Berlitz, Charles (1914-)

Popular writer on the Bermuda Triangle and similar mysteries. Born November 23, 1914, in New York City, Berlitz is the grandson of the founder of the famous Berlitz language schools and is familiar with some 30 languages. He studied at Yale University (B.A. magna cum laude, 1936) and during World War II served in the army, becoming a captain in counterintelligence in Europe and Latin America.

He has written or edited dozens of textbooks, language dictionaries, and tourist phrase books in his capacity as vice-president of the Berlitz Schools of Language. His leisure time allowed him to pursue interests in such areas as the Bermuda triangle, Atlantis, UFOs, and ancient astronauts, which stemmed from his prior interest in archaeology and scuba diving. His first book in this vein, The Mystery of Atlantis (1969), reached a popular audience and was followed by a host of others, including Mysteries from Forgotten Worlds (1972), The BermudaTriangle (1974), Doomsday 1999 A.D. (1981), and The Dragon's Triangle (1989).

In 1979 Berlitz and UFO researcher William L. Moore became unwitting accomplices in spreading the hoax usually referred to as the Philadelphia Experiment. The story recounts a reported incident in which the U.S. Navy developed a device that transported a destroyer from Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia. In the early 1960s Carlos Alende (real name Carl Allen) claimed to have witnessed the experiment and states that the navy classified it and denied that it ever happened.

Sources:

Berlitz, Charles. The Bermuda Triangle. New York: Doubleday, 1974.

——. The Dragon's Triangle. New York: Wynwood Press, 1989.

——. Mysteries from Forgotten Worlds. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1972.

——. Without a Trace: New Information from the Triangle. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977.

——. World of Strange Phenomena. New York: Wynwood Press, 1988.

Berlitz, Charles, and J. Manson Valentine. Doomsday 1999

A.D. Garden City, N.Y. Doubleday, 1981. Berlitz, Charles, and William L. Moore. The Roswell Incident. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1980.

Moore, William L., and Charles Berlitz. The Philadelphia Experiment. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1979.

BERLITZ, Charles (L. Frambach) 1914-2003
(Charles-Francois Bertin)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for SATA sketch: Born November 22, 1914, in New York, NY; died December 18, 2003, in Tamarac, FL. Linguist and author. The grandson of the founder of the famous Berlitz language schools, Berlitz was a former president of Berlitz Publications who later became well known for his books on such bizarre topics as the Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis, UFOs, and secret military experiments. Learning a variety of languages from his family at a very young age, he naturally went on to study languages as a student at Yale University, where he earned an A.B. in 1936. It is also unsurprising that his career began as a language teacher at the Berlitz Schools of Language in New York City in 1934. After serving in the U.S. Army Reserve as an intelligence officer during World War II, Berlitz became president of Berlitz Publications, where he remained until the company was bought out in 1967 by another publisher. He spent the rest of his life as a freelance writer, continuing to teach himself new languages while pursuing interests in archaeology and the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle and Atlantis. He wrote on these subjects in such books as The Mystery of Atlantis (1969), The Bermuda Triangle (1974), Without a Trace: New Information from the Triangle (1977), Atlantis, the Eighth Continent (1984), and The Dragon's Triangle (1989). He also wrote about UFOs in The Roswell Incident (1980), the mystery of the location of Noah's Ark in The Lost Ship of Noah: In Search of the Ark at Ararat (1987), and other unusual subjects in such books as The Philadelphia Experiment: Project Invisibility (1979) and Doomsday: 1999 A.D. (1981). While critics often found fault with Berlitz's theories of the unexplained, his contributions to language education cannot be denied; he was the author or coauthor of over fifty books on teaching foreign languages, and he helped develop foreign language programs on audiotape for young students and established business courses in languages for adults.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology, fifth edition, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2001.

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, December 30, 2003, Section 1, p. 10.

Los Angeles Times, January 1, 2004, p. B10.

New York Times, December 31, 2003, p. A19.

Washington Post, December 31, 2003, p. B6.

BERLITZ, Charles (L. Frambach) 1914-2003
(Charles-Francois Bertin)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born November 22, 1914, in New York, NY; died December 18, 2003, in Tamarac, FL. Linguist and author. The grandson of the founder of the famous Berlitz language schools, Berlitz was a former president of Berlitz Publications who later became well known for his books on such bizarre topics as the Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis, UFOs, and secret military experiments. Learning a variety of languages from his family at a very young age, he naturally went on to study languages as a student at Yale University, where he earned an A.B. in 1936. His career began as a language teacher at the Berlitz Schools of Language in New York City in 1934. After serving in the U.S. Army Reserve as an intelligence officer during World War II, Berlitz became president of Berlitz Publications, where he remained until the company was bought out in 1967 by another publisher. He spent the rest of his life as a freelance writer, continuing to teach himself new languages while pursuing interests in archaeology and the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle and Atlantis. He wrote on these subjects in such books as The Mystery of Atlantis (1969), The Bermuda Triangle (1974), Without a Trace: New Information from the Triangle (1977), Atlantis, the Eighth Continent (1984), and The Dragon's Triangle (1989). He also wrote about UFOs in The Roswell Incident (1980), the mystery of the location of Noah's Ark in The Lost Ship of Noah: In Search of the Ark at Ararat (1987), and other unusual subjects in such books as The Philadelphia Experiment: Project Invisibility (1979) and Doomsday: 1999 A.D. (1981). While critics often found fault with Berlitz's theories of the unexplained, his contributions to language education cannot be denied; he was the author or coauthor of over fifty books on teaching foreign languages, and he helped develop foreign-language programs on audiotape for young students and established business courses in languages for adults.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, fifth edition, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2001.

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, December 30, 2003, sec. 1, p. 10.

Los Angeles Times, January 1, 2004, p. B10.

New York Times, December 31, 2003, p. A19.

Washington Post, December 31, 2003, p. B6.