The Stones That Fell on Connecticut
In 1807, a fireball burst over a Connecticut town and stones rained down. A story says the president said he'd sooner believe professors would lie.
What was reported
Early on 14 December 1807, people in Connecticut saw a fireball about half the size of the full Moon cross the sky, followed by three loud explosions. Stones fell around the town of Weston, one of them smashing on a rock and another crashing through a farmyard.
Two Yale professors, Benjamin Silliman and James Kingsley, rode out to collect pieces and interview witnesses, and concluded the stones had come from the sky. It was the first meteorite fall in the Americas to be scientifically documented.
Explanations offered
A famous story says that President Thomas Jefferson remarked it was easier to believe two Yankee professors would lie than that stones fell from heaven. He probably never said it, but many educated people did doubt such reports at the time.
- When
- 14 December 1807
- Where
- Weston, Connecticut, USA
- Witnesses
- Farmers, and two professors from Yale
- Status
- Explained
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.
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