Winston Churchill & Aliens
Thinking of Winston Churchill likely brings to your mind a number of things: England, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, World War II, and more. But what about aliens? Yep, Winston Churchill was very curious about our universe. In fact, in a recently found essay from 1939, he writes about aliens, our universe, and more.
The essay itself was found in a galaxy far, far away. Okay, it wasn't that far but it wasn't found it England! In fact, it was unearthed in the Churchill museum in Fulton, Missouri. As noted, it was first written in 1930. However, it appears to have been edited again by Churchill sometime in the 1950s. The essay itself is not some long document on UFOs, aliens, and more - so don't get too excited. But, it is an 11-page authenticated essay by Churchill himself.
In the journal it was found in, he titled the essay "Are we Alone in the Universe?"
Timothy Riley, the museum's director, invited astrophysicist Mario Livio, to review the essay and give his thoughts on it. After reviewing the piece, Livio remarked how similar it was to today's scientific process in trying to figure out if there is life on other planets. In fact, he told Space.com "[I] was even more astonished, because I saw that this great politician is musing about a real scientific topic, an intriguing scientific topic, [and] he is reasoning about this in the same way that a scientist today would go about it."
In a surprisingly humble move, Churchill muses "I, for one, am not so immensely impressed by the success we are making of our civilization here that I am prepared to think we are the only spot in this immense universe which contains living, thinking creatures," he continues on with this train of thought, writing "or that we are the highest type of mental and physical development which has ever appeared in the vast compass of space and time."
The essay structure itself is quite interesting...
1. He first sets up to define what life is, and settled on "comparatively highly organized life,"
2. Then he mentions places that would be smart places to look for life (water, or where it is feasible for water to exist)
3. Then he asks what are the necessary ingredients for life to exist
4. From #3, he believed that only Venus and Mars would have these necessary ingredients - so that is where life should be searched for first. Like Goldilocks, all the other planets are too hot or too cold. He also considered the existence of exoplanets which, at this time, were not proven.
Livio commented about Churchill's organization "This chain of logic is astounding, in my opinion, for a politician,"
It is interesting to think that this famous politician, known and respected for so many decades and even today, actively and critically thought about life on other planets. And not only mused if it exists, but what exact conditions would be needed to sustain it and where we should be looking for it.
The above picture of Winston Churchill is liscensed under Public Domain of the UK.