Case file · Sighting
Five hundred witnesses at Evanston
On 9 April 1897, the Evanston Index reported, 'five hundred reputable citizens' north of Chicago watched a light as bright as fifty street lamps, some through opera glasses.
1897 CE · 42.05, -87.69 · status: disputed
The account
The same nights saw crowds on Chicago rooftops; the Chicago excitement of 9–12 April was the peak of the wave in the cities.
The sceptical view
Astronomers at the time pointed to Venus and to Betelgeuse and other bright stars low in the west; hot-air and kite-lantern pranks were also caught.