George Adamski's Visitor from Venus
A man who ran a café below Palomar Mountain said he met a long-haired visitor from Venus in the California desert.
What was reported
George Adamski ran a café near Palomar Mountain, home of the famous observatory, though he wasn't connected with it. On 20 November 1952, he and six companions drove into the desert near Desert Center. Adamski walked off alone and said he met a man from Venus called Orthon, with long fair hair, who spoke through gestures and telepathy and warned about nuclear weapons.
His companions said they watched from a distance. His book Flying Saucers Have Landed (1953), with photographs of bell-shaped 'scout ships', became a bestseller and made him the most famous of the 1950s 'contactees'.
Explanations offered
Critics pointed out that his scout ship looked very like a lamp or part of a chicken brooder, and later space probes found Venus far too hot for the life he described. He's generally regarded as having invented or embellished his story, though he kept a following until his death in 1965.
- When
- 20 November 1952
- Where
- Near Desert Center, California, USA
- Witnesses
- Adamski, with six companions watching from a distance
- Status
- Probably a hoax
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.