Ray Bradbury
American author who brought science fiction into the literary mainstream.
Ray Douglas Bradbury (22 August 1920 – 5 June 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the most celebrated American writers of the 20th century, working across fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction. His most famous works include the novel *Fahrenheit 451* (1953) and the short-story collections *The Martian Chronicles* (1950), *The Illustrated Man* (1951), and *The October Country* (1955). Other notable books are the coming-of-age novel *Dandelion Wine* (1957), the dark fantasy *Something Wicked This Way Comes* (1962), and the fictionalized memoir *Green Shadows, White Whale* (1992). He wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, such as *Moby Dick* and *It Came from Outer Space*, and many of his works were adapted into films, TV shows, and comic books. Bradbury also published poetry, including the collection *They Have Not Seen the Stars* (2001). *The New York Times* described him as an author whose imaginative vision, poetic style, and deep understanding of human character earned him an international reputation, and as the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream.
Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois, to Esther (née Moberg) Bradbury, a Swedish immigrant, and Leonard Spaulding Bradbury, a power and telephone lineman of English ancestry. His middle name, Douglas, came from actor Douglas Fairbanks. During his early childhood in Waukegan, he was surrounded by extended family—grandparents next door and an aunt who read him short stories—which later provided the foundation for his fiction, where 1920s Waukegan becomes Green Town, Illinois.
The family moved to Tucson, Arizona, for two periods (1926–1927 and 1932–1933) while his father looked for work, each time returning to Waukegan. In Tucson, Bradbury attended Amphi Junior High School and Roskruge Junior High School. They finally settled in Los Angeles in 1934, when Bradbury was 14, arriving with only $40, which covered rent and food until his father found a job making wire at a cable company for $14 a week. Bradbury attended Los Angeles High School and was active in the drama club. He often roller-skated through Hollywood hoping to meet celebrities, and he met special-effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen and radio star George Burns. At age 14, his first paid writing was a
- born
- 22 August 1920, Waukegan, Illinois, USA
- died
- 5 June 2012
- field
- Author, screenwriter
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man
Lore & Background
Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, to Esther (née Moberg) Bradbury, a Swedish immigrant, and Leonard Spaulding Bradbury, a power and telephone lineman of English ancestry. He was given the middle name 'Douglas' after actor Douglas Fairbanks. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1934 when Bradbury was 14. He attended Los Angeles High School and was active in the drama club. His first pay as a writer, at age 14, was for a joke he sold to George Burns for the Burns and Allen radio show.
Bradbury began writing his own stories at age 12, sometimes on butcher paper. He was an avid reader, spending time at the Carnegie Library in Waukegan reading H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allan Poe. He cited Verne and Wells as his primary science-fiction influences. In 1936, he discovered a handbill promoting meetings of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society and joined at age 16. He was rejected for military induction during World War II due to bad eyesight, freeing him to start a writing career. His first published story was 'Hollerbochen's Dilemma' in January 1938.
Reader's Guide
Ray Bradbury's significance lies in his role as the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream, as noted by The New York Times. His works, such as Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, combined poetic prose with a mature understanding of human character, earning him an international reputation. Bradbury's influence extended beyond literature into film and television, as he wrote and consulted on screenplays including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. His legacy endures through the continued adaptation of his works into television, film, and comic books, and through his poetry collections such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
Did You Know?
- Bradbury's first pay as a writer, at age 14, was for a joke he sold to George Burns for the Burns and Allen radio show.
- He was rejected for military induction during World War II due to bad eyesight.
- His first published story was 'Hollerbochen's Dilemma' in the January 1938 fanzine Imagination!.
- Bradbury wrote most of the four issues of his own fanzine, Futuria Fantasia, funded by Forrest J. Ackerman.
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