Edward Condon
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 👤 Person
Contents 7
| Type | Person |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Condon |
| On the Timeline | 3 events, 1966–1968 |
Edward Uhler Condon (1902–1974) was an American nuclear physicist, a pioneer of quantum mechanics and director of the National Bureau of Standards after World War II. He is best known in UFO history as scientific director of the University of Colorado UFO Project (1966–1968), whose report led the Air Force to close Project Blue Book.[1][2]
Origins of the study
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After a wave of sightings in 1965–66 and public pressure, including from Congressman Gerald Ford, the Air Force's Scientific Advisory Board (the O'Brien Committee) recommended an independent university study. Several universities declined. On the suggestion of Walter Orr Roberts and astronomer Donald Menzel, the Air Force approached Condon, and on 6 October 1966 the University of Colorado agreed. The Air Force's initial offer was $313,000, and funding eventually exceeded $500,000.[2]
Staff and the Low memo
Condon was director and assistant dean Robert Low was project coordinator. Investigators included Stuart Cook, Franklin Roach, David Saunders, William Scott, astronomer William K. Hartmann, Michael Wertheimer, chemist Roy Craig and Norman Levine. Civilian groups NICAP and APRO shared case files.[2]
A memo written by Low on 9 August 1966, before the study began, predicted the project would show that UFO reports had no reality and spoke of a "trick" for presenting it as objective to the public. Atmospheric physicist James McDonald learned of it in 1967. When Saunders and Levine shared it, they were dismissed, and journalist John Fuller published "Flying Saucer Fiasco" in Look magazine in May 1968, calling the project a "$500,000 trick". NICAP cut its ties with the study on 30 April 1968, and Low resigned that May. Condon called the Look article full of "falsehoods and misrepresentations".[2][3]
The report
The Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects was delivered in November 1968 and released in January 1969. It ran to 1,485 pages in hardcover, with 59 case studies. Condon's summary concluded that nothing from 21 years of UFO study had added to scientific knowledge and that further extensive study was probably not justified, while acknowledging this "may not be true for all time". Yet some case studies remained unexplained; the report judged that the 1956 Lakenheath–Bentwaters radar-visual case had a "fairly high" probability of involving a genuine unknown, and Hynek estimated that more than a quarter of the cases went unexplained.[2][4]
A National Academy of Sciences panel chaired by Gerald Clemence endorsed the report, Science called it the most thorough study of the subject, and The New York Times headlined "No Visits From Afar". The Air Force cited it when closing Project Blue Book on 17 December 1969.[2][5]
Criticism
Hynek called the report "voluminous, rambling, poorly organized" and said it "settled nothing"; McDonald called it inadequate; and in 1970 a subcommittee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics disagreed with its prediction that further study would yield nothing of scientific value. Physicist Peter Sturrock later analysed the gap between the report's case studies and Condon's summary.[2]
Other career
Before the UFO study, Condon co-wrote influential textbooks on quantum mechanics and atomic spectra, worked on the Manhattan Project, and led the National Bureau of Standards from 1945 to 1951, during which he was targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee.[1]
On the UAP Timeline
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- Gerald Ford's call for UFO hearings (3 April 1966) — Rep. Gerald Ford is told an upcoming UAP study won't be tied to the Air Force.
- F. Robert Naka and NORAD space tracks (14 February 1968) — A MITRE scientist tells the Condon study that NORAD radars have tracked UAP arriving from space.
- Condon Report (15 November 1968) — The Air Force-funded Condon Report concludes that UAP study has added nothing to science.
References
- Edward Condon — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Condon Report — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- John G. Fuller, "Flying Saucer Fiasco", Look (May 1968) — Project 1947 · project1947.com · archived copy
- Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (Condon Report), full text — National Capital Area Skeptics · ncas.org · archived copy
- Walter Sullivan, "Science: U.F.O. Verdict", The New York Times (12 Jan 1969) · nytimes.com · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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