Ann Hodges

Ann Elizabeth Hodges (1923 - 1972) of Sylacauga, Alabama is the only person of record to have been hit by a meteorite. On November 30, 1954, she was napping on her living room couch when a grapefruit-sized rock from space crashed through the roof of her house. It bounced off her large wooden console radio, destroying it, and struck her on the arm and hip. She was badly bruised but able to walk.

As it streaked through the atmosphere the meteor was a fireball visible from three states, even though it fell early in the afternoon. As the first documented case of an extraterrestrial object hitting a person, the event received worldwide publicity.

The United States Air Force sent a helicopter to take the meteorite. Eugene Hodges, Ann's husband, hired a lawyer to get it back. Their landlord also claimed it, wanting to sell it to cover the damage to the house. There were offers of up to $5,000 US dollars for it. By the time it was returned to the Hodges, over a year later, public attention had diminished and they were unable to find a buyer willing to pay much money.

Ann was uncomfortable with the public attention and the stress of the dispute over ownership of the meteorite. Against her husband's wishes, she donated it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History. It is an ordinary chondrite stone (H4), and weighs about 8.5 pounds (4 kg). It is on display at the University of Alabama. [1]

External links and references

*University of Alabama News: 50th Anniversary of Hodges Meteorite
*Alabama Museum of Natural History: Hodges Meteorite
*The Birmingham News: A star really did fall on Alabama
*Sconed by a space rock - and then the headaches started
*Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce news