The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 8-Oct-54-Lyon.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The Paris-Presse newspaper for October 12, 1954, told that Mr. Morguin, a resident of Lyon, claimed he has photographed a saucer over the Rhône.
The first ufological reference I was able to find on this case was in the ufology magazine Ouranos of the 4th quarter of 1954, which, in a bibliography of articles about the recent flying saucers sightings, indicated that Le Progrès - Dimanche, from Lyon, October 10, 1954, dealt with the "Lyon photo."
In 1979, ufologists Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon indicated that according to the newspaper La Montagne in October 1954, on October 8, 1954 at 5 p.m. in Lyon in the Rhône department, a red disk surrounded of a white glow moving northward at a brisk pace was photographed by his observer, a postman from Lyon, Adrien Marguin.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
|
Only THREE Martians showed up over the weekend. Very reserved Martians. They abstained from the affectionate demonstrations to which they usually indulge in: caresses or hugs. No doubt they reserve these expressions of sympathy for rural populations: only country people have benefited from it so far.
A manual worker of Lavoux (Vienne), Mr. Roger Barrault, said that riding a bicycle at around 9 a.m. on Saturday, he was suddenly stopped there by a double beam of light directed by him by a "scuba diver" barely 1 m 50 tall with boots without heels very bright eyes and a strong mustache.
- The diver strolled for about a minute on the road, says Barrault, then suddenly disappeared into the nearby forest.
A mechanic from Carcassonne, Mr. Bertrand, saw, also on Saturday evening, on the road, while driving, a spherical craft of shiny metal whose upper part seemed to be made of plastic. He was able, he says, to easily distinguish two human forms in this craft; which disappeared at high speed in the east direction.
Mr. Bertrand could not specify if the two occupants of the craft were mustached like the Martian of the Vienne.
A Lyon resident, Mr. Morguin, claims that he has photographed a saucer over the Rhône.
- It was, he said, a red disc surrounded by white lights.
Several people saw a disc in Mâcon, above the Saône, not brilliant, this time, but dark.
A worker, Mr. Magnier, and truckers saw a luminous ball at Montluçon crossing the sky at high speed.
In Tourriers, 17 kilometers from Angoulême, around thirty people saw in the night from the 8th to the 9th a "kind of cigar" who remained motionless about forty meters above national road number 10 for about twenty minutes. The craft, which had two fins, then left at a speed of around 250 to 300 km per h.
Mrs. Lebert, guardian of the Pont-Chapelle castle in La Ferté-Macé (Orne), observed a craft in the middle of the afternoon mysterious that looked like a rocket and rose vertically silently, leaving behind a slight white trail.
Also, Mr. Christian Couette, son of a plumber from Tesse-la-Madeleine, was riding a bicycle towards Ranes when, near the Etang de Lande-Forêt, in the commune of Beauvain, he was overtaken by a strange luminous craft which, at high speed, grazed the top of the trees. The object, about 4 m in diameter, had the shape of a domed fireball.
[Ref. ous1:] "OURANOS" UFOLOGY MAGAZINE:
In this ufology magazine of the 4th quarter of 1954, there is a bibliography of articles on recent flying saucers, including:
Le Progrès - Dimanche (Lyon), October 10: Photo of Lyon.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that on October 8, 1954, at 5 p.m. in Lyon in the department of the Rhone, a red disc surrounded of white gleams moving towards the north at a sharp pace was photographed by its observer, a postman of Lyon, Adrien Marguin.
The source is indicated as "La Montagne" in October 1954.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4017: 1954/10/08 17:00 1 4:52:00 E 45:43:00 N 3333 WEU FRN RHN 6:7
LYON,RHONE,FR:RED SCR SURROUNDED/WHT GLOW >>N AT HI SPEED:PHOTO TAKEN
Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 135 : TOWN &CITY
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates in her chronology that in 1954, on October 8, in France, in Lyon at 17 hours "one observes a red disc surrounded by white gleams, which moves at fast pace towards the north. Photo catched by the Lyons mailman Adrien Marguin."
Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that the source is "M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: "Ovni, Premier dossier complet..." Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979, p. 135".
[Ref. jbs1:] VICENTE-JUAN BALLESTER-OLMOS, "FOTOCAT 1954":
(55)
DATE: 8 October 1954
LOCATION: Lyon, Rhone (France)
FORMAT: Picture
PHOTOGRAPHER: Adrien Marguin
EXPLANATION: Not available
REFERENCES: M. Figuet & J-L Ruchon, OVNI: Le Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochées en France (Alain Lefeuvre, 1979), page 135.
REMARKS: Poor information
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indique que dans le Rhône à Lyon le 8 octobre 1954 à 17:00 heures, il y a eu un disque rouge entouré de lueurs blanches se dirigeant vers le nord à vive allure. Une photo de cette observation a été prise par le témoin, un facteur lyonnais.
Luc Chastan indique que la source est "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... par Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** éd. Alain Lefeuvre 1979".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Rhone in Lyon on October 8, 1954 at 17:00 hours, there was a red disc surrounded by white gleams moving towards the north at fast pace. A photograph of this observation was taken by the witness, a mailman from Lyons.
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 8 October 1954 at 17:00 in Lyon, France, a fireball was observed in a city for 208 minutes.
The sources are indicated as Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case 3 times:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541008 | 08.10.1954 | Lyon | France | 17.00 | ||||||
| 19541008 | 08.10.1954 | Lyon | France | 17.00 | ||||||
| 19541008 | 08.10.1954 | Lyon | France |
[Ref. jbo2:] JUAN-VICENTE BALLESTER OLMOS:
| Date | Approx | UFO | Nation | Photo Film | Media | Duration | Blue Book | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-08-1954 | 17.00 | UFO | Lyon, Rhône (France) | FRA | 69 | PHOTO | Adrien Marguin | Michel Figuet & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochées en France, Alain Lefeuvre, 1979, p. 135 | October 8, 1954 |
|
I did not find the famous photo so far.
Thus: totally insufficient information.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Lyon, Rhône, Adrien Marguin, photograph, photo, picture
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 4, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 26, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | February 20, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | August 14, 2019 | Additions [ous1], [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, was "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | January 8, 2020 | Addition [ppe1]. In the Summary, addition of the paragraph "The Paris-Presse newspaper..." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | October 31, 2021 | Addition [jbo2]. |
