REF: UAP/1890s/003Unexplained
1896-11 to 1897-05

Great Airship Wave

California to Midwest · USA·Wave / mass sightings·1890s
Unexplained
§ ASummary

Thousands reported cigar-shaped 'airships' with lights years before powered flight; newspapers nationwide covered the wave.

§ BWitnesses

Thousands incl. officials; SF Call, Chicago Tribune reporters

§ CEvidence & Documentation

Hundreds of contemporaneous newspaper accounts

§ DOfficial Investigation

None

§ EStatus Assessment

Mix of hoaxes, misidentifications, unexplained reports

§ FVerifiable Sources

Jacobs, 'The UFO Controversy in America' (1975); Clark, 'The UFO Encyclopedia'; Busby, 'Solved: The Great Airship Mystery'