpoint or not, it is on the street and it has surprising resonance and influence. Therefore my nomination.

Dan

Anonymous said...

Dino Kraspedon was an interesting guy - to say the least! Greg B has researched him, I believe. I remember reading his book back in about 78 or something like that.
A quick glance at his entry at Wikipedia tells parts of the story...
And the parts revealed there are intriguing enough alone!

Anonymous said...

"Dolan's work and methodology have huge flaws, and - at least in private - is heavily criticised by most ufologists I know."

Paul,
I've just started Dolan's book, largely because of the very favorable press and recommendations I'd encountered, so I'm surprised to hear such a negative appraisal of his work. While I'm not far enough into the book yet to agree or disagree (no obvious flaws so far), I'd be really interested to hear you expand on your, and others, misgivings about Dolan's work and methods. All in the interest of the elusive truth, you understand. Many thanks!

Paul Kimball said...

Pete:

My review of Dolan's book, from May, 2005.

http://redstarfilms.blogspot.com/2005/05/richard-dolan-ufologys-alan-bullock-or.html

In hindsight, I was too harsh on him and it back then - there are good things in the book, and it's not the worst book on the subject out there... not even close.

But my criticism of his methodology in terms of the rampant speculation remains. It's perfectly acceptable for someone who isn't a historian, and who is just theorizing - but it's unacceptable for someone who is a historian, and claims that the work is an historical study of something, in this case not UFOs, but the actual history of the government's response. There is a difference.

Best regards,
Paul