Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Balloon Expedition to the North Pole
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AI-Generated Summary
This document is a 1896 Canadian government public notice regarding a Swedish North Pole balloon expedition. It includes a later note explaining that the expedition was delayed until 1897 and crashed shortly after launch, despite many contemporary sightings being attributed to it.
This document is a public notice issued by the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada on May 16, 1896. It serves to inform the public and authorities in Canada about a planned scientific balloon expedition to the North Pole, organized by the Government of His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway. The expedition was to be led by three Swedish scientists: Salomon August Andrée, Dr. Nils Gustaf Ekholm, and Mr. Nils Stringberg, departing from Spitzbergen. The notice requests that if the balloon were sighted, observers should record the date, time, direction of the balloon, and wind direction, and report this information to local newspapers or learned bodies. Furthermore, it asks the public to provide assistance to the explorers should they arrive in any locality having lost their balloon. A supplementary note added by UFO*BC clarifies that while the expedition was intended for 1896, poor weather delayed the departure until July 11, 1897. The balloon crashed on the pack ice only two days after launch, far from Canada. The note also mentions that many sightings reported in Canada and the US in 1896 and early 1897 were erroneously attributed to this specific balloon expedition.
If the balloon be seen only and no communication be had with the exploring party, it is requested that the following particulars may be noted and communicated either to a local newspaper or to some learned body, namely, the day and the hour in which the balloon was seen, the direction of the balloon, and the direction of the wind.
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Key Persons
- Salomon August AndréeSwedish scientist
- Dr. Nils Gustaf EkholmSwedish scientist
- Nils StringbergSwedish scientist