NICAP

The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) was a prominent U.S.-based UFO research organization founded on October 24, 1956, in Washington, D.C., by inventor T. Townsend Brown and others, including figures with CIA ties. It peaked at 14,000 members in the late 1960s, led by Major Donald E. Keyhoe, who argued for a government cover-up of UFO evidence. Key achievements include compiling extensive sighting files rivaling Air Force records, publishing 'The UFO Evidence' (1964) by Richard Hall to lobby Congress, issuing 'UFO Investigator,' and conducting field investigations via technical subcommittees. NICAP criticized Project Blue Book, initially supported then opposed the Condon Committee, and pushed for hearings. It declined after the 1969 Condon Report, was absorbed by the Center for UFO Studies in the late 1970s, ceasing operations around 1980.