Philip Coppens (25 January 1971 – 30 December 2012)
[''Farewell for now, dear Friend'', Intrepid Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 10.]
Retrieved 13 January 2013. was a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
author, radio host, and commentator whose writings, speeches and television appearances focused on areas of fringe science and alternative history.
[Are Aliens To Thank For Changes In Human History?]
KDKA (AM)
KDKA () is a Class A, clear channel, AM radio station, owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. and licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Its radio studios are located at the combined Audacy Pittsburgh facility in the Foster Plaza o ...
Pittsburgh Newsradio 1020, Mike Pintek interviews Phillip Coppens, 28 October 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2013.[Noory, George, ''Philip Coppens R.I.P.'']
, Coast to Coast AM
''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 19 ...
website, 30 December 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
Coppens was born in
Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and .
Sint-Nikl ...
, Belgium. He was a cohost of the Spirit Revolution radio show,
his writing was featured in ''
Nexus
NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and Border control#Expedited border controls, expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members ...
'' and ''Atlantis Rising'' magazines,
and he appeared in 56 episodes
of the
History Channel's ''
Ancient Aliens
''Ancient Aliens'' is an American television series that explores the pseudohistorical and pseudoarchaeological ancient astronauts hypothesis, past human- extraterrestrial contact, UFOs, government conspiracies and related pseudoscientific topi ...
'' television series.
He was married to
Kathleen McGowan on 22 September 2011. He died a year later on 30 December 2012 in Los Angeles, California,
of
angiosarcoma
Angiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive cancer that starts in the endothelial cells that line the walls of blood vessels or lymphatic vessels. Since they are made from vascular lining, they can appear anywhere and at any age, but older people are ...
.
Career
Philip Coppens started his writing career as an investigative journalist, covering intelligence activities and politics.
In 1995, he was a co-founder of ''Frontier 2000'' (later called ''Frontier Magazine''), a periodical with a circulation centered primarily in the
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
countries.
In 1999, he served as the primary researcher for ''The Stargate Conspiracy'',
a book about ancient Egypt and the degree to which its history has a continuing influence on contemporary politics and politicians, with particular focus on the CIA's remote-viewing program
Stargate Project
Stargate Project was a secret U.S. Army unit established in 1978 at Fort Meade, Maryland, by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and SRI International (a California contractor) to investigate the potential for psychic phenomena in military and ...
.
Coppens' second book, ''The Canopus Revelation'' (2004), questioned the assumption that
ancient Egyptians associated their god
Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
with the constellation of
Orion. Instead he proposed
Canopus
Canopus is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina (constellation), Carina and the list of brightest stars, second-brightest star in the night sky. It is also Bayer designation, designated α Carinae, which is Lat ...
, the
second brightest star in the night-time sky. He appeared at
Quest Conference 2005 to give a presentation on this idea.
In ''Servants of the Grail'' (2009), Coppens suggested real-life counterparts for the characters in
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...
'
Perceval, the Story of the Grail
, original_title_lang = fro
, translator =
, written = between 1182 and 1190
, country =
, language = Old French
, subject = Arthurian legend
, genre = Chivalric romance
, for ...
. These included the identification of
Rotrou III, Count of Perche
Rotrou III (bef. 1080 – 8 May 1144), called the Great (''le Grand''), was the Count of Perche and Mortagne from 1099. He was the son of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche, and Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier. He was ...
with
Perceval
Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the ...
. Also in 2009, he contributed a chapter to ''Ancient Code: Are You Ready for the Real 2012?'', entitled "Ancient Inroads Towards a New Age".
From 2010 to 2012, Coppens was a frequent contributor to the History Channel's ''Ancient Aliens'' series.
[Internet Movie Data Base Full List of Cast and Crew for ''Ancient Aliens'']
/ref> Nigerian journalist J.K. Obatala, writing about a month after Coppens' death, described him as an "ancient alien buff."[Obatala, J.K., ''Sirius – The African Timekeeper (2)'']
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
, 17 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013. Obatala credited Coppens with helping to debunk a claim that the ''Dogon Ayantu'' (spiritual leaders) of Mali had astronomical knowledge they could only have obtained from visitors from Sirius
Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...
– in an article entitled "Dogon Shame." In this article, (originally published in ''Fortean Times
''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (2005 to 2 ...
''), Coppens stated "it seems that Griaule, a scientist, wanted to attribute to earlier civilisations more knowledge than they actually possessed."
In October 2012, he was a featured presenter at Intrepid Magazine's Paradigm Symposium.
A eulogy for Coppens, published in Intrepid's January print edition, included a quotation from Coppens' final post to his personal blog: "I was diagnosed with an extremely rare case of cancer, ''angiosarcoma'', which affects less than 200 people in the U.S. (each year). Each case is almost by default unique… and so I found that the man who normally studies anomalies, has become a medical enigma as well." Roughly a fortnight later, Coppens died.
Bibliography
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References
External links
*, last archived version by the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive, 2 January 2018
*
Full text of Intrepid Magazine's eulogy for Filip Coppens
Articles by Philip Coppens in Nexus
''UFOs in Florida perform for the passing of Philip Coppens'' Bennett, Mary Alice, UFO Digest, 7 March 2013.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coppens, Philip
1971 births
2012 deaths
People from Sint-Niklaas
Belgian journalists
Male journalists
Belgian radio presenters
Belgian non-fiction writers
Belgian male writers
Belgian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Belgian expatriates in the United States
Deaths from angiosarcoma
Ancient astronauts proponents
Deaths from cancer in California
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)