H. G. Wells
(1866-1946):

Wells' father kept a small hardware shop, his mother, before her marriage, had been "in domestic service." Having studied under Professor Thomas H. Huxley, Wells went on to teach school in North Wales. While recuperating from illness, he turned to writing. He was a member of the Fabian Society. His thesis: "The human race must adapt itself to the material forces it had created, or perish." His works include: The War of the Worlds (1898), The Time Machine, and A Short History of the World (1922). (Wells' works are readily available on the 'NET .)