H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells, better known as H.G. Wells, was born on the 21st of September 1866 in Bromley, Kent. He became famous as an English science fiction author, most notably because of his novels The Time Machine and The War of the World. Finally he died on the 13th of August 1946 in London.
Wells spent his early life under poor conditions with his mother Sarah Neal and his father Joseph Wells. His mother had a job as a servant for the upper class and his father was an owner of a small shop. H.G. Well’s passion for books, especially for reading them, turned out very early. Because of that he had the chance to attend Thomas Morley’s Academy. But after some year, at the age of 14, he had to leave the Academy due to financial problems. As a consequence he was forced to earn his own money by working as a draper.
The year 1883 was a turning in Wells life because he won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London. There he studied biology and Darwinism. Finally he couldn’t finish his degree and because of that he lost his scholarship.
In 1891 he married his cousin Isabel Mary but in fact this marriage lasted for only four years. Later he married Amy Catherine Robbins with whom he had two children. During his marriage to his second wife, Wells had different affairs.
In the first years at the Normal School of Science in London he published the Textbook of biology. In 1895 he wrote the very successful novel The Time Machine and that’s why he seems to be the trailblazer for the science fiction genre. Moreover, he wrote several short stories, some of them published in The Stolen Bacillus (1895).
Furthermore, H.G. Wells is also known as futurist (who joined the Fabian society) because some of his works refer to ideas of the future. Today very well known is his novel The War of the Worlds (1898) because of several film adaptations. In 1901 he published his first best-seller named Anticipations, followed by A Modern Utopia in 1905.
During the 30th and 40th Wells became a perceived socialist and historian who was especially interested in the matters of modern civilization, government and education.