British investigative journalist and Associate Professor at Sheffield Hallam University. Served as consultant and curator of the Ministry of Defence UFO files project with The National Archives (2008-2013), helping to declassify and publish thousands of previously secret UK government UFO documents. Author of 'How UFOs Conquered the World' (2015) and co-founder of the Centre for Contemporary Legend at Sheffield Hallam.
David Clarke is an investigative journalist and academic whose research specialism is contemporary legend and folklore. From 2008 to 2013 he acted as consultant and curator for the UK Ministry of Defence UFO files release through The National Archives, overseeing the declassification and public release of thousands of previously secret government documents on UFO sightings. His 2015 book 'How UFOs Conquered the World: The History of a Modern Myth' traces the cultural and social origins of the UFO phenomenon. Clarke co-founded the Centre for Contemporary Legend at Sheffield Hallam University in 2018 and is frequently consulted by national and international media on UFO history and folklore. His earlier book 'The Angel of Mons' (2004) examined a famous First World War legend. In 2024, the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council awarded him funding for a National Folklore Survey for England.