Personal: Male. Born in France.

Jules Verne was one of the leading writers of his time, and one of the founders of the literary genre of science fiction. He described in his novels the possibility of space flight, the use of submarines for travel beneath the ocean, and a variety of other visionary technologies that were realized in the twentieth century.

• Launius, Roger D, NASA Chief Historian, NASA History Office Home Page, . Accessed at: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/index.html.