Today is May 30, and it is the birthday of two writers I want to highlight. Because they wrote such different types of fiction, I’m going to do two separate posts.
Hal Clement, Photo courtesy of Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia
The first of these is Hal Clement (1922-2003). Clement wrote what is generally regarded as hard science fiction, and he was among the hardest of hard sf writers. Clement taught high school chemistry and astronomy at Milton Academy in Milton Massachusetts.
His work has sadly fallen out of print.
It was while he was an undergraduate at Harvard majoring in astronomy that he sold his first short story, “Proof”, to John W. Campbell, Jr. It was published in the June 1942 issue of Astounding. Three more stories appeared in 1942
After graduating in 1943, Clement was a pilot in World War II and flew 35 combat missions. He would go on to earn master’s degrees in education and chemistry.
I had the privilege of meeting him at Conestoga. He attended in 2001 and caem back every year until his death. Continue reading
