The John Martin “Saucer” Sighting of 1878

by Brent Raynes

According to the Denison Daily News (TX) of January 25, 1878, a farmer named John Martin was out hunting on the morning of January 22, when he allegedly observed a dark, fast-moving object in the southern sky. As he watched it in awe, it passed overhead, at which point it had the appearance of what he was quoted as saying was of a “large saucer.”

Martin lived about six miles south of Denison, Texas, and according to the newspaper account he was a man of “undoubted veracity” and it was expressed that his sighting might deserve the “attention of scientists.”

This was certainly saying quite a lot back in those days, especially some sixty-nine (69) years before the “saucer” craze that began with Kenneth Arnold’s report of June 24, 1947, in Washington state.

As noted by distinguished UFO researcher and author Jerome Clark, pre-1947 UFO data of a reliable character tends to seem rather sparse. The cigar-shaped form of UFOs predominated the reports back in the late 1800s up until the mid-1910s, with a lot of this activity concentrated during the years of 1896, 1897, 1909, and 1910. Back during this time period they were described as “airships” on account of their elongated shape and resemblance to dirigibles. The saucer (or disk) shape did not seem to come into prominence until around 10 or 20 years into the twentieth century. In 1947, they came to dominate the reports of UFOs.

Source: The UFO Encyclopedia, The Phenomenon from the Beginning. Vol. 1:A-K, 2nd Edition. By Jerome Clark. Omnigraphics, Inc., Penobscot Building, Detroit, MI 48226. 1998.