"The Great Moon Hoax” is published in the New York Sun - A series of six articles starting on August 25, about the supposed discovery of life and civilization on the Moon and allegedly reprinted from The Edinburgh Courant.
The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel and his fictitious companion Andrew Grant. The articles were never retracted but on September 16, 1835, The Sun, a penny press newspapers which received much of its income from advertisements admitted the articles were in fact fabricated but had been intended as satire. Some believed The Sun's circulation increased dramatically because of the hoax and remained greater than before, helping to establish The Sun as a successful paper. More
