The mystery airship or phantom airship was a phenomenon that thousands of people across the United States claimed to have observed from late 1896 to mid 1897. Typical airship reports involved night time sightings of unidentified lights, but more detailed accounts reported flying objects comparable to an airship or dirigible. Mystery airship reports are seen as a cultural predecessor to modern claims of extraterrestrial-piloted flying saucer-style UFOs.
Mystery airship illustrated in the San Francisco Call, November 22, 1896
A fictional airship from the 1894 story Over the Andes with Frank Reade, Jr., in his New Air-Ship
Mystery airship observed from the dome of the California State Capitol as illustrated in the San Francisco Call, November 29, 1896
Mystery airship illustrated in The St. Paul Globe, April 13, 1897
Robur the Conqueror is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne, published in 1886. It is also known as The Clipper of the Clouds. It has a sequel, Master of the World, which was published in 1904.
Frontispiece by Léon Benett