The results of calculations of the pressure distribution on the surface of a stationary rigid sphere and a stationary rigid circular cylinder of infinite length, when exposed to a plane progressive sound wave, are compared with experiment. A small probe microphone was used to measure the sound pressures on the surface of the obstacles in a room essentially free from acoustic wall reflections under a variety of experimental conditions. The sound pressures p on the surface are conveniently expressed relative to the free-field pressure p0 in the undisturbed incident wave. In the case of the sphere, reasonably good agreement was obtained between theory and experiment in the range of 13 <ka < 10, where k is the wave number of the incident wave and a the radius of the obstacle. In particular, the existence of the “bright” spot diametrically opposite the point nearest the sound source was verified experimentally. This comparison of experiment with theory affords a valuable means of estimating the validity of the experimental procedure. In the case of the cylinder whose axis was oriented parallel to the wave front of the incident wave and whose length was chosen to equal its diameter, the pressures were measured for the most part in the median plane. There is a marked similarity between the results obtained for this finite cylinder and the results obtained for a sphere. The pressure at the point in the median plane farthest away from the source of sound (θ = 180°) is substantially equal to the free-field pressure only for ka < 5. As the frequency is increased further, the sound pressure near θ = 180° drops rapidly up to and most likely beyond ka = 10 at an approximately constant rate, in decibels per frequency octave. A small microphone located on the surface of such a cylinder at θ = 180° will exhibit a low pass filter action with a cut-off at k ≈ 5. Tables are furnished of the ratio p/p0 computed for a rigid circular cylinder of infinite length. This ratio is tabulated in magnitude and phase in the range of 12 ⩽ ka 10, for azimuths θ varying from 0 to 180° in 10-degree steps. The results are very similar to the spherical case for θ not exceeding about 150 degrees. There is only an insignificant trace of the bright spot at θ = 180°.