Project Ozma: The First SETI Experiment at Green Bank and Its False Alarm

To the point

Frank Drake and his colleagues launched Project Ozma in 1960 to search for radio signals from nearby stars, becoming the first SETI experiment and proving that systematic searches for extraterrestrial intelligence could work, even though a high-altitude aircraft caused the first false alarm and the effort paved the way for decades of SETI research.

April 8, 1960: Frank Drake begins Project Ozma
astronomy.com

April 8, 1960: Frank Drake begins Project Ozma

Today in the history of astronomy, a key SETI project conducts its first research.