Contents
H. G. Wells
Imagining time travel, alien invasion and invisible men.
The Time Machine · The War of the Worlds
- Born
- 21 September 1866
- Birthplace
- Bromley, England
- Died
- 13 August 1946
More people
H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells was an English writer who used scientific speculation to examine class, empire and human possibility. His early scientific romances became touchstones of science fiction, alongside a much broader output of social and historical writing.
Early life
Shopkeeping family
Grew up in modest circumstances and was apprenticed to trades as a young person.
Science education
Studied biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at London’s Normal School of Science.
Career
- 1880s–1890s
Teaching and journalism
Worked as a teacher and wrote educational and journalistic material.
- 1895–1898
Scientific romances
Published a rapid sequence of imaginative novels.
- 1900s onwards
Social novelist
Expanded into contemporary fiction and political argument.
- 1920s–1940s
Public intellectual
Produced broad historical surveys and proposals for global cooperation.
Selected work
The Time Machine
A future society makes present class divisions disturbingly literal.
The Invisible Man
An experiment in invisibility becomes a story of isolation and violence.
The War of the Worlds
An invasion overturns humanity’s confidence in its own dominance.
Beyond work
Political ideas
Advocated forms of world government and social reform, while holding views on race and eugenics that drew criticism.
Historical writing
The Outline of History brought a large-scale account of the past to general readers.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: George Charles Beresford. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
