GaryJJSpate: Standing correction: PersonInfobox -> InfoboxPerson

2026-08-05T12:24:11Z

Standing correction: PersonInfobox -> InfoboxPerson

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:24, 5 August 2026
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	{{~~PersonInfobox~~		{{InfoboxPerson
	\|name=Carl Sagan		\|name=Carl Sagan
	\|born=9 November 1934, [[Brooklyn]], [[New York]]		\|born=9 November 1934, [[Brooklyn]], [[New York]]

GaryJJSpate: Created page with "{{PersonInfobox |name=Carl Sagan |born=9 November 1934, Brooklyn, New York |died=20 December 1996, Seattle, Washington |occupation=Astronomer, astrophysicist, science communicator |known_for=Cosmos; The Demon-Haunted World; the Sagan standard; founding fellow of CSICOP |status=Deceased }} '''Carl Edward Sagan''' (9 November 1934 – 20 December 1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, and science communicator, best known for..."

2026-07-29T17:58:34Z

Created page with "{{PersonInfobox |name=Carl Sagan |born=9 November 1934, Brooklyn, New York |died=20 December 1996, Seattle, Washington |occupation=Astronomer, astrophysicist, science communicator |known_for=Cosmos; The Demon-Haunted World; the Sagan standard; founding fellow of CSICOP |status=Deceased }} '''Carl Edward Sagan''' (9 November 1934 – 20 December 1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, and science communicator, best known for..."

New page

{{PersonInfobox
|name=Carl Sagan
|born=9 November 1934, [[Brooklyn]], [[New York]]
|died=20 December 1996, [[Seattle]], [[:Category:Washington|Washington]]
|occupation=Astronomer, astrophysicist, science communicator
|known_for=Cosmos; The Demon-Haunted World; the Sagan standard; founding fellow of CSICOP
|status=Deceased
}}

'''Carl Edward Sagan''' (9 November 1934 – 20 December 1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, and science communicator, best known for the television series ''Cosmos'' and for his advocacy of scientific rationality against pseudoscience and the paranormal — most fully articulated in his final major book, ''The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark'' (1995). He was a founding fellow of the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (originally CSICOP) in the 1970s.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite web |title=Carl Edward Sagan |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/astronomy-biographies/carl-edward-sagan |website=Encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

== Scientific career ==
Sagan attended the University of Chicago, completing a BA in 1954, a BS in 1955, and an MS in physics in 1956, before earning a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics in 1960. His early scholarly work included an experimental demonstration of ATP synthesis under primitive-Earth conditions and a proposal that the greenhouse effect explained Venus's extreme surface temperature.<ref name="googlebooks">{{cite web |title=The Demon-haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Demon_haunted_World.html?id=ybvaAAAAMAAJ |website=Google Books}}</ref> He served as the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University, and played a leading role in NASA's Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo spacecraft missions, receiving NASA's Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and, twice, its Distinguished Public Service Medal. In 1983, he co-authored the paper introducing the concept of "nuclear winter."<ref name="amazon">{{cite web |title=The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark |url=https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Haunted-World-Science-Candle-Dark/dp/0345409469 |website=Amazon}}</ref>

== Cosmos ==
Sagan's Emmy- and Peabody-winning television series ''Cosmos'' became the most widely watched series in the history of American public television, and its accompanying book remains one of the best-selling science books ever published in English.<ref name="amazon" />

== CSICOP and the Sagan standard ==
Sagan was a founding fellow of CSICOP in the 1970s, and became closely associated with the phrase "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" — the '''Sagan standard''' — which he popularised in his 1979 book ''Broca's Brain'' and in ''Cosmos'', adapting it from an earlier formulation by sociologist Marcello Truzzi. He publicly dismantled the pseudo-astrophysical theories of psychoanalyst Immanuel Velikovsky, delivering a widely noted blow to Velikovsky's already fragile scientific credibility.<ref name="encyclopedia" /> Sagan wrote warmly of his own enjoyment of ''[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|Skeptical Inquirer]]'' magazine, describing the anticipation he felt each time a new issue arrived and the fresh examples of pseudoscientific claims — "crop circles," alien visitation, and the like — that it never failed to catalogue.<ref name="skepticalinquirer">{{cite web |title=Remembering Carl Sagan |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2022/02/remembering-carl-sagan/ |website=Skeptical Inquirer |date=28 February 2022}}</ref>

== The Demon-Haunted World ==
Published in 1995 (four of its 25 chapters co-written with his wife, Ann Druyan), ''The Demon-Haunted World'' argued that scientific thinking was essential not only to the pursuit of truth but to the health of democratic society, examining and rebutting claims including witchcraft, faith healing, demonic possession, [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]], alien abduction, and [[Area 51|UFOs]]. The book won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and became a ''New York Times'' bestseller, and [[Martin Gardner]], reviewing it for ''The Washington Post'', praised Sagan's wit in recounting various historical scientific swindles and hoaxes.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Carl Sagan |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Sagan |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref>

== Views and other advocacy ==
Sagan expressed scepticism toward conventional organised religion while denying he was an atheist, and used his public standing for political advocacy, including campaigning for nuclear disarmament and opposing the Reagan administration's Strategic Defense Initiative.<ref name="britannica" /> He received the Pulitzer Prize and the Oersted Medal, among numerous other honours, for his contributions to science, literature, and education.<ref name="amazon" />

== Death ==
Sagan died on 20 December 1996 in [[Seattle]], [[:Category:Washington|Washington]], following complications from myelodysplasia.

== See also ==
* [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]
* [[Skepticism]]
* [[Martin Gardner]]
* [[Paul Kurtz]]
* [[Isaac Asimov]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://skepticalinquirer.org/2022/02/remembering-carl-sagan/ Skeptical Inquirer — Remembering Carl Sagan]
* [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Sagan Encyclopaedia Britannica — Carl Sagan]

[[Category:Skeptical Advocates]]
[[Category:People]]

Carl Sagan - Revision history

GaryJJSpate: Standing correction: PersonInfobox -> InfoboxPerson