Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury (born August 22, 1920) is an American fantasy, science fiction, and mystery writer known best for his 1950 short story collection The Martian Chronicles and his 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451.

Related Topics:
August 22 - 1920 - American - Fantasy - Science fiction - Mystery - 1950 - Short story - The Martian Chronicles - 1953 - Dystopian - Fahrenheit 451

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Ray Bradbury (his given name is not Raymond) was born in Waukegan, Illinois to a Swedish mother and a father who was a telephone lineman. His grandfather and great-grandfather were newspaper publishers, and not surprisingly, Bradbury was a reader and writer throughout his youth, reading in the Carnegie Library at Waukegan. His two early books Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes depict the town of Waukegan as "Green Town" and are semi-autobiographical. The Bradbury family lived in Tucson, Arizona, in 1926-1927 and 1932-1933, each time returning to Waukegan, and eventually settled in Los Angeles in 1934 when he was age 13.

Related Topics:
Waukegan, Illinois - Swedish - Lineman - Carnegie - Dandelion Wine - Something Wicked This Way Comes - Tucson, Arizona - Los Angeles - 1934

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He graduated from high school in Los Angeles (where classmate Ray Harryhausen became a lifelong friend) but chose not to attend college. To make a living, he sold newspapers. He educated himself at the library and, having been influenced by science fiction heroes like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, Bradbury began to publish science fiction stories in fanzines in 1938. His first professional sale was to the pulp magazine Super Science Stories in 1941, and he became a full-time writer by the end of 1942. His first book, the collection Dark Carnival, was published in 1947. He married Marguerite McClure in 1947, and they had four daughters.

Related Topics:
High school - Ray Harryhausen - Newspaper - Library - Science fiction - Flash Gordon - Buck Rogers - Fanzines - Pulp magazine - 1941 - Dark Carnival - 1947

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