Hugh Gernsback

Recognised internationally as the father of science fiction and the person who gave the genre its name, Hugo Gernsback was born in Luxembourg but emigrated to the United States, where he published the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in 1926. The first edition’s cover illustrated one of Jules Verne’s novels. The editions that followed gave an illustrative form to objects that haunted the imaginations of sci-fi writers and fans, and included robots, giant futuristic cities and men crammed into space suits.

Primarily recognised as an inventor and publisher, Gernsback also wrote a novel in 1926, Ralph 124C 41. The novel described – and even illustrated on the cover - the yet to be invented videophone: a telephone that allowed users to view the image of the person with whom they were speaking. Gernsback’s videophones were depicted in 1927 classic film, Metropolis.

Gernsback’s work made a habit of prophetically illustrating the technology of the future. Each year, in his honour, the World Science Fiction Society bestows the Hugo Award to the best science fiction novel. Before creating this new literary genre, Gernsback imported European radios and helped to popularise ‘the wireless’ in the United States. A true pioneer, he founded the world’s first electronics magazine in 1909.