Donald E. Keyhoe

Donald E. Keyhoe (1897-1988), a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Marine Corps major, transitioned from aviation writing and pulp fiction to pioneering UFO research in the late 1940s. Commissioned by True magazine, his 1950 article "Flying Saucers Are Real"—expanded into a bestselling book—asserted that extraterrestrial craft were visiting Earth, with the U.S. Air Force concealing evidence to prevent panic. Keyhoe argued aliens had monitored humanity for centuries, intensifying after 1947's atomic tests.

In 1956, he founded and directed the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), a prominent group backed by figures like Senator Barry Goldwater, pushing for government disclosure and congressional hearings. His books, including Flying Saucers from Outer Space (1953), The Flying Saucer Conspiracy (1955), Flying Saucers: Top Secret (1960), and Aliens from Space (1973), exposed alleged cover-ups by the Air Force and CIA, later partially validated by declassified Project Blue Book files. Keyhoe appeared on shows like To Tell the Truth and Mike Wallace's interviews, amplifying calls for transparency until retiring from NICAP in 1969 and joining MUFON in 1981. His relentless advocacy shaped early ufology's disclosure movement.