Presidential X-Files: Theodore Roosevelt and the Light Over Sagamore Hill
On August 1, 1907, strange lights were reported to be seen over Sagamore Hill, in Oyster Bay, New York, the home of the 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt. According to an old clipping from a newspaper called the D.C. Evening Star dated August 2, 1907, two events of a mysterious nature occurred in the town of Oyster Bay in a twenty-four hour period and both involved the President.
One of these incidents involved a strange discovery by the town librarian, a Miss Denton, who opened up the library that morning (August 1st) to discover that a beautiful mahogany chair donated to the museum by then Governor Roosevelt, had split down the backside sometime the night before. On the reverse back of the chair was the Bald Eagle Seal of the United States of America, split in half. It is unclear from the report whether this was an act of vandalism, or the result of some other strange cause.
Even more strange were reports on the evening of August 1st, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., that a brilliant white light was seen to hang motionless over Sagamore Hill. According to the news story, it was a light “considerably larger than a star” and hung about 300 feet in altitude over the house according to numerous witnesses. It was described as an “intense white light”. After 11 p.m. it began to fade to a spark and then extinguished.
Those interested in such things, including the producers of the TV show Ancient Aliens, propose that the Roosevelt home was also home to a UFO sighting that summer. When asked why such a thing might occur, one "alien theorist" has speculated that an explanation for the event can be gleaned from Roosevelt's Annual Address to Congress, presented later that year on December 3, 1907. In the speech, which addresses more earthly subjects such as anti-trust actions, railroads, the Department of Agriculture, conservation, and unions, the speech later describes Roosevelt's plans for creating the world’s most dominant modern navy. Roosevelt was reading the tea leaves of international global politics and was concerned with what was happening in Japan, Germany and China and their eventual rise on the world’s stage. He specifically recommended dredging Pearl Harbor to make it a world class naval base and increasing Alaska’s defenses.
The theory of these UFOlogists is that Roosevelt had a visit from some extraterrestrial concerned citizens who came to warn the President of what the future held in store. Or it's more likely that the savvy President was able to figure that part out for himself and there was some other explanation for the light seen hovering over Sagamore Hill that night. Whatever the explanation, during Roosevelt's Presidency, America’s Navy grew from 5th to 3rd in the world in size. This was more likely due to Roosevelt's talents as a naval historian (he had written one of the leading tomes on naval history and strategy) and its likely that he would have taken the same course with or without a great ball of light above his Oyster Bay home.
While this ball of light was hovering above Sagamore hill, the Second International Peace Convention was taking place at The Hague, Netherlands that year from June 15 to October 18, 1907. That convention had the full support of the President, and it was an attempt to codify the rules of war, especially naval warfare. It was also seen as the world’s first attempt at an international governing body, a precursor to the League of Nations and the United Nations.
The full story from the newspaper appears below, behind a cut.
One of these incidents involved a strange discovery by the town librarian, a Miss Denton, who opened up the library that morning (August 1st) to discover that a beautiful mahogany chair donated to the museum by then Governor Roosevelt, had split down the backside sometime the night before. On the reverse back of the chair was the Bald Eagle Seal of the United States of America, split in half. It is unclear from the report whether this was an act of vandalism, or the result of some other strange cause.
Even more strange were reports on the evening of August 1st, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., that a brilliant white light was seen to hang motionless over Sagamore Hill. According to the news story, it was a light “considerably larger than a star” and hung about 300 feet in altitude over the house according to numerous witnesses. It was described as an “intense white light”. After 11 p.m. it began to fade to a spark and then extinguished.
Those interested in such things, including the producers of the TV show Ancient Aliens, propose that the Roosevelt home was also home to a UFO sighting that summer. When asked why such a thing might occur, one "alien theorist" has speculated that an explanation for the event can be gleaned from Roosevelt's Annual Address to Congress, presented later that year on December 3, 1907. In the speech, which addresses more earthly subjects such as anti-trust actions, railroads, the Department of Agriculture, conservation, and unions, the speech later describes Roosevelt's plans for creating the world’s most dominant modern navy. Roosevelt was reading the tea leaves of international global politics and was concerned with what was happening in Japan, Germany and China and their eventual rise on the world’s stage. He specifically recommended dredging Pearl Harbor to make it a world class naval base and increasing Alaska’s defenses.
The theory of these UFOlogists is that Roosevelt had a visit from some extraterrestrial concerned citizens who came to warn the President of what the future held in store. Or it's more likely that the savvy President was able to figure that part out for himself and there was some other explanation for the light seen hovering over Sagamore Hill that night. Whatever the explanation, during Roosevelt's Presidency, America’s Navy grew from 5th to 3rd in the world in size. This was more likely due to Roosevelt's talents as a naval historian (he had written one of the leading tomes on naval history and strategy) and its likely that he would have taken the same course with or without a great ball of light above his Oyster Bay home.
While this ball of light was hovering above Sagamore hill, the Second International Peace Convention was taking place at The Hague, Netherlands that year from June 15 to October 18, 1907. That convention had the full support of the President, and it was an attempt to codify the rules of war, especially naval warfare. It was also seen as the world’s first attempt at an international governing body, a precursor to the League of Nations and the United Nations.
The full story from the newspaper appears below, behind a cut.