Theodore Sturgeon was born Edward Hamilton Waldo in New York City on February 26, 1918. He sold his first short story, Heavy Insurance, while serving in the United States Merchant Marine from 1935 to 1938. He won numerous awards including the 1954 International Fantasy Award for More than Human, the 1970 Nebula and Hugo Awards for Slow Sculpture, and the 1985 World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000. He died of pneumonia in Eugene, Oregon on May 8, 1985.