John Martin

John Martin was an American farmer from Denison, Texas, active in the late 19th century, renowned for reporting one of the earliest documented UFO sightings on January 16, 1878. While hunting six miles north of Denison, he observed a dark object high in the southern sky, initially the size of an orange, which rapidly grew to resemble a large saucer as it approached overhead at incredible speed, resembling a balloon. His account, published in the Denison Daily News on January 25, 1878, and republished in the Dallas Weekly Herald and Dallas Daily Herald, marked the first known use of 'saucer' in UFO context, predating modern flying saucer lore by decades. No birth or death dates are recorded, and the sighting received no contemporary scientific scrutiny but later influenced UFO researchers. No publications or testimonies beyond the initial report exist.