It was Elrond's dad Earandil, he returned to the Valar with a Silmaril and sparked the War of Wrath. He was given a boat and set to fly across the sky with the Silmaril on his brow, effectively becoming the Morning/Evening star. Later he assaulted Morgoth's greatest dragon with a flock of birds.
IIRC his wife could turn into a big white bird and flew to meet him as he passed her tower. Incidentally if you trace the path of the Stranger's meteor and track it all the way back he may have passed close to her tower