H. G. WellsH. G. Wells

Steve Wood

TCCC

Fame

H.G. Wells was a novelist, journalist, sociologist, historian, and teacher, who is best known for creating some of the most famous science fiction works ever.  He, along with Jules Verne, helped to distinguish and popularize the genre.

SF Career

In the span of a single decade, Wells produced some of the most famous SF stories ever, stories that continue to inspire writers and thrill readers a century after their creation.  These works include: The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), When the Sleeper Awakes (1899), The First Men in the Moon (1901), and The Food of the Gods (1904).

Overall Career

Wells wrote over 100 books, including 50 novels.

1866

Wells is born the son of domestic servants turned shopkeepers.  He is the fourth child.  His father also played professional cricket until he breaks his leg in 1880.

1873

Wells breaks his leg; he later comes to believe this to be the most fortunate event in his life.  He is laid up for several weeks, instead of working in the family shop, and is sent lots of books by friends and family.

1880

Wells leaves school and is apprenticed to a draper after his father's business fails.  He is then apprenticed to a chemist and another draper, and then works as an usher and assistant teacher at Midhurst Grammar School.

1884

Wells receives a scholarship to study biology at the Normal School of Science (later known as the Royal College).  One of his instructors was T. H. Huxley.

1888

Wells leaves London University and becomes a science teacher.  A poor third year destroys his hopes for a scientific career, although he would eventually get his degree in 1890.

His first time travel story "The Chronic Argonauts" is published.  Later on, Wells is very embarrassed by the story and destroys every copy he can find. 

1891

Wells marries Isabel Mary Wells, a cousin.

1893

Wells publishes his first book, Textbook of Biology.

1894

Wells runs off with a former student, Amy Catherine Robbins, whom he marries in 1895.  She dies in 1927, and Wells has several long-lasting affairs both before and after her death.

1895

The Time Machine, the first of Wells' scientific romances, is published.  It receives good reviews, with the Review of Reviews writing, "H.G. Wells is a man of genius."

1896

The Island of Doctor Moreau is published.

1897

The Invisible Man is published.

1898

The War of the Worlds is published.

1899

When the Sleeper Awakes is published.

1901

The First Men in the Moon is published.

1903

Wells joins the Fabian Society, a socialist organization that also had the playwright George Bernard Shaw as a member.

1904

The Food of the Gods is published.

1906

From this time on, most of his work was history, social criticism, or social satire.

1914-1918

World War I shakes Wells' faith in human progress.

1938

Actor and director Orson Welles adapts Wells' The War of the Worlds as a radio play for a Halloween broadcast. Widespread panic sets in as many believe the alien invasion is real.

1939-1945

Wells becomes increasingly disillusioned with humanity in World War II.

1945

Wells' last work Mind at the End of Its Tether presents a bleak future in which nature is destroying humanity.

1946

Wells dies in London on August 13.