Stranges, Frank

Frank Stranges (1927–2008) was a famous contactee and author, whose main contact was Valiant Thor.

Background & Credentials

Dr. Frank Stranges was born and educated in Brooklyn, New York. He received a Bachelor of Divinity as well as PhDs in Psychology and Philosophy from Faith Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He also held a PhD from the National Institute of Criminology in Washington, D.C., and was a member of the Mayor's Advisory Council of Los Angeles and the American Association for Social Psychology.

Religious & UFO Career

Stranges wore two hats throughout his career. He was an evangelist who frequently used contactee stories in his platform discussions of UFOs, and he also served as director of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). He was also President of the International Theological Seminary of California and held degrees in religion, psychology, and criminology.

The Valiant Thor Story

Stranges is best known for his claim of contact with an extraterrestrial being named Valiant Thor. According to the story, on March 16, 1957, a strange craft landed in a farmer's field in Alexandria, Virginia. Local police arrived to find what appeared to be a well-dressed, unarmed man stepping out of the craft, who telepathically requested to speak with the President. Over the next few days, the visitor reportedly met with President Eisenhower deep within the Pentagon. According to Valiant Thor, he was sent by a galactic council to convince humanity to step back from its use of nuclear weapons. Thor and his co-pilots claimed they hailed from Venus.

Stranges outlined his personal encounters with Valiant Thor in his 1967 book Stranger at the Pentagon.

Legacy & Death

Frank Ernest Stranges promoted the story of Valiant Thor throughout his life. Because Thor was said to be a real person who appeared publicly on a few occasions, including at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the legend of the Stranger at the Pentagon has grown, becoming a genuine puzzle for 21st-century UFO researchers.

Stranges authored several books on scientific and religious subjects beyond Stranger at the Pentagon. His work attracted both devoted believers and sharp critics. He argued that some UFOs were gifts from God (i.e., angelic visitations sent to improve humanity's lot), and he interpreted biblical passages like Ezekiel's "wheel within a wheel" as describing actual spacecraft.

He remains a fascinating figure in UFO contactee history — a man who blended evangelical Christianity, Cold War anxieties, and extraterrestrial mythology into a lasting body of work.

[The information on this page was compiled by an AI agent].