Roswell incident
Following reports of the capture of a "flying disc" by U.S. Army Air Forces personnel near Roswell, New Mexico, the military stated that the crashed object was a conventional weather balloon.
In context
- When
- Tuesday, July 8 194779 years ago
- Category
- Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Era
- 20th century · 1940s
- Recorded from
- Wikipedia “On this day” feed
At a glance
Dates: From 1947.
What happened
Following reports of the capture of a "flying disc" by U.S. Army Air Forces personnel near Roswell, New Mexico, the military stated that the crashed object was a conventional weather balloon.
July 8 through the years
Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.
- 1947Roswell incident
- 1994Kim Jong Il
- 2003Sudan Airways Flight 139
- 2011Space Shuttle Atlantis
- 2014Israel
- 20142014 FIFA World Cup
- 2014Disappearance of Lars Mittank
- 2014Brazil national football team
- 2021Head of a Bear
- 2022Shinzo Abe
- 2025Hurricane Beryl
Also in 1947
- October 14Chuck YeagerAmerican test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier, reaching Mach 1.06 on board the Bell X-1, an experim…
- May 1Salvatore GiulianoSicilian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, killing 11…
- May 1Portella della Ginestra massacrePortella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 p…
- November 25McCarthyismMcCarthyism: Executives from movie studios agreed to blacklist ten screenwriters and directors who were jailed for refusing to give testi…
- August 15Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru (pictured) took office as the first prime minister of India, a post he held for 16 years.
- February 25Abolition of PrussiaThe formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council, the Prussian government having already been abolished by the…
- February 25NKVDSoviet NKVD forces in Hungary abduct Béla Kovács—secretary-general of the majority Independent Smallholders' Party—and deport him to the…
- August 4Supreme Court of JapanThe Supreme Court of Japan is established.
Sources
- Wikipedia article (text, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 for adapted text · how we source this
Cite this page
“Roswell incident”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/roswell-incident-1947-july-8, accessed October 28, 2026.
Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.
Questions about this entry
When did Roswell incident happen?
July 8 1947 — 79 years ago, on a Tuesday.
Where does this text come from?
Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.
How do I cite this page?
Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.
One entry a day, by email
The standout entry each morning. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.