Philip J. Klass

Philip J. Klass
Born	Philip Julian Klass 8 November 1919(1919-11-08) Des Moines, Iowa
Died	9 August 2005 (85) Cocoa, Florida
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Iowa State University (B.A., E.E., 1941)
Affiliations	CSICOP
Known for	UFO skepticism

Philip Julian Klass (November 8, 1919 - August 9, 2005) was an American aviation electronics engineer turned magazine editor (of Aviation Week & Space Technology) and prominent skeptical Ufologist who initially proposed that UFOs could be plasma or ball lightning, as detailed in his 1968 book UFOs — Identified, before later abandoning this hypothesis in favour of reference to known atmospheric phenomena or simply discrediting them as hoaxes.

Selected Bibliography

• Klass, Philip J. (1968), UFOs — Identified, New York: Random House 
• Klass, Philip J. (1971), Secret Sentries in Space, New York: Random House 
• Klass, Philip J. (1974), UFOs Explained, New York: Random House 
• Klass, Philip J. (1983), UFOs: The Public Deceived, Amherst, New York: Prometheus 
• Klass, Philip J. (1989), UFO Abductions: A Dangerous Game, Amherst, New York: Prometheus 
• Klass, Philip J. (1997), The Real Roswell Crashed-Saucer Coverup, Amherst, New York: Prometheus 

Klass was the long-time editor of Aviation Week & Space Technology, serving in that role for thirty-four years (from 1952), and also published the Skeptics UFO Newsletter.

Ufo Curse

From Saucer Smear for 10 Oct. 1983:

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF PHILIP J. KLASS

To ufologists who publicly criticize me ... or who even think unkind thoughts about me in private, I do hereby leave and bequeath:

THE UFO CURSE

No matter how long you live, you will never know any more about UFOs than you know today. You will never know any more about what UFOs really are, or where they come from. You will never know any more about what the U.S. Government really knows about UFOs than you know today. As you lie on your own death-bed you will be as mystified about UFOs as you are today. And you will remember this curse.