Herbert George Wells was born in England in 1866, to shopkeepers in Kent. He won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science where he learned about physics, chemistry, astronomy and biology, among other subjects. Wells also devoted much of his time to becoming a writer.
His first novel, The Time Machine, was an instant success and Wells quickly produced several more science fiction novels, including The Island of Dr Moreau and The Invisible Man. His later work focused on satire and social criticism, and he produced the three-volume Outline of History. He died in 1946.