Bruce Maccabee
- Life status
- Confirmed deceased
- Profession
- Also recorded as
- Bruce S. Maccabee · Macabee
- Born
- Not recorded
- Age
- 82 · as reported by MUFON (attributed), at the recorded event
- Fields
- Not classified yet: categories await the owner’s taxonomy review
- Organisations
- Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), member from 1975; long-time State Director for Maryland, from 1975
Naval Surface Warfare Center (U.S. Navy), optical physicist (Naval Ordnance Laboratory / Naval Surface Weapons Center, White Oak); 1972–2008 per MUFON
National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), early member · attributed - Works
- None catalogued yet
In plain words
Directly involved in UFO research: MUFON State Director for Maryland from the 1970s and author of a 1979 journal paper on the photometry of an unidentified object seen off New Zealand.
Biography
Bruce Maccabee (Bruce S. Maccabee), optical physicist at the U.S. Navy laboratory at White Oak and MUFON State Director for Maryland, is the person described by the MUFON obituary and the author of the 1979 Applied Optics paper on the New Zealand sighting.
MUFON says he "had just celebrated his 82nd birthday" when he died, i.e. he was 82. Attributed
Died on May 10, 2024, according to the MUFON obituary. Attributed
Died at his home in Lima, Ohio, according to the MUFON obituary. Attributed
MUFON states that he "died of natural causes". This is the organisation's statement, not an official determination; no medical cause is given. Attributed
Optical physicist with the U.S. Navy (retired), according to MUFON. The 1979 Applied Optics record (an optics paper written from the Naval Surface Weapons Center) is consistent with this but does not itself state his profession. Attributed
Worked at the U.S. Navy laboratory at White Oak, Silver Spring, Maryland: the 1979 journal record gives his affiliation as the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center, White Oak. The laboratory's earlier and later names (Naval Ordnance Laboratory; Naval Surface Warfare Center) come from the MUFON paragraph that quotes Wikipedia.
Began his career at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, White Oak, in 1972 and retired from government service in 2008, according to a paragraph MUFON introduces as quoting Wikipedia. Attributed
Received a B.S. in physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. and Ph.D. in physics at American University, Washington, DC (no years given), according to a paragraph MUFON introduces as quoting Wikipedia. Attributed
Worked on optical data processing, generation of underwater sound with lasers and aspects of the Strategic Defense Initiative and Ballistic Missile Defense using high-power lasers, according to a paragraph MUFON introduces as quoting Wikipedia. Attributed
Joined MUFON in 1975 and became its long-time State Director for Maryland, as MUFON states about its own officer.
An early member of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), according to MUFON; no years are given. Attributed
Published "Photometric properties of an unidentified bright object seen off the coast of New Zealand" in Applied Optics, vol. 18, issue 15, pp. 2527–2528 (published August 1, 1979), as sole author affiliated with the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center, White Oak. The journal record shows a published comment by other authors and his reply (1980). The paper's findings were not read.
MUFON names the Gulf Breeze incidents, the Phoenix Lights and an analysis of the McMinnville photos among his most famous investigations. Their conclusions are not assessed here. Attributed
Wrote dozens of white papers and authored or contributed to several books, which MUFON lists as "UFO are Real, Here's the Proof", "Could UFOs be Real" and "The UFO/FBI Connection" (titles as printed; years not given). Attributed
Directly involved in UFO research: MUFON State Director for Maryland from the 1970s and author of a 1979 journal paper on the photometry of an unidentified object seen off New Zealand.
Not established
- Not establishedNo cited source states his date of birth. Not established in the reviewed sources; MUFON obituary (24 May 2024) and the Applied Optics record, read 2026-11-07 and re-read 2026-11-10, give no birth date (MUFON says only that he had just celebrated his 82nd birthday). English Wikipedia states May 6, 1942 without an inline citation. The obituary pages that probably state it (Chiles-Laman Funeral & Cremation Services; Legacy.com listings for The Lima News and Chiles-Laman) could not be read: the funeral-home page returns only its template and Legacy.com refused access (HTTP 403). A search-result snippet of the Legacy.com page is not treated as a read source.; checked 10 Nov 2026.
- Not establishedNo reviewed source states a medical cause of death. Not established in the reviewed sources; MUFON obituary (24 May 2024) read in full on 2026-11-07 says only "died of natural causes"; no medical cause. The funeral-home obituary could not be read.; checked 7 Nov 2026.
- Not establishedNo reviewed source says whether an official determination of cause or manner was made. Not established in the reviewed sources; MUFON obituary (24 May 2024) read in full on 2026-11-07; it mentions no coroner, medical examiner or death certificate.; checked 7 Nov 2026.
Connection to UAP research
Directly involved in UFO research: MUFON State Director for Maryland from the 1970s and author of a 1979 journal paper on the photometry of an unidentified object seen off New Zealand.
Works
No works catalogued in the approved record yet. Works mentioned in sources appear as attributed statements in the biography.
Timeline
Events and cases
No case file is published for this person. Recorded life events are in the timeline above; a case is opened only with its own evidence and review.
Sources
- Legendary UFO Researcher Dr. Bruce Maccabee has Passed! (opens in a new tab)MUFON (Mutual UFO Network), 2024 · Organisation website · read
- Photometric properties of an unidentified bright object seen off the coast of New Zealand (Applied Optics 18(15), 2527–2528, 1979; doi:10.1364/AO.18.002527) (opens in a new tab)Optica Publishing Group (Applied Optics), 1979 · Peer-reviewed publication · partly readAuthor: Bruce S. Maccabee