George Adamski

George Adamski (1891-1965) was a Polish-American author and ufologist renowned as the first prominent UFO contactee. Living near Mount Palomar, California, he claimed early sightings including a cigar-shaped 'mother ship' in 1946 and 184 UFOs in 1947, photographing alleged spacecraft passing the Moon. On November 20, 1952, he reported meeting 'Orthon,' a Venusian in the desert, followed by flights to Venus, Mars, and the Moon with Nordic 'Space Brothers.' Adamski authored bestsellers: 'Flying Saucers Have Landed' (1953, co-authored with Desmond Leslie), 'Inside the Space Ships' (1955), and 'Flying Saucers Farewell' (1961), selling 200,000 copies by 1960. He lectured widely from 1949, blending occultism and UFO claims, though dismissed as a hoaxer by investigators.