Willy Ley

Willy Ley (1906-1969) was a German-born American science writer and rocketry expert. Born in Berlin on October 2, 1906, he studied astronomy, paleontology, zoology, and physics at universities in Berlin and Königsberg. A pioneer in space advocacy, Ley co-founded the Verein für Raumschiffahrt (VfR) in 1927, authored 'Die Fahrt ins Weltall' (1926), and consulted on Fritz Lang's 'Woman in the Moon' (1929). Emigrating to the US in 1935, he became a prominent author on rockets and space travel, writing for Galaxy Magazine (1952-1969) and books like 'Rockets, Missiles and Space Travel.' In UFO context, Ley's papers include collected articles on UFOs alongside astronomy and psychic phenomena. He appeared on the 1952 Longines Chronoscope, discussing flying saucers skeptically yet openly, not opposing interplanetary origins but favoring earthly explanations.