Stanton Friedman
Stanton T. Friedman (1934–2019) was a Canadian-American nuclear physicist, one of the best-known figures in UFO research, the modern-day rediscoverer of the Roswell incident, and a lecturer who argued for vehicles of alien origin.
Stanton T. Friedman (1934–2019) was an American-born nuclear physicist who lived in Canada from 1980. Early in his career he worked for about 14 years at industrial companies on the development of nuclear-powered rockets and compact nuclear power plants, then around 1970 became a full-time UFO researcher. He was one of the best-known ufologists, and for decades he gave lectures at universities and conferences.
What he claimed
According to Friedman, based on the available evidence, extraterrestrial visitation is real, and governments know about it. He called the official secrecy a cosmic Watergate. In 1978 he sought out Jesse Marcel, who had taken part in recovering the Roswell debris in 1947, and this interview launched the modern-day rediscovery of the Roswell case. Friedman also argued for the authenticity of the documents known as Majestic 12 (MJ-12) until the end of his life.
Official finding and skeptical positions
According to the official finding, the U.S. government does not possess vehicles or bodies of alien origin. The U.S. Air Force explained the Roswell case as a balloon train from a secret program called Project Mogul. The FBI deemed the MJ-12 documents completely bogus in 1988. According to skeptics, Friedman's evidence consisted mainly of eyewitness accounts and disputed documents, and their reliability is questionable.
Friedman wrote several books on the subject, including Crash at Corona (1992, with Don Berliner) about the Roswell case and Top Secret/Majic (1996) about MJ-12. He died in Toronto in May 2019, while returning home from a speaking trip.