Donald Howard Menzel
- Life status
- Confirmed deceased
- Profession
- Astrophysicist
- Also recorded as
- Donald H. Menzel
- Born
- 11 April 1901
- Age
- Not stated in the sources reached
- Died
- 14 December 1976 · known to the day
- Organisations
- Harvard College Observatory, director, 1952–1966
- Works
- None catalogued yet
In plain words
Astrophysicist. Analysed UFO reports; the NAS memoir says his analysis did much to debunk claims of visitations by extraterrestrial vehicles.
Biography
Donald Howard Menzel, American astrophysicist and director of the Harvard College Observatory (1952–1966), is the subject of the National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir (1991).
Born on 11 April 1901 in Florence, Colorado (NAS Biographical Memoir).
Astrophysicist; as director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1952 to 1966 he set up one of the first university programmes in radio and space astronomy (NAS memoir).
Director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1952 to 1966 (NAS memoir).
Analysed UFO reports; the NAS memoir says his analysis did much to debunk claims of visitations by extraterrestrial vehicles.
Died on 14 December 1976 (NAS memoir; Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers).
Died in Boston, Massachusetts, according to the Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (2007). Attributed
Research field: astrophysics, the profession documented for Donald H. Menzel (director of the Harvard College Observatory).
Not established
- Not establishedNo read source states a cause of death. Not established in the reviewed sources; NAS Biographical Memoir (1991) and the Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers entry read on 2026-11-12; Crossref obituary records (titles only).; checked 12 Nov 2026.
Connection to UAP research
Analysed UFO reports; the NAS memoir says his analysis did much to debunk claims of visitations by extraterrestrial vehicles.
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
- Donald Howard Menzel 1901–1976, Biographical Memoir (Leo Goldberg and Lawrence H. Aller) (opens in a new tab)National Academy of Sciences, 1991 · Institution · readAuthor: Leo Goldberg; Lawrence H. Aller
- Menzel, Donald Howard (The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers) (opens in a new tab)Springer, 2007 · Institution · partly readAuthor: Bogdan