Hugo Gernsback
American inventor, writer, editor and publisher
Who was Hugo Gernsback?
Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, Luxembourgish: [ˈɡɛʁnsbɑχɐ], August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish American editor and magazine publisher whose publications included the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. For his significant contributions to the science fiction genre as publisher, he is often referred to as "The Father of Science Fiction", along with the novelists Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Gernsback was born in 1884 in Luxembourg City, to Berta (Dürlacher), a housewife, and Moritz Gernsbacher, a winemaker. Gernsback emigrated to the U.S. in 1904 and later became a citizen. Gernsback died in New York City in 1967. Gernsback emigrated to the United States in 1904 and later became a naturalized citizen. He married three times: to Rose Harvey in 1906, Dorothy Kantrowitz in 1921, and Mary Hancher (1914–1985) in 1951.
Historical significance
In his honor, annual awards presented at the World Science Fiction Convention are named the "Hugos". He was also a significant figure in the electronics and radio industries, even starting a radio station, WRNY, and the world's first magazine about electronics and radio, Modern Electrics.