Remarkable Luminous Phenomena in Nature by William R. Corliss

History of NASA Sounding Rockets (1971).

Human Factors Applications in Teleoperator Design and Operation (with Johnsen 1971).

Space Probes and Planetary Exploration (1965).

Radioisotopic Power Generation (with D.G.

Propulsion Systems for Spaceflight (1960).

Nevertheless, there is much that is quite baffling in some of these reports from highly reputable sources.”Ĭorliss wrote many other books and articles, notably including 13 educational books about astronomy, outer space and space travel for NASA and a similar number for the Atomic Energy Commission and the National Science Foundation.īooks published include (with cryptozoology-related publications noted in bold): Clarke in Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography, said: “Unlike Fort, Corliss selects his material almost exclusively from scientific journals like Nature and Science, not newspapers, so it has already been subjected to a filtering process which would have removed most hoaxes and reports from obvious cranks. In his book Unexplained!, Jerome Clark describes Corliss as “essentially conservative in outlook.” He explains, “Corliss more interested in unusual weather, ball lighting, geophysical oddities, extraordinary mirages, and the like - in short, anomalies that, while important in their own right, are far less likely to outrage mainstream scientists than those that delighted Fort, such as UFOs, monstrous creatures, or other sorts of extraordinary events and entities.”Īrthur C. Many of the articles in Corliss’s works were earlier mentioned by Fort works. Corliss quoted all relevant parts of articles (often reprinting entire articles or stories, including illustrations). Unlike Fort, Corliss offered little in the way of his own opinions or editorial comments, preferring to let the articles speak for themselves. Corliss was inspired by Charles Fort, who decades earlier also collected reports of unusual phenomena.

Since 1974, Corliss published a number of works in the “Sourcebook Project.” Each volume was devoted to a scientific field (archeology, astronomy, geology, and other topics) and featured articles culled almost exclusively from scientific journals. Clarke described him as “Fort’s latter-day – and much more scientific – successor.” Corliss then gave the Dinsdale Lecture entitled, “The Classified Residuum.”Īrthur C. It was presented to Corliss for his unique and comprehensive cataloguing of scientific anomalies. Corliss was presented with the Tim Dinsdale Award (named after the famed seeker of the Loch Ness Monsters) on June 10, 1994, at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration in Austin, Texas. He was an American physicist and writer who became known for his interest in collecting data regarding anomalous phenomena, some of which included cryptozoological topics.

William Roger Corliss, who was born August 28, 1926, in Stanford, Connecticut, passed away last week, on July 8th.

Remarkable Luminous Phenomena in Nature by William R. Corliss