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User:Feofer/John Olsen Lear

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John Olson Lear is an influential conspiracy theorist, a pilot, and a one-time candidate for State Senate. Lear has promoted the "Dark Hypothesis", a story of alien collusion with secret governmental forces.[1] Lear left a lasting influence on the UFO movement; One author observed "in the early years [UFO writers] did not, by and large, embrace strong political positions. [Lear and his partner] were the tip of a spear asserting that the number one thing we had to fear was not little green men, but the government that colluded with them, appropriating their technology against us." [1]

Early life

John Olson Lear was born on December 3, 1942 to industrialist and future Learjet founder Bill Lear and his wife Moya Marie.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).[2] He was named after his maternal grandfather, famous comedian John Olsen.Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). His second and third birthday parties was covered in the "Society" page of an Ohio paper.[3][4]

Lear graduated from the Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland and attended Wichita State University.[5][6]

Between May 23 and 26, 1966, Lear and crewmmate flew a record-breaking flight around the world in a LearJet that covered 22,000 miles in 50 hours and 39 minutes.[7]

In 1968, Air Force personnel from Hamilton Air Force Base launched a rescue effort to help Lear land after heavy San Francisco fog interfered with landing. Traffic was cleared from the Golden Gate Bridge in anticipation of a forced landing. After a helicopter pilot established visual contract, Lear was able to successfully land at the base.[8]


Lear claimed to fly "secret missions for the CIA" between 1967 and 1983.[9][better source needed]

Personal life

In 1970, Lear married Marilee Higginbotham, the owner of a California fashion modelling agency, at a ceremony in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.[5]

References