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Leon Davidson

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362: 22: 349:, "Davidson, while originally thinking were secret weapons, later developed the theory that UFOs were nothing but a CIA "front"; the CIA, Davidson explained, had maneuvered or created all UFO club activity, contactees, books, and so on to confound the Soviets about our technological capabilities." Davidson published his theory in 364:
containing a photograph clearly showing two "saucers" in front of a hangar and surrounded by workers, two small planes and a few trucks. In the photo, the left side of the smaller "saucer" is clearly marked "USAF". The larger "saucer" has what appears to be "USAF" also but is not as clearly visible.
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was a test by the CIA of electronic counter-measure (ECM) technology. "Since 1951, the CIA has caused or sponsored saucer sightings for its own purposes," Davidson wrote. "By shrewd psychological manipulation, a series of ‘normal’ events has been served up so as to appear as quite convincing
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Davidson died in White Plains Hospital on January 1, 2007. His ashes are buried in White Plains, New York, He was survived by his wife, Doris, his three children (Ed, Carole, and Martha), his two granddaughters (Leah and Rachel), and his three great-grandsons (Alex, Wesley, and Nathan) and
295:(where he was Manager of Advanced Applications Development), he became an independent consultant, working for both government clients including Oak Ridge National Laboratories and commercial clients including Mini-Computer Systems of 199:, and arguing that UFOs are not best explained as physical spacecraft occupied by extraterrestrial intelligence, but rather as a sophisticated government disinformation campaign that is used to hide experimental military technology. 550: 490: 345:
Davidson firmly believed that the objects reported to be extraterrestrial spacecraft were, in fact, experimental aircraft developed by the Air Force or CIA. According to American historian
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On the side, he formed his own technology consulting and design company (Metroprocessing Corporation of America) to explore and exploit the emerging technology of
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In the mid-to-late 1950s, Davidson volunteered at the Civil Defense Filter Center in White Plains, helping track and identify aircraft flying over the
283:, entering the emerging field of computer technology and development. Following stints in management at several large technology companies including 260: 433: 354: 264: 545: 456: 105: 358:
evidence of extraterrestrial UFOs... military use of ECM on a classified basis unknown to the radar observers who were involved."
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telephones). His goal was to make Metroprocessing the single source of information on the application of the twelve button
248: 58: 191:(October 18, 1922 – January 1, 2007) was an American chemical engineer and scientist, one of the team that developed the 327: 196: 65: 323: 32: 418: 72: 495: 425: 335: 331: 280: 256: 236: 156: 54: 509: 402: 374: 311: 540: 535: 224: 373:
An avid thinker, Davidson spent many hours analyzing major national and world events, including the
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Special Report No. 14, the primary source book on the Air Force's findings related to UFOs.
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In the mid-1950s, he joined the Nuclear Development Corporation of America in
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to permit him to publish and distribute, in its entirety, the Air Force's
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Local newspaper in White Plains, New York - Obituary on January 7, 2007
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On June 29, 2018, Davidson's son, Edward Davidson, found an article
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in early 1959, in an article titled "ECM+CIA=UFO", arguing that the
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American scientist who helped develop the atomic bomb (1922 – 2007)
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Mirage Men: A Journey Into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs.
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Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
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Leon Davidson's flying saucer collection, 1950-1980
326:. He devoted much of his free time to the study of 171: 163: 145: 130: 123: 46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 377:, questionable Presidential elections and the 8: 491:"CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-1990" 314:to private companies and public agencies. 120: 233:School of Engineering and Applied Science 106:Learn how and when to remove this message 561:Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel 394: 271:before moving into the private sector. 414: 412: 291:, General Precision Laboratories, and 7: 44:adding citations to reliable sources 355:1952 Washington, D.C., UFO incident 556:People from White Plains, New York 14: 20: 318:Civilian UFO investigatory work 31:needs additional citations for 448:The UFO Controversy in America 445:Jacobs, David Michael (1975). 385:great-granddaughter (Maddie). 1: 249:Oak Ridge National Laboratory 167:Scientist, chemical engineer 328:Unidentified Flying Objects 197:extraterrestrial hypothesis 577: 489:Haines, Gerald K. (1997). 428:. Chapter Six, pp. 48-53. 324:New York metropolitan area 203:Education and early career 255:, he moved his family to 546:Manhattan Project people 493:(unclassified edition). 403:"Columbia College Today" 261:Atomic Energy Commission 211:, Davidson received his 522:at Columbia University. 496:Studies in Intelligence 332:Congressional committee 330:(UFOs). He convinced a 281:White Plains, New York 257:Los Alamos, New Mexico 237:Stuyvesant High School 157:White Plains, New York 375:Kennedy assassination 265:Department of Defense 312:touch tone telephone 225:chemical engineering 40:improve this article 514:Columbia University 499:. No. 1. pp. 67-84. 229:Columbia University 379:Jonestown massacre 304:touch-tone dialing 297:Elmsford, New York 434:978-1-84901-240-9 340:Project Blue Book 245:Manhattan Project 186: 185: 177:Manhattan Project 116: 115: 108: 90: 568: 477: 474: 468: 443: 437: 419:Pilkington, Mark 416: 407: 406: 399: 287:, Teleregister, 152: 141:October 18, 1922 140: 138: 121: 111: 104: 100: 97: 91: 89: 48: 24: 16: 576: 575: 571: 570: 569: 567: 566: 565: 526: 525: 506: 486: 484:Further reading 481: 480: 475: 471: 444: 440: 417: 410: 401: 400: 396: 391: 371: 347:David M. Jacobs 320: 277: 241:John R. Dunning 205: 159: 154: 150: 149:January 1, 2007 136: 134: 126: 119: 112: 101: 95: 92: 55:"Leon Davidson" 49: 47: 37: 25: 12: 11: 5: 574: 572: 564: 563: 558: 553: 548: 543: 538: 528: 527: 524: 523: 517: 505: 504:External links 502: 501: 500: 485: 482: 479: 478: 469: 438: 408: 393: 392: 390: 387: 370: 367: 319: 316: 306:(now used for 276: 275:Postwar career 273: 204: 201: 184: 183: 173: 172:Known for 169: 168: 165: 161: 160: 155: 153:(aged 84) 147: 143: 142: 132: 128: 127: 124: 117: 114: 113: 28: 26: 19: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 573: 562: 559: 557: 554: 552: 549: 547: 544: 542: 539: 537: 534: 533: 531: 521: 518: 515: 511: 508: 507: 503: 498: 497: 492: 488: 487: 483: 473: 470: 466: 462: 458: 457:0-253-19006-1 454: 450: 449: 442: 439: 435: 431: 427: 424: 420: 415: 413: 409: 404: 398: 395: 388: 386: 382: 380: 376: 369:Personal life 368: 366: 363: 359: 356: 352: 348: 343: 341: 337: 334:to force the 333: 329: 325: 317: 315: 313: 309: 305: 300: 298: 294: 290: 289:Western Union 286: 285:Union Carbide 282: 274: 272: 270: 266: 262: 258: 254: 250: 246: 242: 238: 234: 230: 226: 222: 218: 214: 210: 209:New York City 202: 200: 198: 194: 190: 189:Leon Davidson 182: 178: 174: 170: 166: 164:Occupation(s) 162: 158: 148: 144: 133: 129: 125:Leon Davidson 122: 110: 107: 99: 88: 85: 81: 78: 74: 71: 67: 64: 60: 57: –  56: 52: 51:Find sources: 45: 41: 35: 34: 29:This article 27: 23: 18: 17: 494: 472: 447: 441: 422: 397: 383: 372: 360: 350: 344: 321: 301: 278: 269:The Pentagon 243:to join the 207:A native of 206: 188: 187: 151:(2007-01-01) 102: 93: 83: 76: 69: 62: 50: 38:Please help 33:verification 30: 541:2007 deaths 536:1922 births 351:Saucer News 308:push-button 219:(1947) and 193:atomic bomb 530:Categories 389:References 223:(1951) in 137:1922-10-18 66:newspapers 426:Constable 336:Air Force 253:Tennessee 96:July 2007 510:Obituary 421:(2010). 263:and the 215:(1943), 465:1120938 181:Ufology 80:scholar 463:  455:  432:  82:  75:  68:  61:  53:  227:from 221:Ph.D. 87:JSTOR 73:books 461:OCLC 453:ISBN 430:ISBN 217:M.S. 213:B.S. 175:The 146:Died 131:Born 59:news 512:at 293:IBM 267:at 251:in 231:'s 42:by 532:: 459:. 411:^ 381:. 299:. 179:, 516:. 467:. 436:. 405:. 139:) 135:( 109:) 103:( 98:) 94:( 84:· 77:· 70:· 63:· 36:.

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"Leon Davidson"
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White Plains, New York
Manhattan Project
Ufology
atomic bomb
extraterrestrial hypothesis
New York City
B.S.
M.S.
Ph.D.
chemical engineering
Columbia University
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Stuyvesant High School
John R. Dunning
Manhattan Project
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Tennessee
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Atomic Energy Commission

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