H.G. Wells

H.G. Wells, a seminal figure in the development of science fiction, introduced and popularized enduring themes such as time travel, biological engineering, and extraterrestrial invasion, particularly Martian, which have profoundly shaped the genre's trajectory and continue to inspire contemporary works across various media.

As a young teacher, Wells was deeply impressed by Darwin's theory of evolution and wrote a series of related essays that became the basis for The Time Machine (1895), his first major work of fiction. He followed that with The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896) and The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance (1897), among others.

In The War of the Worlds (1898), Wells introduced aliens into the now-clichéd role of monstrous invaders of Earth. The First Men on the Moon (1901) in turn, carried forth the great tradition of fantastic voyages, describing the discovery of a hyper-organized dystopian society on the Moon.

Wells possessed a prolific imagination which remained solidly based on biological and historical possibility. His best works are still regarded as exemplary of what science fiction should aspire to do and be.