H. G. Wells
（1866—1946）

H. G. Wells (Herbert George Wells) is an English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian, but he is best known for his science fiction novels. Wells was born in Bromley, Kent. His father was a shopkeeper and a professional cricketer, and his mother served from time to time as a housekeeper. In his early childhood, Wells developed love for literature. Later he obtained a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London and studied biology there under T. H. Huxley. However, his interest faltered and in 1887 he left without a degree. He taught in private schools for four years, not taking his B. S. degree until 1890. Wells lived through World War II in his house on Regent's Park and he died in London.

Wells's best-known works are The Time Machine (1895), one of the first modern science fiction stories, The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898). His novels are among the classics of science fiction. Later in his life Wells's romantic and enthusiastic conception of technology turned more doubtful. Wells also published critical pamphlets attacking the Victorian social order, including Anticipations (1901), Mankind in the Making (1903), and A Modern Utopia (1905). His last book, Mind at the End of Its Tether (1945), is about mankind's future prospects, which he always viewed with pessimism.