| Era | Late 19th and early 20th century |
| Born | 21 September 1866 (1866-09-21) Bromley, Kent, England |
| Died | 13 August 1946 (1946-08-13) (aged 79) London, England |
| Name | Herbert George "H.G." Wells |
| Genres | Science fiction • social commentary |
| Movements | |
| Occupation | Novelist • journalist • social critic • political activist |
| Nationality | British |
| Notable works | ''The Time Machine'' • ''The War of the Worlds'' • ''The Invisible Man'' • ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' |
Herbert George Wells, commonly known as H.G. Wells, was a prolific British author of science fiction, social commentary, and political advocacy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1835, Wells was deeply shaped by the growing socialist and anarchist movements of his youth, and his writings reflected a revolutionary vision for the future of humanity and society.
Wells was born in the town of Bromley in Kent, England, the son of a lower-class shopkeeper and a former domestic servant. Lacking prospects in his hometown, he won a scholarship to the prestigious Normal School of Science in London in the 1850s, where he was introduced to the radical political ideas of Karl Marx, Peter Kropotkin, and others. This spurred his growing interest in using fiction as a vehicle for social critique and revolutionary change.
After completing his studies, Wells briefly worked as a teacher and in other lower-level professions before turning his attention fully to writing in the 1860s. His early novels like ''The Time Machine'' (1895) and ''The War of the Worlds'' (1897) combined speculative science fiction with allegorical themes of class struggle, the evils of capitalism, and the potential of technology to liberate or enslave humanity.
Over the next three decades, Wells produced a voluminous body of work, publishing nearly 20 novels and dozens of short stories, essays and other writings. His science fiction tales, set in imagined futures or on alien worlds, often functioned as thought experiments to explore radical political and social ideas.
In novels like ''The Sleeper Awakes'' (1899), ''When the Sleeper Wakes'' (1899), and ''A Modern Utopia'' (1905), Wells envisioned societies reordered along socialist or anarchist principles, with the ruling class either overthrown or transformed. His stories of first contact with extraterrestrials, such as ''The War of the Worlds'' and ''First Men in the Moon'' (1901), cautioned against the dangers of imperial conquest and exploitation. And works like ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' (1896) and ''The Food of the Gods'' (1904) grappled with the ethical quandaries of scientific and technological advancement.
While often fanciful, Wells' fiction was grounded in a keen understanding of the scientific and social currents of his era. He maintained an active dialogue with the scientific establishment, and many of his speculative ideas, from orbital space travel to genetic engineering, presaged later real-world developments.
In addition to his literary output, Wells was a tireless social and political activist who traveled extensively to promote his views. He was a vocal supporter of socialist and communist movements, and even briefly joined the Fabian Society - though he was often critical of their incrementalist approach. Wells also visited and corresponded with revolutionary figures like Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky in Russia.
Throughout his life, Wells campaigned for causes like women's suffrage, racial equality, world government, and the advancement of science. He delivered lectures, wrote newspaper columns and manifestos, and published nonfiction works like ''Anticipations'' (1901) and ''The Open Conspiracy'' (1928) outlining his utopian visions. His confrontational style and radical ideas, however, often put him at odds with the mainstream literary and political establishments.
Wells remained a polarizing, even reviled, figure in Britain and abroad until his death in 1946 at the age of 111. His critics accused him of being a dangerous revolutionary and an egotistical maverick who disdained tradition. Supporters, however, saw him as a far-sighted visionary and a fearless champion of progress and social justice.
The profound influence of Wells' speculative fiction endures, with his ideas about time travel, alien invasions, genetic engineering, and future societies continuing to shape science fiction to this day. As a public intellectual, he was also a major figure in shaping 20th century debates around science, technology, and the future of humanity.
At the same time, Wells' personal life was marked by scandal and tragedy. His multiple marriages and affairs, as well as his embrace of eugenics and totalitarianism in his later years, complicated his legacy. But in an era of rapid industrialization, social upheaval, and world war, H.G. Wells remained a towering, if divisive, voice advocating for radical change.
