antedates for 'alien' to mean "intelligent extraterrestrial creatures"

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Both of these are antedated in the OED SF project:
noun:  http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/10
adj:  http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/11

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Geoffrey Nunberg
> Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 3:02 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: antedates for 'alien' to mean "intelligent
> extraterrestrial creatures"
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Geoffrey Nunberg <nunberg at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
> Subject:      antedates for 'alien' to mean "intelligent
> extraterrestrial
>               creatures"
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> (The OED has this from 1953 in its noun use.)
>
> Noun use:
>
> The Weapon Makers A. E. van Vogt. Exciting story of a man who
> dared pit himself against both the greatest powers of his
> universe and the aliens of outer space. NY Times Display Ad, 3/2/52
>
> Adjectival use:
>
> In view of our sad inability even to unite mankind, it seems
> extremely unlikely that man in his present state would
> succeed in cooperating with alien races on other planets."
> Man's Trip to Other Planets in Few Decades Predicted, LA
> Times, 10/11/48
>
> Mr. Clement manages this admirably, altho his criminal is an
> alien creature and his detective a similar creature
> inhabiting the body and mind of a human boy. "A Detective
> Tale Built on Science Line," by Fritz Leiber, Chicago Daily
> Tribune, 4/2/50
>
> My guess is that it would be easy to find earlier cites in
> the pulps, if only those were online.
>
> Geoff Nunberg
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org