H.G. Wells
• Born Herbert George
Wells on September 21,
1866, in Kent, England
• “The Man Who
Invented Tomorrow”
• “The Father of Science
Fiction”
• Known for “scientific
romances”
• A visionary and early
pioneer of science
fiction
First Titles
• The Time Machine
(1895) was his first
novel=instant success
• The Island of Doctor
Moreau (1896)
• The Invisible Man
(1897)
• The War of the Worlds
(1898)
Radio Scare
• The War of the Worlds
was adapted into a story
for broadcast radio. It was
aired on Halloween night,
1938, and read by Orson
Welles.
• It caused general panic
because audiences
thought the descriptions
of aliens attacking New
Jersey represented actual
news.
Scientific Vision
• Wells had a strong
background in science
from the Normal School
of Science
• He accurately foretold a
number of important
scientific
–
–
–
–
Chemical warfare
Computer chips
Women’s rights
Splitting the atom/atom
bombs
Timeline
• 1851: Jules Verne=A
Voyage in a Balloon
• 1861-1865: Civil War
• 1876: Alexander
Graham Bell=telephone
• 1880=First electric lights
• 1886: Robert Louis
Stevenson=Dr. Jekyll &
Mr. Hyde
• 1895: Wells=The Time
Machine
• 1896: First modern-day
Olympics
• 1905: Einstein=Special
Theory of Relativity
• 1906: First radio
program with voice and
music
• 1908: Henry Ford=
Model T
• 1912: Sinking of Titanic
• 1914: Beginning of WWI
“The Crystal Egg”
• Written in 1899.
• A shopkeeper, living a
dreary life, discovers he
has a window into
another world.
• His discovery
transforms his life.
• Is this discovery positive
or negative for
humanity?