Ray Bradbury

American author who brought science fiction into the literary mainstream.

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter whose career spanned fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction. His most famous works include the novel Fahrenheit 451 and the short-story collections The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and The October Country. Other notable books are the coming-of-age story Dandelion Wine, the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes, and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale. He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, such as Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space, and many of his stories were adapted into films, TV shows, and comic books. Bradbury additionally published poetry, collected in volumes like They Have Not Seen the Stars. The New York Times described him as a writer whose imaginative vision, poetic style, and deep insight into human nature earned him an international reputation, and credited him with bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream.

Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois. His mother, Esther, was a Swedish immigrant, and his father, Leonard, worked as a power and telephone lineman and was of English ancestry. He received the middle name Douglas after the actor Douglas Fairbanks. During his early childhood, he lived near extended family—his grandparents next door and an aunt who read him short stories. This period later inspired the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois, which appears in his work. The family moved to Tucson, Arizona, twice, in 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. In 1934, when he was 14, the family settled in Los Angeles with only $40, which covered rent and food until his father found a job making wire at a cable company for $14 a week, allowing them to stay in Hollywood.

Bradbury attended Los Angeles High School and was active in the drama club. He often roller-skated through Hollywood hoping to meet celebrities, and among those he encountered were special-effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen and radio star George Burns. At age 14, he earned his first pay as a writer by selling a joke to Burns for the Burns and Allen radio show.

Quick Facts

Birth name

Ray Douglas Bradbury

Born

22 August 1920

Birthplace

Waukegan, Illinois, U.S.

Died

5 June 2012

Place of death

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Resting place

Westwood Memorial Park

Occupation

Writer

Genre

Fantasy
science fiction
horror fiction
mystery fiction
magic realism

Facts from the source article.

Lore & Background

Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, to Esther 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. His early childhood in Waukegan, surrounded by extended family, provided foundations for his fiction, where 1920s Waukegan becomes Green Town, Illinois. The family lived in Tucson, Arizona, during 1926–1927 and 1932–1933 before settling in Los Angeles in 1934. Bradbury attended Los Angeles High School and was active in the drama club. He often roller-skated through Hollywood hoping to meet celebrities, and 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 spent much time in the Carnegie Library in Waukegan, reading H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allan Poe. He tried to imitate Poe until about age 18. His favorite writers included Katherine Anne Porter, Edith Wharton, and Jessamyn West. He was also influenced by Edgar Rice Burroughs's John Carter of Mars series and by Robert A. Heinlein. Bradbury was rejected for military induction during World War II due to his bad eyesight, freeing him to start a writing career. He began publishing science-fiction stories in fanzines in 1938, and his first published story was 'Hollerbochen's Dilemma' in January 1938. His first paid piece, 'Pendulum', written with Henry Hasse, appeared in Super Science Stories in November 1941. He sold his first solo story, 'The Lake', at age 22 and became a full-time writer by 24. His first collection, Dark Carnival, was published in 1947.

Reader's Guide

Bradbury is widely regarded as one of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers. The New York Times called him 'the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream' and praised his 'fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character.' His novel Fahrenheit 451 and short-story collections such as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man have become enduring works, adapted into television, film, and comic books. Bradbury also wrote and consulted on screenplays, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. His influence extends across genres, blending fantasy, horror, and realistic fiction with science fiction. His works often draw on his childhood experiences, such as his fascination with carnivals, which appear in The Illustrated Man and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bradbury's legacy includes not only his fiction but also his poetry, collected in works such as They Have Not Seen the Stars. He helped shape the public perception of science fiction as a serious literary form, and his stories continue to be studied and adapted.

Did You Know?

He wrote his first published story, 'Hollerbochen's Dilemma', at age 17, which appeared in a fanzine in January 1938.
His short story 'Homecoming' was picked from a slush pile by a young editorial assistant named Truman Capote and later won a place in the O. Henry Award Stories of 1947.