Famous People in History Who Have Had UFO Sightings

UFOs have been sighted by many famous people, from presidents to astronauts to musicians. This strange phenomenon is definitely not new. Even before the discovery of America, UFOs have raced across the nighttime skies.

Listed below are several famous people who all have reported sightings of UFOs. Somehow the similarity seems to echo the same sentiment, although hundreds of years separate these rather odd sightings.

John Lennon: August 23, 1974 - New York City

Stepping out on his terrace to get a bit of a breeze on a hot afternoon, John Lennon was amazed at what he saw: a flattened cone shaped disc with a brilliant red light. He yelled for his assistant May Pang to join him as the circular disc began to approach.

Lennon estimated that the object to be the size of a Lear jet. As Lennon and Pang watched this strange craft from a very close distance, the UFO flew off. The object returned later, and Lennon and Pang stated that it had "a row or circle of white lights that ran around the entire rim of the craft."

When a local newspaper was notified, Lennon and Pang were told that at least seven others also had reported seeing this craft. Police also reported several more sightings of this alien craft at the same time Lennon had spotted it.

Pang stated that Lennon kept repeating the rest of the evening: "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I've seen a flying saucer."

Buzz Aldrin: Apollo 11 Mission, July 18, 1969 - In space

A program on the science channel: "First on the Moon: The untold story" released a 3.5-minute segment that described a UFO encounter with the crew of Apollo 11 during its trip to the moon.

In this segment Buzz Aldrin (the second man on the moon) commented that: "there was something out there that, uh, was close enough to be observed and what could it be?"

Traveling beside Apollo 11 a "ringed object" was observed at close distance. Aldrin stated that Mike Collins could see this craft in his telescope and that it was revealed to be an L-shaped object when in close detail. Although the crew had a clear view of the UFO, they were leery of reporting this to Mission Control.

Mission Control was then asked about the location of the S-IVB, which was the final stage of the rocket that had been jettisoned two days earlier. Mission control reported that the S-IVB was 6,000 miles away from their present location.

Aldrin stated that: "we decided that after a while of watching it, it was time to go to sleep and not talk about it anymore." Whatever the Apollo 11 crew saw out in space was never "officially acknowledged."

Jimmy Carter: January 6, 1969 - Leary, Georgia

The night was a calm windless Georgia night. Jimmy Carter was waiting for a meeting to begin at the Lion's Club, when Carter and 10 other witnesses reported seeing a "red and green orb radiating in the western sky." All of the witnesses reported that the object moved toward them from a distance, stopped, moved away and departed.

Carter stated that "it was as bright as the moon, and about as big as the moon." In a later interview Jimmy Carter said that the sighting was a "very remarkable sight." Lillian Carter commented that the sighting made quite an impression on her son.

The sighting was estimated to last 10 minutes. Skeptics concluded that it was possibly a sighting of the planet Venus, but calculations revealed that Venus was only visible between 15 to 21 degrees above the horizon at 7:15 pm. Witnesses reported the "moon-sized object" to be at least 30 degrees above the horizon.

If this object was in fact Venus, it would not have disappeared and would have been visible that night until 9:20 p.m.

Ronald Reagan is another U.S. president who sighted a UFO. Reagan developed an obsession with extraterrestrials and often mentioned them in his speeches. Reagan stated that the U.S. and Russia may be forced to "make a common cause" if the Earth were to face an alien invasion.

Christopher Columbus: October 11, 1492 - Atlantic Ocean

Lights in the night sky have been seen for centuries. Many famous paintings also have shown disc-shaped objects hovering in the backgrounds of these paintings. In 1015, two objects in the sky were seen "giving birth" to smaller spheres over Japan.

Throughout the Renaissance, many sightings of UFOs were documented. Then, in 1492, Christopher Columbus made his own personal discovery of a UFO on his first voyage of the Americas.

Standing on the deck of the Santa Maria, Columbus noticed lights glimmering in the nighttime sky. He quickly called to Pedro Gutierrez to come and join him as he watched this strange glimmering light.

As they watched "a light glimmering at a great distance" the light disappeared and reappeared several times throughout the night. This craft was observed as it moved up and down in "sudden and passing gleams."

Columbus took this sighting as a sign that land would soon be sighted. The lights and movements that Christopher Columbus saw that night were "never explained."

Walter Cronkite: 1950s, South Pacific

During the 1950s Walter Cronkite was part of a news team who was brought to a small Pacific island to observe the testing of a new Air Force missile. The reporters were then led to an area which was a safe distance from the launch site.

Photographs were forbidden on this site so the reporters quickly made hand written notes as the testing was prepared. With Air Force security surrounding the perimeter the missile was fired up waiting its release.

It was at this moment that a large "disc type" UFO appeared. The object was estimated to be 50-60 feet in diameter with a dull grey color and no visible means of propulsion.

The disc then hovered 30 feet off the ground then suddenly sent out a "blue beam of light" which struck: the missile, a guard, and also a dog. The missile was then frozen in mid air as was the guard and the dog (in mid-air) that was jumping at the UFO.

Suddenly the missile exploded, and the UFO disappeared. Everyone was told: "it was all part of the test." An Air Force Colonel reported that everything was "staged" to check out the media's reaction to UFO's. Cronkite viewed this craft as a new technology, but not an Earthly one.

Gordon Cooper: 1957, Edwards Air Force Base, California

In 1957 Edwards Air Force Base was the site of an "elite band of test pilots." This area also included the installation of a "precision landing system." A camera crew was filming the installation when a UFO saucer suddenly appeared on the site.

This craft was filmed as it hovered overhead, extended three legs for landing gear and slowly landed on the dry lake bed. The camera crew managed to get within 20 to 30 yards of the craft as it filmed this strange event.

With the classic saucer shape, this shiny silver craft was 30 feet wide and was clear to everyone that it was an alien craft. Cooper was told that when the film was developed it was to be put in a pouch and sent to Washington. Cooper then looked at the film when it returned from the lab and everything was exactly as it was observed on the site.

When the Air Force started "Operation Blue Book" Cooper mentioned the film, but of course the film was never found. Cooper also stated that he believes an alien space craft crashed at Roswell, N.M., in 1947, and that "aliens were discovered in the wreckage." Gordon Cooper commented that: "A lot of very embarrassed government officials are sitting there in Washington trying to figure a way to bring the truth out. America has a right to know."

Edmund Halley: 1676

The famous astronomer who discovered Haley's Comet recalled two accounts of "unidentified crafts." Halley's first UFO experience came in 1676 when he saw what he called a: "Vast body apparently bigger than the Moon."

Halley estimated that the craft was 40 mi. above him at the time of his sighting. Edmund commented that this craft made a noise "like the rattling of a great cart over stones."

By estimating the distance this craft traveled in several minutes, Halley concluded that the speed of the UFO was greater than 9,600 m.p.h.

Alexander the Great:329 B.C., Central Asia

This famous conqueror reported two separate sightings of UFOs. One sighting reported: "great silver shields spitting fire around the rims in the sky that dived repeatedly at his army." These actions panicked his army and elephants so badly that his river crossing has to be delayed until the next day.

Alexander reported that these shining silvery shields "came from the skies and returned to the skies." These flying shields flew in a triangular formation, and were led by an "exceedingly large one."

It's been reported that thousands of warriors watched these craft as the largest one emitted a "lighting flash" which struck the walls and towers of the opposing city. The "flying shields" then hovered over the city until it was besieged then swiftly disappeared.

While these UFO reports are very substantial, other celebrities such as: Jackie Gleason, Jimmy Hendrix, William Shatner, Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, and Clyde Tombaugh; the discoverer of Pluto have all reported seeing unexplained objects in the night sky. So are UFO's real, or were these famous people just making these stories up?