Philip Julian Klass (November 8, 1919 – August 9, 2005) was an American journalist, and UFO researcher, known for his skepticism regarding UFOs. In the ufological and skeptical communities, Klass inspires polarized appraisals. He has been called the "Sherlock Holmes of UFOlogy". Klass demonstrated "the crusader's zeal for what seems 'right,' regardless of whether it brings popular acclaim," a trait he claimed his father instilled in him. "I've found," said Klass, "that roughly 97, 98 percent of the people who report seeing UFOs are fundamentally intelligent, honest people who have seen something—usually at night, in darkness—that is unfamiliar, that they cannot explain." The rest, he said, were frauds.
Longtime ufologist James W. Moseley illustrated the ambivalence many UFO researchers feel about Klass. On the one hand, Moseley argued that Klass was sincere in his motives and that his work ultimately benefited the field of Ufology. In his memoirs, Moseley contended that, when pressed, most leading ufologists would admit that Klass knew the subject and the people involved and was welcomed, or at least pleasantly tolerated, at UFO meetings. However, Moseley also wrote that he and Klass "have had and continue to have intense doctrinal and factual disagreements, and there are things about Phil's 'style', like his attack on James E. McDonald, that I do not admire or agree with." In his 1999 interview of Klass, fellow debunker Gary P. Posner wrote that despite some recent health problems, the 80-year-old "Klass's mind—and pen—remain razor sharp, to the delight of his grateful followers and to the constant vexation (or worse) of his legions of detractors."
Personal life
Klass was born November 8, 1919, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Raymond Klass and Anne Traxler, and grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His father was a lawyer recognized throughout the United States as an expert on automobile negligence law. As a Boy Scout he won a ride in an autogyro (an early helicopter) at the Iowa State Fair, and his younger sister, Rosanne Klass, also recalled that he spent a lot of time building crystal radios. He graduated from Iowa State College in 1941 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.
Klass moved from the Midwest to Washington, D.C., when he went to work for Aviation Week. Between maintaining his journalistic responsibilities and keeping up with claims from the UFO community, Klass spent much of his adult life as a loner and workaholic. He married at age 60. His wife, Nadya, was six years his junior and worked for the Bulgaria service of Voice of America. They had no children of their own, but Nadya had a son who escaped with her from communist Bulgaria in 1973.
Career
Senior Avionics Editor, Aviation Week and Space Technology
For ten years, Klass worked for General Electric as an engineer in aviation electronics. Dissatisfied with his job, in 1952 he moved to Washington, DC, and joined Aviation Week, which later became Aviation Week & Space Technology. He was a senior editor of Aviation Week & Space Technology for thirty-four years.
Always striving to stay on the cutting edge, Klass published an "Exclusive Report on Counter Measures" in the November 18 and 25, 1957, editions of Aviation Week. This report was referred to the FBI for the "unauthorized disclosure of information classified 'Secret'". An investigation into the disclosure was dropped when the US Air Force told the FBI that the disclosed information could not be declassified for purposes of prosecution.
Klass wrote some of the first articles on inertial guidance systems, infrared missile guidance, and microelectronics.
Declassified National Reconnaissance Office documents including a history of the Hexagon Project illustrate Klass's impact on the aerospace industry: His book Secret Sentries in Space (1971) was one of the first books about spy-satellite technology.
In 1973 Klass was named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He also was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the now-defunct Aviation/Space Writers Association, the National Press Club, and the National Aviation Club. Asteroid 7277 (1983 RM2) was named "Klass" after him. He received the Lauren D. Lyman Award in 1989 from the Aviation/Space Writers Association for distinguished career-long achievements, and the Boeing Decade of Excellence Award for lifetime achievement in 1998 from the Royal Aeronautical Society.