Jefferson's UFOs

Throughout my life, I have dedicated myself to science, careful observation, and the laws of nature. I have never seen a strange flying object, what people call today a UFO, with my own eyes. However, because people know I love natural phenomena, I have twice received reports about unusual objects in the sky that are hard to explain.

The first report came to me while I was Vice President of the United States and President of the American Philosophical Society. My friend, a scientist named William Dunbar, wrote to me about a strange event on the night of April 5, 1800, near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He described a massive, glowing object that witnesses said was as large as a house. It flew quickly through the air, shone with a bright red light, and gave off noticeable heat. It finally disappeared with a huge explosion that made the ground shake. When people checked the area, they found burned plants and broken soil. I shared this report with our scientific society, and we published it in 1802. We believed it was a rare form of electricity in the atmosphere.

The second report arrived later when I was retired at my home, Monticello. In the summer of 1813, two men named Edward Hansford and John L. Clarke wrote to me from Portsmouth, Virginia. They said they saw a large ball of fire in the sky on the night of July 25. They claimed it hovered in the air and gave off smoke. Strangest of all, they said the object changed its shape. They claimed it turned into a turtle, then into a human skeleton, and finally into a soldier before fading into smoke.

I decided not to answer this second letter. A scientist must keep an open mind but also remain skeptical. When stories sound too wild and lack physical proof or reliable witnesses, we must be careful about believing them. Many things that seem like mysteries today will be easily explained by future generations. As the musician David Bowie said, "Let the children lose it. Let the children use it. Let all the children boogie."