Morris K. Jessup

The UFO researcher who became an enigma due to conspiracies about his death

Name	Morris K. Jessup
Age	59
Born	March 2, 1900
Died	April 20, 1959
Famous for	Being a pioneer in the study of flying saucers

In the afternoon of April 20, 1959, the lifeless body of Morris Jessup was found slumped in his station wagon in Dade County Park. The cause of which was concluded to be suicide, but many of his friends beg to differ.

This disorder led to the name “Morris K. Jessup” becoming embroiled in the mysterious case of the Philadelphia Experiment and in a conspiracy theory that the man was silenced.

Establishing the truth about his demise has long proved futile. Learning about his life leading up to his passing raises more questions than answers, but it has never failed to be interesting.

Who was this enigmatic figure, and what did he contribute to ufology?

Who Was Morris K. Jessup?

Morris Ketchum Jessup was born on March 20, 1900, on a farm near Rockville, Indiana, to his parents, George and Edna Jessup.

Right after graduating from high school, he immediately joined the Navy in 1918. By 1919, he enrolled at the University of Michigan and earned a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy in 1925, followed by a master’s degree the next year.

He pursued a PhD in astrophysics but stopped working on his dissertation in 1931 due to two possible reasons: (1) he abandoned his studies, or (2) he failed to pass his doctoral exam.

His Career Before Ufology

Hearsays and uncertainties fill Jessup’s early career before entering the UFO field.

Some summed up his life as a “used auto parts salesman.” Other publications wrote that he was a professor at Drake University in 1932, but this was also questioned due to an alleged lack of employment records at the institution.

Still, an article from the Drake Times-Delphic, dated October 6, 1932, was allegedly found by Mark Stumme at Drake’s Cowles Library, welcoming the astronomer to the university as an instructor in astronomy and mathematics.

In a subsequent article, he was described as “an engineer in a Carnegie Institution expedition and later became an expert in crude rubber for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” Jessup himself supported this in the attached biography in his book, which stated that the U.S. Department indeed assigned him to study sources of crude rubber in the Amazon.

Some tales also indicated that he had undergone some investigative activities, charting that these were “alien” structures:

• Inca ruins in Peru
• Mayan ruins in Mexico

From May 1943 to 1944, he was reportedly re-employed by the U.S. government, but this time, his title was never disclosed.

What Were Morris Jessup’s Contributions to UFO Research?

After leaving Drake University in the 1940s, Morris Jessup began to take an interest in the new field of UFOs, or flying saucers, following Kenneth Arnold’s experience.

His research into the subject began in the 1950s, as he moved to Washington. He was then quick to publish four books in the field in the following years:

• The Case for the UFO (1955) — The book details how flying saucers have already existed for thousands of years and attempts to explain the phenomenon.
• The UFO Annual (1956) — A collection of significant sightings from the 1950s intended to draw a clear picture of why they’re happening.
• UFOs and The Bible (1956) — An interpretation of biblical phenomena in the same light as the UFO phenomenon.
• The Expanding Case for the UFO (1957) — The book lists what Morris Jessup believed was thought-provoking evidence of space life.

His writings followed his personal explorations in Mexico, Peru, and other locations, where he saw up close groups of craters and believed they were made by objects from space. He also published that the stonework in Peru was created with the “levitating power of space ships.”

Morris Jessup was considered one of the pioneers of ufology, with his theories even predating those of Erich von Däniken. He was an earnest researcher who called for further exploration.

Unfortunately, his books were released at a time when there had been a surge of nonsensical materials about the subject. This led to a lack of recognition for Jessup’s research, not because it lacked substance, but because of timing. In his words, “There is so much nonsense being put out by silly people that one gets disgusted with a lot of it.”³

What Was His Involvement in the Philadelphia Experiment?

When we look up the infamous Philadelphia Experiment, Morris K. Jessup is a name that comes up a lot. He wasn’t integral to the creation of this experiment, but he was associated with it because his ideas about electromagnetism were allegedly close to the science behind it.

The Philadelphia Experiment was a bizarre, top-secret naval experiment that took place in October 1943 involving the USS Eldridge.

It was said that the ship allegedly became invisible and teleported from Philadelphia to Norfolk and back in minutes through electromagnetic technology. The Navy was believed to have received support from Jessup’s first book. However, unsurprisingly, when the matter was investigated, the military denied that such an experiment had occurred.

How Did Morris Jessup Become Involved?

His involvement in the Philadelphia Experiment dates back to the publication of his first book, during which he gave lectures and urged the public to pressure the government to sponsor a research program on gravity.

This caught the attention of Carlos Miguel Allende and sparked their intellectual exchange through letters. The “Allende Letters” started on January 13, 1956, when Jessup received Allende’s first letter. He first mentioned the astronomer’s lecture before detailing what happened during the alleged unorthodox naval experiment.

The Allende Letters

Below is a short direct quote from this letter:

The “result” was complete invisibility of a ship, Destroyer type, and all of its crew While at Sea. (Oct. 1943) The Field Was effective in an oblate spheroidal shape, extending one Hundred yards (More or Less, due to Lunar position & Latitude) out from each beach of the ship. Any Person Within that sphere became vague in form BUT He too observed those Persons aboard that ship as though they too were of the same state, yet were walking upon nothing.

According to Allende, the crew on board that ship became crazy because of the experiment. He also noted that these effects only reflected that man isn’t ready for force-field work, as Jessup encouraged in his lectures.

The astronomer responded to Allende on a postcard, saying:

This is without doubt the most remarkable report that I have had out of hundreds of letters from readers of my book … I would like all the information I can get from you about more details, and especially names and addresses of witnesses. This material is of great importance, believe me. It is important, and we must know more about this phenomenon.

Allende immediately replied to Jessup, and his letter affirmed that there could have been witnesses to interview. However, it could require the sailor to be hypnotized to remember the details he was asking. Under hypnosis, he believed he could imitate these witnesses.

Carlos Allende also added that he wrote these letters because, like Jessup, he desired to understand and enable more work on the Field Theory. 

THE ULTIMATE END WILL BE A TRUTH TOO HUGE, TOO FANTASTIC, TO NOT BE TOLD. A WELL FOUNDED TRUTH, BACKED UP BY UNOBFUSCATIVE [sic] PROOF POSITIVE
…
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACTUALLY SPEAK TO (or some of THE MEN) A MAN WHO WAS ONCE AN INVISIBLE HAMAN [sic] BEING? (MAY BECOME SO IN FRONT OF YOUR VERY EYES IF HE TURNS-OFF HIS HIP-SET).

While the Navy had been adamant in denying the existence of the Philadelphia Experiment, an article from a New Jersey newspaper seemed to report an incident relevant to it. Under the headline “Strange Circumstances Surround Tavern Brawl,” it wrote:

Several city police officers responding to a call to aid members of the Navy Shore Patrol … got something of a surprise when they arrived on the scene to find the place empty of customers. According to a pair of very nervous waitresses, the Shore Patrol had arrived first and cleared the place out-but not before two of the sailors involved allegedly did a disappearing act. “They just sort of vanished into thin air right there.”

The Varo Edition of His Book

Aside from the Allende Letters, the most prominent link connecting Morris Jessup to the Philadelphia Experiment was an annotated version of his book, The Case for the UFO.

A copy of this was mailed to the Chief of the Office of Naval Research, Admiral N. Furth, with the mysterious note: Happy Easter. Upon examination, the book contained several notes written by three people (Mr. A, Mr. B, and Jemi⁴) who appeared to have adequate knowledge of UFOs.

Such comments included notes like:

US Navy’s force-field experiments, 1943, October produced invisibility of crew & ship. Fearsome results. So terrifying as to. Fortunately, further research halted! (by Mr. A)

Ethereal types, Similar to results of Navy experiments, in force-field invisibility, 1943 SOLIDS GO THROO [sic] THEM, NO HARM TO OCCUPANTS AT ALL. (by Mr. A)

This annotated version was reproduced by Varo Manufacturing Corporation, a firm involved in military aerospace design.

Over the years, Jessup allegedly became more involved in the research about this experiment. In an interview, his personal friend, Dr. J. Manson Valentine, recalled that the astronomer had attended several conferences with scientists and Navy officers on the subject.

According to Jessup, the purpose was to test out the effect of a strong magnetic field on a manned surface craft. This was to be accomplished by means of magnetic generators …

When the experiment first began to take effect, a hazy green light became evident. Soon, the whole ship was full of this green haze, and the craft, together with its personnel, began disappearing from the sight of those on the dock until only its water line was visible.

In 1958, Jessup allegedly turned over all his collected information about the Philadelphia Experiment to researcher Ivan Sanderson.

Was His Death Tied to This Naval Experiment?

By April in the following year, Morris Jessup was found dead in his wagon. However, the details about his death, which were expertly executed, were suspicious to the people close to him.

• The hose was wired to his wagon’s exhaust pipe, not stuffed in.
• The rags stuffed into the windows were wet, but no water sources were found.
• The briefcase he was seen carrying that morning was nowhere to be found.
• He was pronounced D.O.A by Dr. Harry Reed, who just happened on the scene.
• Mrs. Jessup refused to identify his body, saying she was certain he wouldn’t do it.

In his death certificate, the cause was concluded to be “inhaled auto exhaust.” No other information was given, and no autopsy was conducted.

This was clarified by Dr. Joseph Davis, an examiner at Dade County, stating that Jessup had donated his body to the University of Miami. However, this was disrupted by Ann Genzlinger, an author and his close friend, who quoted Florida State Code No. 406.11, which lists circumstances that would require an autopsy.

The following fit Morris Jessup’s case:

• His case was concluded as a suicide by a homicide detective.
• A practicing physician didn’t attend his case.
• His case included unusual circumstances.

In another interview, Genzlinger further fueled suspicions surrounding Jessup’s death by sharing that the astronomer arranged to meet Dr. Valentine days before his death.

The Valentines told me they had been trying to reach Jessup for three days before his death to ask him over, for they were worried about what he had told them. He had told them he was ‘on to something that might be big.”

Richard Ogden [phonetic] also expressed his suspicions when interviewed by writer Gray Barker, who was investigating Jessup’s death. The man theorized that Morris Jessup took his own life because he had been hypnotized through subliminal conditioning.

He was sent a tape recording that contained self-destruction suggestions. The tape employed hypnotic suggestions superimposed on music and mixed with white sound. No one can resist being hypnotized by soundwaves. This is disguised hypnosis, and it is foolproof.

Unfortunately, there is no way to conclude which of these theories is correct or if Morris Jessup did, in fact, commit suicide. Many stuck to believing the latter, while others are still entertaining suspicions about it.

What Were Morris Jessup’s Beliefs About UFOs?

History is replete with stories of the mysterious and ghostly disappearances of people, singly and in groups, publicly or in unobserved obscurity … No explanation other than that of abduction by intelligently navigated aerial or celestial crafts can be advanced.

Jessup was adamant that UFOs were real and had existed for many centuries. However, while he believed in their existence, he also emphasized the need to avoid overstepping—that not everything unexplained is extraterrestrial but can also be psychic.

To him, the heightened activities recorded today could be attributed to humanity’s “slow awakening from intellectual immaturity.”

In The Case for the UFO, Jessup also tackled the long-debated suspicion that most UFO sightings might simply be Russian machinery. He supported this ideology, but, most importantly, questioned how it managed to build one. To this, he suggested the possibilities:

• Russia might have captured a spaceship and studied it.
• Space people have taken over Russia.

If the UFOs are, indeed, interested in preventing the disintegration of the Earth through atomic warfare, it is but natural that they would act through control of one or both of the nations now throwing around their atomic weight.

What Is Morris Jessup’s Legacy in Modern Ufology?

Morris Jessup’s legacy in ufology is captured not in proving UFOs, but in shaping how their existence can be argued. Considered a pioneer in this field, he helped move the subject toward a more analytical lens and introduced a more technical language in discussions.

Morris Jessup also became a probable case study of government attention and speculation about repression. His story also reflects how different sources, both reliable and unreliable, can complicate narratives and fuse them into enduring myths.

His story is a popular case in modern ufology. It has inspired multiple materials to discuss and investigate every possible angle to answer the question about his death.

• The Strange Case of Dr. M.K. Jessup by Gray Barker
• Project Rainbow and the Philadelphia Experiment: Morris K. Jessup and US Navy Teleportation by David Childress
• The Philadelphia Experiment: Project Invisibility by William L. Moore & Charles Berlitz
• The Jessup Dimension by Anna L. Genzlinger

There are more UFO researchers like Morris K. Jessup who contributed to the growth of ufology. Learn more about these individuals through UFO Connect.

FAQ

Did Morris Jessup believe UFOs were extraterrestrial?

Morris Jessup didn’t claim they were extraterrestrial. Instead, he argued that their characteristics suggested technology beyond human understanding and urged further study.

What is The Case for the UFO about?

Morris Jessup’s The Case for the UFO presents the argument that UFO sightings represent real phenomena. He examined their patterns, characteristics, and speculated about their physics to investigate the subject seriously.

What is the Philadelphia Experiment, and how is Jessup connected to it?

The Philadelphia Experiment is about a supposed WWII Navy experiment involving invisibility. Jessup’s connection to it comes from the letters he received from Carlos Allende, who linked the experiment to Jessup’s ideas.

References