The Robertson Panel Correspondence - CIA UFO Assessment 1953

This declassified CIA correspondence dated January 20-28, 1953, documents internal communications surrounding the famous Robertson Panel - a CIA-convened scientific committee tasked with evaluating the UFO phenomenon. The letters are exchanged between Dr. H. P. Robertson (Chairman, heading from the Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics at Caltech in Pasadena) and CIA officials in Washington D.C. The correspondence reveals the panel's completion of its classified assessment and discusses the distribution of findings, with specific mention that the report was 'on its way up to higher leadership' with the sender's 'concurrence and conclusions and recommendations.' The January 28th memo indicates a follow-up meeting scheduled for Friday, February 6th, to brief Robertson on 'official policy' and notes that 'action is being taken on the requests in your telegram of 9 January.' The correspondence reveals concern about 'Forteans' (believers in anomalous phenomena) and mentions General Garland's involvement, suggesting high-level military engagement. The January 20th letter from Robertson proposes scheduling for a potential additional panel meeting, with flexibility for Friday February 6th or Saturday February 7th to accommodate Sam Goudsmit and other panel members. Robertson specifically requests that Fred's draft report be sent to him at Caltech 'where I have facilities for taking care of such things,' along with a retained copy of the panel report. The tone suggests satisfaction with the panel's work, with Robertson noting he's 'glad that the members of the panel, with the possible exception of Thornton, were not handicapped.' He mentions briefly seeing General Garland at the Pentagon on Monday, noting Garland 'seemed not too unhappy.' This correspondence is historically significant as it represents rare documentary evidence of the CIA's Robertson Panel - one of the most important official UFO investigations in history. The panel's conclusions, which recommended debunking UFO reports and reducing public interest, shaped US government UFO policy for decades. The classified nature of these internal communications, the involvement of prestigious scientists, and the explicit mention of managing 'Forteans' (UFO believers) reveals the government's strategic approach to the UFO phenomenon during the Cold War era.