Jimmy Carter's UFO pledge
Carter, who had reported a UFO sighting in Georgia in 1969, promised during the 1976 campaign to open government UFO files, then backed away in office.
1977 CE · 38.90, -77.04 · status: account
The account
As governor of Georgia, Carter filed a 1973 report describing a bright, colour-changing light he had seen at Leary, Georgia, in 1969. On the 1976 campaign trail he reportedly told reporters he would make the government's UFO information available to the public and to scientists. Once president he retreated from the promise, citing defence implications. The episode became a reference point for later disclosure advocates.
The sceptical view
Ufologists Robert Sheaffer and Allan Hendry concluded the 1969 light was most likely Venus, then near peak brightness; a 2020 study proposed a barium-cloud rocket test instead.
Connections in the atlas
- Jimmy Carter: Said during the campaign that, if elected, he would make the
- Robert Sheaffer
- Allan Hendry
- Project Blue Book closes