John Lear

John Olsen Lear (December 3, 1942 – March 29, 2022), son of Learjet magnate Bill Lear, was an aviator who set multiple records, later flying cargo planes for the CIA during the Vietnam era. In the 1980s, Lear began speaking of alien collusion with secret governmental forces. In the second half of the 1980s, Lear was "probably the most influential source" of UFO conspiracy theories. Early life John Olsen Lear was born on December 3, 1942, to industrialist and future Learjet founder Bill Lear and his wife Moya Marie Olsen Lear. He was named after his maternal grandfather, famous comedian John Olsen. His second and third birthday parties were covered in the "Society" page of an Ohio paper. Lear graduated from the Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland and attended Wichita State University.