H.G. Wells, an English novelist, sociologist, and historian, was born at Bromley, Kent, in 1866. Through grants and scholarships, Wells attended the Royal College of Science at South Kensington. He graduated in 1888 with honors and went on to earn a B.S. degree from London University. He taught science until 1893 when he turned to journalism.

At the age of 29, Wells published his first book. He often disguised scientific speculation in the form of fiction as he did in The Invisible Man, a scientific romance. In The War of the Worlds Wells asks not only what might be, but what ought to be. He exercised an unquestionable influence on his generation as well as later ones.