William R. Corliss

After studying physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Colorado, he worked as a physicist and later turned his attention to a very different kind of research: gathering documented reports of anomalies from scientific journals, technical publications, and historical sources. That methodical approach became the hallmark of his writing.

He is especially associated with the Sourcebook Project and with large reference works on unusual natural phenomena, Fortean topics, and other hard-to-classify observations. Rather than simply retelling strange stories, he became known for organizing them carefully, which helped make his work appealing to readers who liked both skepticism and curiosity.

Born in 1926 and passing away in 2011, he is often remembered as an important figure in anomalistics and as a modern successor to the tradition of Charles Fort. For many readers, his lasting appeal lies in the way he treated odd facts not as final answers, but as invitations to keep asking better questions.