On November 13, 1897, Professor Jeremiah McDonald of Binghamton, New York, reportedly witnessed a brilliant flash followed by an object striking the ground near his home. The recovered object was described as a heat-fused, meteorite-like mass containing a metallic substance marked with strange characters.
On the night of November 13, 1897, during the period of intense public interest in mysterious aerial phenomena and the possibility of life on Mars, an unusual object was reportedly observed falling near Binghamton, New York.
According to contemporary newspaper reports, Professor Jeremiah McDonald, who lived on Park Avenue, was near his home when he witnessed a blinding flash of light and what appeared to be a fiery object descending from the sky. The following morning, McDonald investigated the area and reportedly discovered a hole in the ground containing a strange, heat-fused mass.
The object was described as being roughly spherical and composed of an unusual whitish or porous substance. After it had cooled, it was broken open, reportedly revealing a metallic-looking piece bearing a series of unusual marks resembling written characters. Contemporary accounts also mentioned a strong sulphurous odor coming from the material. Professor Whitney of the Binghamton High School reportedly identified the object as an aerolite (meteorite), although he considered it unlike anything he had previously encountered.
The strange markings quickly transformed the incident from an unusual meteorite story into something considerably more sensational. Some observers suggested that the markings resembled Egyptian or other ancient writing, while McDonald and others reportedly entertained the extraordinary possibility that the object was a message deliberately sent from another planet, most likely Mars. The idea attracted considerable newspaper attention, appearing in publications including The New York Times and The New York World.
The story also attracted the attention of Ezekiel Stone Wiggins, a Canadian meteorological and astronomical enthusiast known for unconventional theories. Wiggins publicly supported the possibility that the object represented a message from Mars and speculated about how an advanced Martian civilization might theoretically propel material between planets.
The extraterrestrial interpretation did not withstand later scrutiny. A 1905 account by Walter George Bell argued that the supposed "writing" was most likely a natural feature produced by crystallization, while the apparent separate metallic interior could be explained by the meteorite's composition and fusion during atmospheric entry.
| Date: | 1897-11-13 |
| Location: | Texas |
| Country: | United States |
| Category: | Civilian |
| Credibility: | Low |