Jules Verne

Born on February 8, 1828 Jules Gabriel Vern is best known for his adventure novels and influence on science fiction. He collaborated with Pierre-Jules Hetzel on Voyages Extraordinaires that included Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Around the World in Eighty Days.
Verne is the second most translated author in the world behind Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare. He is often called The Father of Science Fiction along with H.G. Wells. When Verne was 19 he wrote Un pretre en 1939, Alexandre VI and La Conspiratoin des oudres. He was expected, however, to leave writing behind and enter the family law business. He went to school in Paris where he passed his first year law exams. At this time he met Rose Herminie Arnaud Grosseiere and wrote about thirty poems to her. They did not marry.
Verne went pack to Paris to study during the French Revolution of 1848. He used family connections and entered Paris society. He frequented literary salons, continued studying law and wrote numerous plays. He met and married Honorine e Viane Morel in 1857. Vern entered a brokerage business with his wife's brother and the future looked promising. In 1958 Vern and a friend embarked on a sea voyage from Bordeaux to Liverpool and then to Scotland. When Verne returned he fictionalized his travels in the novel Backwards to Britain. He continued work on the Roman de al Science and developed a rough draft inspired by maps and explorers. This draft became his first published novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon.
In 1886 Verne was shot by his nephew Gaston. The first bullet missed but the second one entered Vern's leg. This gave him the permanent limp that would be his for life. After this incident and the death of his mother and friend Verne began writing darker works. In 1888 he entered politics and was elected councilor of Amiens. He championed city improvement and served for over fifteen years.
Verne from diabetes at his home in Paris (1905). Verne's books Invasion of the Sea and The Lighthouse at the End of the World were published posthumously. 1994 a hidden manuscript entitled Paris in the Twentieth Century was published along with several other works Verne had hidden.