Great Moon Hoax

A lithograph of the hoax's "ruby amphitheater", as printed in The Sun

The "Great Moon Hoax", also known as the "Great Moon Hoax of 1835" was a series of six articles published in The Sun (a New York newspaper), beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel and his fictitious companion Andrew Grant.[1]

The story was advertised on August 21, 1835, as an upcoming feature allegedly reprinted from The Edinburgh Courant.[2] The first in a series of six was published four days later on August 25. These articles were never retracted; however, on September 16, 1835, The Sun admitted the articles were in fact fabricated.[3]

  1. ^ Vida, István Kornél (2012). "The "Great Moon Hoax" of 1835". Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies. 18 (1/2): 431–441. JSTOR 43488485.
  2. ^ Maliszewski, Paul. "Paper Moon", Wilson Quarterly. Winter 2005. p. 26.
  3. ^ ""The Great Moon Hoax" is published in the "New York Sun" | August 25, 1835". HISTORY. Retrieved 2023-11-29.