Alan E. Nourse

Alan Edward Nourse (August 11, 1928 - July 19, 1992) was a physician and science fiction writer from the United States. He published science fiction for both children and adults, as well as nonfiction books about medicine and science. His science fiction novels have occasionally centered on medicine and/or psionics. Doctor X was his pen name. Alan Nourse was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 11, 1928, to Benjamin and Grace (Ogg) Nourse. He graduated from high school on Long Island, New York. Following WWII, he joined the United States Navy. In 1951, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. On June 11, 1952, in Linden, New Jersey, he married Ann Morton. In 1955, he earned his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania. From 1958 to 1963, he practiced medicine in North Bend, Washington, and concurrently pursued his writing career. He completed his one-year internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle. He paid for his medical school by writing science fiction for periodicals. He continued to write after retiring from medical. He gained the moniker "Family Doctor" from his regular piece in Good Housekeeping magazine.