Notes (and Queries and Comments)

NOTES (and QUERIES and COMMENTS) Dr. Murray Sees a UFO Wr ords," Dr.Johnson wrote in his famous preface, "are the daughters ofearth, and . . . things are the sons ofheaven." The words unidentifiedflying object (and the abbreviation UFO) do not appear in written English until 1953, and now they are certainly well known to all who speculate about extra-terrestrial visitation. So for the words. But the thing itself also has a connection with lexicography in that one of the first UFOs reported in modern times was observed in Oxford on 31 August 1895 by James A. H. Murray. As any eminent Victorian would do when confronted with such an event, Dr. Murray wrote a letter to The Times to discover if anyone else had seen it. Sir,—On Saturday evening last I was walking northward on the eastern pavement in St. Giles's, Oxford, and, havingjust passed the entrance of St. John's, was still within the enclosed area in front of that College when my eyes were arrested by a brilliant luminous body which suddenly emerged over the tops of the trees before me on the left and moved eastward across the sky above and in front of me. Its appearance was, at the first glance, such as to suggest a brilliant meteor, considerably larger than Venus at her greatest brilliancy, but the slowness of its motion, as it sailed or floated majestically across the field of vision, as ifdriven by a strong wind, made me doubt whether it was not some artificial firework. Expecting to see it explode or go out, I watched for a second or two till it neared its culminating point and was about to be hidden from me by the lofty College building, on which I sprang over the corner of the low stone wall of the enclosure and, walking sidewise and backwards across St. Giles's, I was enabled to see it through the space between the old and new buildings of the College, as it continued its course toward the eastern horizon. It did not explode , emit any spark, or leave any train or track; but it became Notes179 rapidly dimmer and fainter as it approached the horizon, and finally disappeared behind a tree seen through the space in question, leaving me quite uncertain as to its nature. The fact that it so perceptibly grew fainter as it receded seems to imply that it had not a very great elevation, and so far favours a terrestrial origin, though I am quite unable to conceive how anything artificial could present the same appearance. On the other hand, if a meteor, its course was many times slower than that of any meteor I have ever seen. I was too much taken by surprise, and too intent upon watching its behavior, to note at the moment its apparent course among the stars; but on observing the heavens after its disappearance I concluded that its apparent path from my point ofsight was from near Alloth on the tip of the Bear's tail, close under the Pole Star, through Cassiopeia, towards Andromeda. I hope that if other of your readers saw it they will give an account of its appearance to them, which may at least settle the question of its meteoric character. I am sorry not to be able to give the precise time, as I had just left my watch at a watchmaker's for repair; but I think (subject to correction) that it was a few minutes before 8. Oxford, Sept. 2.J. A. H. Murray Publication of this letter (on 4 September 1895) elicited one response . A. Warren Melhuise reported seeing the same object soaring over Margate at about 10:15 the same evening; it had a triangular shape, he thought. An independent observation by another letterwriter chided The Times for failing to report the flight of this "curious object." For the rest of the month, astronomical correspondence discussed the apparent jiggling of the moon a few days later. Murray's encounter with the UFO took place adjacent to the building in Oxford where his work as a lexicographer is carried on today. If he had continued walking sideways and backwards in...